Developer Onyx & East is seeking to rezone a property in west St. Petersburg in order to build a 60-unit development that includes 40 townhomes and 20 single-family homes. 

The 5.77-acre property at 6942 1st Avenue South, currently houses a preschool and a soccer field, is owned by Pasadena Community Church (PCC), which is selling the property in order to reinvest in the church’s campus. 

Pasadena Community Church, founded in 1925, is part of the United Methodist denomination. The church’s main sanctuary building is located at 227 70th Street South and will remain on the site.

“The Pasadena Community Church membership voted overwhelmingly to move forward with plans to more efficiently and effectively use our sizeable property,” the church said in a statement on their website.

Onyx+East, which has developed several other properties in St. Pete, is under contract to purchase the property from the church pending rezoning approval. 

The rezoning request was previously denied on May 14th by the St. Pete Community Planning and Preservation Commission (CPPC); however, the developer and church are appealing the decision to St. Petersburg City Council on August 8th.

City code requires a "super majority vote” of the council members to overturn a St. Petersburg CPPC decision, meaning six of eight council members would have to vote in favor of the developer to allow the zoning change.

City staff previously recommended approving the rezoning. 

The project, dubbed Pasadena Groves, would be a mix of single-family homes and townhomes, which encompasses two parcels east of the Pinellas Trail.

The development calls for the Pasadena Community Church thrift store and preschool to be razed. The church would build a new pre-school next to the main sanctuary building.

“The plan is to offer for sale more than five acres of property which currently is the vacant soccer field and the PCC Preschool property,” the church said in a statement on their website. “We are modernizing our entire campus to meet 21st century technology & sensitivities while keeping and respecting church traditions.”

The proposed site plan of Pasadena Groves shows 20 single-family home lots on what is currently a soccer field and 40 townhome lots on the preschool land.

The requested changes include a land use map change from Institutional (I) to Residential Medium (RM) as well as the zoning from Neighborhood Traditional (NT-3) to Neighborhood Suburban Multifamily (NSM-1). 

The NSM-1 rezoning would permit up to 87 units at the site although, the developer plans to deliver 60 total units.

The project has been opposed by some Old Pasadena neighborhood residents, who argue the development is too intense and that it is out of character for the neighborhood. 

An online petition challenging the rezoning of the church parcels has gathered 459 signatures from residents. It urges opposing parties to email District 1 Councilman Copley Gerdes. 

Attorney Katie Cole, a shareholder of Hill Ward Henderson, is representing Onyx+East. 

The project would be the third St. Pete residential community developed by Indianapolis-based developer Onyx+East, which intends to purchase the parcels. 

Their first development, Six Point Row, a 19-unit townhome community, was constructed at 2611 1st Avenue North in the Grand Central District.

Onyx+East is actively building the 26-unit Alante development at 302 15th Street North. 

The project team for Pasadena Groves also includes Lincks & Associates and Tampa-based LevelUp Consulting.