Downtown St. Pete apartments painted pink before demolition makes way for 29-story condo tower
/This Saturday, more than 20 muralists are participating in a large-scale mural activation at 344 4th Street South, transforming a cluster of vacant buildings into a temporary outdoor gallery | St Pete Rising
On the corner of 4th Street South and 4th Avenue South in downtown St. Pete, a team of local muralists has quite literally started painting the town pink.
The former Ventnor Apartments, a cluster of 1920s-era buildings at 344 4th Street South, have been drenched in bright pink paint from the porches to the door knobs by The Vitale Bros.
However, the pink-laden glow-up is only temporary.
In early March, the buildings will be demolished to make way for the $200 million Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower, a 29-story, 164-unit luxury condominium tower developed by Clearwater-based Valor Real Estate Development in partnership with the French luxury furniture brand Roche Bobois.
“These pink buildings are the last burst of creativity,” said Moises Agami, CEO of Valor, in a conversation with St. Pete Rising at a recent press event. “Like a phoenix, they’re going to come down and be reborn into an incredible new icon for St. Pete.”
The former Ventnor Apartments, a cluster of 1920s-era buildings at 344 4th Street South, have been drenched in bright pink paint from porches to door knobs by The Vitale Bros. | St Pete Rising
Before demolition begins, the aging apartments are serving as a canvas.
This Saturday, more than 20 muralists are participating in a large-scale mural activation at the site, transforming the vacant buildings into a temporary outdoor gallery.
Several of those works will ultimately be incorporated into permanent installations within the new condo tower.
“While the tower development will create thousands of jobs and generate over half a billion dollars in economic impact, what I’m most proud of is giving dozens of artists and creatives a platform to come together and create something truly unique,” Agami said. “Art is the ultimate luxury.”
The art will live on in a planned 5,000-square-foot public arts plaza at the base of the tower.
In addition, approximately 4,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space will be anchored by a restaurant and retail space.
Agami said a restaurant tenant has been secured but not yet announced, describing it as “very much St. Pete” — trendy, neighborhood-focused, and well suited for the location.
The developer is also seeking a pet salon with boarding services to lease space on the ground floor.
The tower will contain more than 24,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities including a heated pool with a sun shelf and swim lane, a glass-edge cantilevered hot tub overlooking the arts plaza, cabanas and summer kitchens, a fireside lounge, a fitness studio and spa with hot and cold plunges, and a VIP owner’s lounge.
A 24/7 concierge, EV charging stations, and cold storage for specialty deliveries will also be included.
Plans call for 103 parking spaces, with 83 housed in a structured garage and another 20 surface spaces situated west of the building.
Designed by Gomez Vazquez International with interiors by Niz + Chauvet, the building will feature residences ranging from studios to three-bedroom homes, including 12 penthouses.
Units will include 11-foot ceilings, premium cabinetry, bespoke millwork, designer kitchens with luxury appliances and expansive windows with views of downtown St. Pete.
Buyers will have the option to purchase a curated Roche Bobois furniture package.
“We are the only ones bringing luxury studios and one-bedroom condos to St. Pete,” Agami said. “We want to cater to the locals. You don’t have to have millions of dollars to live in a condo in downtown St. Pete.”
Pricing starts at approximately $550,000, and sales have already soft-launched. Sales are being led by SERHANT. Real Estate.
Agami said more than 40 units, over 25% of the building, are already under contract, including three penthouses.
The project was first announced in 2023 and received city approval in 2025.
Originally proposed as a condo hotel, the tower shifted to traditional for-sale condominiums after the development team acquired an adjacent parcel at 322 4th Street South last year for $2.125 million.
At the same time, the design was revised to eliminate underground parking and increase the building’s height from 25 to 29 stories, bringing the tower to 375 feet.
The development team includes Valor Real Estate Development as developer; Gomez Vazquez International as architect; Niz + Chauvet as interior designer; KAST Construction as general contractor; Trenam Law; Booth Design Group as landscape architect; B&W Structural as structural engineer; Emerald Engineering as MEP engineer; and George F. Young as civil engineer.
Construction is expected to begin this summer.
Several of the pink buildings will be demolished in March, though the corner structure closest to CVS is expected to be the last to fall later this year.
Units will include 11-foot ceilings, premium cabinetry, bespoke millwork, designer kitchens with luxury appliances and expansive windows with views of downtown St. Pete | Valor Real Estate Development
A sales gallery for the Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower is set to open by the end of the month at 106 Central Avenue, next to The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, in the space formerly occupied by Art Fusion Galleries.
For now, the pink apartments stand as a bold and fleeting spectacle — a final, fluorescent farewell before yielding to glass, steel and 29 stories of designer-branded living in the heart of downtown St. Pete.
