Tampa Bay's first bus rapid transit line, SunRunner, to launch later this year
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The SunRunner Bus Rapid Transit system between Downtown and St. Pete Beach will begin operation late this summer as the first BRT project in Tampa Bay. BRT systems are designed to combine the capacity and speed of a metro with the lower cost and flexibility of a bus system. They have been implemented recently in 26 U.S. cities.
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority developed and will operate the $44-million, 10.3-mile route. PSTA is also conducting a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) study, called SunRunner Rising, with consultants Kimley-Horn.
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) Public Relations Coordinator Stephanie Rank indicates that PSTA expects to present recommendations to the City of St. Petersburg by April in conjunction with the StPete2050 plan which was published last year. St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch was a former PSTA Chairman is knowledgeable about transit system issues.
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A 16-story apartment tower has been proposed across from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, replacing a larger project approved for the same property last year.
The proposed development would rise at 446 4th Street South, at the northeast corner of 5th Avenue South and 4th Street South.
The 0.7-acre property is currently home to a 105-year-old commercial building previously occupied by Fresenius Kidney Care American Dialysis Center and an adjacent surface parking lot.
The project, which would be developed by Charleston, South Carolina-based The Beach Company, will contain 165 apartments, approximately 3,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space, a 176-space parking garage, and 178 bicycle spaces.
It’s a significant change from the development St. Petersburg City Council approved for the site in February 2025.