St. Petersburg is in the midst of an apartment construction boom that is, so far, showing no signs of slowing down. Nearly 2,500 multifamily rental units are currently under construction in the Sunshine City, a number which may pale in comparison to some cities, but is significant given St. Pete’s historical growth. And it may surprise people that this building boom is not just happening in the downtown core, but in other corners of the city as well.

While St. Pete Rising has previously reported on apartment projects like 1701 Central, Artistry, Vantage, and The Exchange, which are all under construction in Downtown St. Pete, there are a number of projects going vertical outside of downtown. These projects are largely concentrated in two areas: the Skyway Marina District and the Gateway area. In aggregate, these units will add thousands of new residents to St. Petersburg. Here’s a summary of multifamily apartment developments being built outside of downtown.

Skyway Marina District

We begin by going to the Skyway Marina District. Revitalizing the Skyway Marina District has been a priority for St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman and we’re beginning to see the benefits of that focus. Currently there are over 950 rental units planned for the greater Skyway Marina District and approximately 850 of those units are under construction. 

The Addison Skyway Marina

The Addison Skyway Marina is a 308-unit apartment community being developed by ContraVest at 3951 34th St S. The project is a traditional garden-style community featuring three 4-story buildings and two 2-story buildings. Resident amenities include an 8,500 square foot clubhouse with a resort style swimming pool and fitness center. 

ContraVest paid $8.8 million for the land, which was once home to a K-Mart, in July 2019. Construction began shortly thereafter and is expected to wrap up in June 2021. According to St. Pete Catalyst, the project is slated cost $55 million and will be home to around 600 residents.

Sur Club

Half a mile north of The Addison, at 3000 34th St S, is another planned apartment community: Sur Club. Sur Club is being developed by Phillips Development & Realty on the site of a once-proposed Home Depot. Phillips Development purchased the land from Home Depot in 2017 for $4.2 million with plans for a mixed-use development featuring apartments, retail, and a self-storage facility. In 2018 the Company completed construction on the self-storage facility. 

Site preparations for the residential component of the project are underway and a groundbreaking event is set for later this week. Sur Club is expected to be four stories with 296 units and should wrap up construction in late 2021. The site is expected to have retail outparcels, bringing much needed new retail space to the Skyway Marina District. The project will also include resort-style amenities including a lazy river.

Marina Walk

Just down the street from The Addison and Sur Club is yet another residential development. Located at 4601 34th St S, Marina Walk will soon be under construction at the site of the former Flamingo Resort. Demolition of the Flamingo Resort is underway and is expected to be completed by late-November. Vertical construction on should begin shortly thereafter. Marina Walk will be eight-stories with 245 rental units. 

Unlike The Addison and Sur Club, Marina Walk will be a mid-rise building that offers water views of Boca Ciega Bay from the upper floors. The building will feature an 8th floor Sky Lounge, resort-style pool, and a resident clubhouse. Construction on Marina Walk is expected to be completed in 2021.

Gateway

Another area that is seeing a wave of multifamily units is the Gateway area. Driven largely by its central location between Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Tampa, Gateway is one of the few remaining areas of Pinellas County with undeveloped land. Projects under construction are largely clustered near U.S. 19 and in the Carillon office park.

Grove Isle at Echelon City Center

Grove Isle is being developed by A.G. Spanos and is part the first phase of the mixed-use Echelon City Center development. Once built-out, Echelon City Center is expected to have over a thousand residential units, hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space, a 120-key select-service hotel, ground floor retail space, and a public plaza. The vision for Echelon City Center is to turn the Carillon business park into a true live, work, play neighborhood.

The 298-unit Grove Isle project began construction earlier this year and will likely wrap up in 2021. Similar to multifamily developments in Downtown St. Pete, the building is being constructed with a five-story wrap design, meaning residential units are built surrounding an interior parking garage. Once complete the property will also feature an interior courtyard with resident amenities.

Waterview

Located less than 100 yards north of Grove Isle is the Waterview, the tallest multifamily building under construction outside of Downtown St. Pete. The Waterview broke ground in late August and is expected to be 15-stories with 226 units. It is being developed by Echelon and Third Lake Capital, which owns the 200 Central Avenue office tower in Downtown St. Pete.

The apartments will be market rate and will sit on top of a structured garage base which features 13,400 square feet of ground floor retail. On top of the garage pedestal will be a resident pool and lounging areas.  As the name suggests, units will have partial water views of Tampa Bay from the upper floors. Waterview is under construction and will likely open sometime in late 2021. 

Satori

Satori is another apartment complex under construction in the Gateway area, although it’s located just over the St. Petersburg city limits in Pinellas Park. Located at 3110 Grand Avenue, Satori is being developed by Davis Development and will features 270 units across four story buildings in a traditional garden-style design. Satori broke ground earlier this year and is expected to wrap up in 2020. 

Alta Gateway

A few minutes north of Satori, at the junction of US 19 and 49th Street, is another project that is under construction in Pinellas Park. In March 2019, Wood Partners, a national apartment developer, paid $7.3M for 10 acres at the junction of US 19 and 49th Street in order to build Alta Gateway.

Once complete, Alta Gateway will be four stories and have 288-units along with resident amenities like a pool, clubhouse, and even a dog park. It’s being built on the site of a former car dealership. Alta Gateway is current under construction and is expected to deliver its first units in spring 2020.

Together these projects are expected to add thousands of new residents to the greater St. Petersburg, FL area. Over the past few years there has been intense demand for the development of new apartments in Downtown St. Pete. And while there continues to be strong demand in the downtown area, there seems to also be an increased interest throughout the rest of St. Pete — most notably in the Skyway Marina District and in the Gateway area. What began as a development boom in Downtown St. Pete has now radiated throughout the rest of the city.