In a sign of confidence in the future of downtown St. Pete, a 21-story residential building has been proposed for the western edge of downtown. Mill Creek Residential Trust, a Boca Raton-based real estate developer, is planning to build a multifamily project on 17th Street South between the Pinellas Trail and 3rd Avenue South.

Mill Creek, which previously developed Modera Prime 235, now known as Cottonwood Bayview, at 235 3rd Avenue North, has generally built high-rise apartment towers under its “Modera” brand.

According to the company’s website, the buildings in the Modera brand offer a “premier location, gorgeous design, luxe finishes, spectacular amenities and innovative, make-your-life-easier services.” The company is current building Modera Tampa, a 353-unit apartment building which will feature approximately 13,000 square feet of ground floor retail, in downtown Tampa.

The company’s latest St. Pete project would occupy nearly an entire city block and plans indicate the building could have nearly 400 units. While the project is still the early stages of development, a preliminary massing study, which was submitted to the city in late February, showed the building having 377 units.

"We've always admired the downtown St. Pete market, and have been looking to build on our success at Modera Prime 235 (now Cottonwood Bayview). We're excited to get started on our new development in downtown St. Pete, which offers residents a little bit of everything,” says Damon Kolb, Vice President of Development for North Florida for Mill Creek Residential.

The project would consist of a 21-story tower along with an adjacent 8-story building and 19,000 square feet of retail space which would front the Pinellas Trail. Units in the building would be between 760 square feet and 1,400 square feet with one to three bedrooms. The 21-story building would have 276 units while the 8-story building would have 101 units.

On the west side of the site would be a 517-space parking garage with ample bicycle parking. The garage would connect the two residential buildings. Vehicular access to the garage would be from 17th Street South via a motor court situated between the two residential buildings.

The 21st floor of the building would feature nearly 2,300 square feet of amenity space along with an outdoor terrace. An outdoor pool deck would be located on the sixth floor and each building would have a lobby area.

“We anticipate breaking ground in the fourth quarter of 2021, and our original timeline projects initial resident move-ins for the fall of 2023,” explains Kolb. 

The parcel is currently occupied by an industrial warehouse which is owned by G S F T 201 17th Street LLC, an entity affiliated with Miami-based Goldman Properties, which purchased the property in November 2017 for $6.5 million. Goldman Properties was not available for comment when asked about the terms of the sale.

Mill Creek’s latest project is pioneering in its location and would be the tallest building in the western half of downtown St. Pete, which is largely occupied by low-rise and mid-rise buildings. However, this is changing with recent additions like Icon Central, a 15-story apartment building which was completed in 2019 at 855 Central Avenue, and Vantage Lofts, an 11-story apartment building which opened in 2020 at 160 16th Street North. And earlier this year, developer Belpointe announced plans for two 15-story buildings at 1000 1st Avenue North. There’s a clear trend toward the development of taller apartment buildings in the western half of downtown. Additionally, the redevelopment of Tropicana Field, which abuts the property, will spur more dense development in the immediate area.

The project is still in the early stages of design and has not yet been approved by the City of St. Pete. As a result, many elements of the development are subject to change. Mill Creek expects to spend the rest of 2021 getting necessary entitlements and approvals before breaking ground.