Downtown St. Pete is set to add another apartment tower to its skyline with the recent groundbreaking of a 24-story building at 334 2nd Avenue South. The site was previously home to the troubled Onyx Premium Nightclub which was demolished in late 2019. 

Led by Miami-based American Land Ventures, the building will be named “334” and is slated to have 220 apartments along with 14,348 square feet of ground floor retail space, which will front 2nd Avenue South and 3rd Street South. Parking for the property will be provided by an adjoining seven floor parking garage with 295 spaces.

“This project will be a wonderful addition to St. Petersburg and provide opportunities for even more residents to live, work and play in our vibrant downtown,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman in a statement. 

According to a summary of the project from the developer, 334 will be “built to the highest industry standards and will include impressive interior appointments such as custom designer cabinetry, upgraded stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, porcelain tile, 9-to-10-foot ceilings, oversized sliding glass doors, and open balconies with panoramic water and city skyline views.” Coastal Construction is the general contractor for the 250-foot-tall building.

334 has been years in the making for American Land Ventures, which originally announced the building in 2016. The project will be the company’s second development in downtown St. Pete after AER, a 17-story, 358-unit apartment building at 330 3rd Street South that was completed in 2016.

AER, which is now known as Camden Pier District, was sold to Camden Property Trust in 2018 for a then-record $126.3 million (or $353,000 per unit).

In an interview with Business Observer last year, American Land Ventures President Granvil Tracy said that 334 will differ from AER in that it will cater to Baby Boomers with larger and better appointed units.

“Baby boomers, we found, are more likely to want to rent and keep their money in the bank and not have to worry about some of the issues surrounding home ownership. So we’re trying to gear our project in St. Petersburg to that market,” said Tracy to Business Observer in February 2020. At the time Tracy mentioned that rents were expected to range from $1,700 per month to over $4,000 per month - although the passage of time may have since increased these rent projections.

In February, American Land Ventures closed on a $55.6 million loan from City National Bank of Florida, which paved the way for the recent groundbreaking of 334.  

As a result of the construction work, on-street parking and the sidewalk on the south side of the 300 block of 2nd Avenue South have been closed. Construction on 334 is expected to wrap up in 2022.

334 is just the latest high-rise building to begin construction in downtown St. Petersburg, FL. Earlier this year, construction began on Ascent St. Petersburg, a 36-story apartment building being developed by Greystar Real Estate Partners at 225 1st Avenue North. Ascent is expected to be completed in 2023.

Another high-rise building under construction is Saltaire, a 35-story condo tower at 300 1st Street South, which is expected to be completed in 2022.