Construction has commenced on a new multi-family development containing over 470 rental units on 39 acres of waterfront property in north St. Pete.

Miami-based Key International is developing Waterways Apartments and Marina at 12000 Gandy Boulevard North, located near the beginning of the Gandy Bridge. The development was approved in 2022.

Waterways Apartments and Marina, a project formerly referred to as Snug Harbor, will feature 324 apartments and 53 rental townhomes on 3,000 linear feet of prime water frontage.

Additionally, an 8,000-square-foot yet-to-be-revealed waterfront restaurant will sit adjacent to a marina with 130 wet slips and 20 dry stack slips. The marina will be primarily used by residents and feature a small bait shop.

There will also be a public boardwalk lined with exercise paths and a kayak launch.

Amenities for the community include two resort-style pools, a clubhouse, a volleyball court, a basketball court, pickleball courts, a playground, and a recreational field, according to the project website.

Site work began in late 2024 and vertical construction is expected to commence in May.

“We started looking at site in 2019. It’s so rare to find a site of this scale on the water in a core location. It does have a long history [being foreclosed on and eyed for other development],” Key International Chief Investment Officer Michael Vassilaros said to St. Pete Rising.

“There was a lot of engineering needed for the site as its located in a coastal high hazard. We worked with FEMA to raise and fit the planned buildings, building up the seawall, and other safety measures.”

The original development agreement, approved in 2009, outlined plans to build 120 apartment units, a commercial marina with 45 wet slips, 72,000 square feet of retail space, and three restaurants comprising 21,000 square feet on the northern portion of the property, along with 256 single family or townhome residential units and 225 private docks on the southern parcel.

However, project plans shifted in 2017 when the property was evaluated as a possible future stadium site for the Tampa Bay Rays.

In 2021, Key International announced their plans to redevelop the site and acquired it in late 2022 in a $19 million all-cash deal.

At the time, plans called for a mixed-use development with 376 residences, but the team later revised plans to bump up the number of units to 470 units, citing allowances provided by a 2021 law, passed by the Florida Legislature, known as the Graywater Statute.

The law provides density bonuses within developments that meet certain criteria regarding graywater reuse technologies.

“Graywater” is a term that refers to domestic sewage that is not blackwater, including waste from baths and showers, laundry, and sinks, except kitchen sink waste. When graywater systems are installed, household graywater is used for irrigation or other uses instead of going directly into the sewer system.

Per the statute, the developer is able to build 94 more residential units on the site. St. Pete City Council approved the amended development agreement in 2022.

Waterways will have six, four-story apartment buildings and nine blocks of two-story rental townhomes.

“With respect to the neighborhood and its surroundings, we wanted to step in back in terms of density and height while maximizing water views,” Vassilaros said. “This is a long-term investment for us, and we want to give renters that waterfront lifestyle.”

The residences and the exclusive amenities will be gated while the remainder of the development will be open to the public.

Vassilaros said he expects pre-leasing for the residential component to kick off by the fourth quarter of 2026 when the main clubhouse, pools, and several apartment buildings are expected to be completed.

Due to being located in a coastal high-hazard area, the team will increase the existing seawall to six feet tall running along the perimeter of the site. Additionally, all of the buildings will be constructed top to bottom with concrete, as opposed to wood which is cheaper but more vulnerable to external threats like fire, wind, insects, moisture, and mold.

Additionally, the residential buildings will have residential parking on the first level with one-car garages for the apartments and two-car garages for the townhomes.

The development team includes Miami-based MSA Architects, Brandon-based Central Site Development, and Miami-based Strategic Group.