4 days ago
Construction to begin on St Petersburg's $800 million SkyTown development
A mixed-use development that will bring thousands of apartments and a grocery store to St. Petersburg's SkyWay Marina District is starting to take shape after receiving funding from public and private backers.
The project, dubbed SkyTown, is slated for the former Ceridian office campus at 3201 34th St. S. Coral Gables-based developer Altis Cardinal bought the 32-acre property in 2021 for $40 million.
'We're the largest community that has been approved in all of St Pete,' said Frank Guerra, principal of Altis Cardinal. 'We're putting a 24-hour kind of living situation together on this one 32-acre parcel.'
It will be built in six phases and is expected to cost between $750 and $800 million. Once complete, it will add 2,084 apartments, 69,000 square feet of retail space including a Sprouts Farmers Market and 120,000 square feet of self-storage.
This is the first Sprouts Farmers Market to open in St. Petersburg, and is slated to open in October. It joins four other locations in Pinellas County and 19 around Tampa Bay.
On Tuesday, Altis Cardinal, secured a $68 million construction loan from Third Fifth Bank, according to records filed with the Pinellas County Clerk's Office.
The developer also got approved for a $4.5 million forgivable loan from the City of St. Petersburg in April and a $5.5 million allocation from Pinellas County through the Penny for Pinellas sales tax.
All this funding will go toward the first phase, which will feature 401 apartments and 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
Of those apartments, 121 will be designated as workforce housing. About half will be reserved for households that earn up to 120% of the area median income, which is currently about $87,600 for a single person or $125,160 for a family of four. The other half will be for those who earn up to 80% of the area median income — $58,450 for a single person or $83,450 for a family of four.
People could start moving in by the the third quarter of 2027.
Guerra said they're already in talks to fill the retail space below. He envisions something neighborhood-oriented like a wine bar, restaurant, coffee shop, bakery or day spa.
Building out the entire project could take eight to ten years.
The Skyway Marina District is currently undergoing a transformation, with at least four other residential projects popping up within a stone's throw of SkyTown.
But Guerra said what sets his development apart is the 'town-square' feel it will have.
'We are making a walkable community where people can get everything they need on site,' said Guerra. 'We think our retail will draw people from outside the area.'
