Beginning this summer, a new mixed-use space is coming to Central Avenue and St. Pete’s EDGE District.

In the works since 2019, development plans for Orange Station at the Edge have been recently approved by the City of St. Petersburg. The project aims to be a place for residents and visitors to work, live, play, and even park their cars.

Orange Station at the Edge will replace the old St. Petersburg Police Department headquarters on Central Avenue. The site will feature office spaces, condos, apartments, street-level retail space, and 600-space parking garage.

A new European-style public plaza with outdoor cafes will be encircled by the Orange Station building. The plaza site is also expected to serve as a future station for the SunRunner bus rapid transit line that will connect Downtown with St. Pete Beach.

The new space will honor St. Pete’s history

The name “Orange Station” pays homage to the site’s historical relevance as the Orange Belt Railway’s temporary train depot, where some of St. Petersburg’s first settlers arrived in 1888.

Orange Station will also feature a public art tribute honoring the 12 Black St. Petersburg Police officers who successfully sued the city in the 1960s to gain the same rights as their white coworkers.

According to Jay Miller of Edge Central Development Partners, the partnership group developing the project, the EDGE District is “one of the most vibrant areas of one of Florida’s coolest cities” and they’re excited to incorporate the area’s historical elements into the site.

Adding to the Central Avenue energy

St. Petersburg-based companies J Square Developers and DDA Development are partnering on the project. PLACE architecture will also help to bring the site’s renderings to life.

“Central Avenue has an energy all its own, and we look forward to getting this project started,” Miller said.

Preparation of the Central Avenue site and the demolition of the old SPPD headquarters will begin this summer. Orange Station at the Edge is projected to be completed in 2023.