A joint venture of Property Markets Group / PMG Affordable and Feldman Equities has submitted an unsolicited proposal to the City of St. Pete. They want to purchase the parking lot at the corner of 1st Avenue South and MLK Jr. Street (across from the UHaul facility) and turn it into a multi-use complex that would provide 100+ affordable housing units, office space, retail space, and a number of market-rate apartments.
Plans for this new development, which has yet to be reviewed by the city, are split into two phases. Phase one calls for the construction of 111 affordable residences. These apartments will be income restricted for those earning 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) or below.
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The second phase of the plan would include a minimum of 110,000 square feet of Class A office which they expect to support approximately 300 jobs after construction. Phase 2 also includes 259 residences in a market-rate apartment building.
Upon completion, the overall project would also host approximately 14,000 square feet of space for shops and restaurants along the bustling corridor. The project architect will be Place Architecture (certified SBE), the civil engineer will be George F. Young, the Phase 1 general contractor will be DuCon Construction (certified MBE), the Phase 2 general contractor will be Suffolk Construction, and legal counsel will be Hill Ward Henderson.
A key note from the developers: upon closing of the land for Phase 2, they will convey the entire affordable housing building to the City of St. Petersburg at their existing cost basis, with no capital from the city required, so the units can stay affordable in perpetuity.
Additionally, the group would cover the cost of constructing a new parking lot that would be available for public use.
Of note, this is not the first time a developer has made an offer to the city about this site. For comparison, the previous offer included a total of 70 affordable housing units, compared to the 111 by this group. From a financial point of view, the previous was for $5 million. This one is for $8 million.
Stay tuned for updates on this potentially exciting new proposal.
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