Developer buys land for $70M mixed-use project

ST. PETERSBURG — Phillips Development and Realty LLC recently completed the purchase of a nine-acre tract within St. Petersburg's Skyway Marina District, property the company plans to use for a $70 million, mixed-use project consisting of apartments, retail and self-storage space.

Phillips Development, which acquired the site for $4.2 million, intends to begin construction within the next nine months. In addition to the roughly 300 apartments and 13,000 square feet of retail, the company is planning to build 100,000 square feet of self-storage space on the site.

The land at U.S. Highway 19 and 30th Avenue South had been owned by Home Depot. The retailer had planned to develop a store there, but those plans stalled amid the last decade's economic recession and the property has sat fallow for years.

“It is areas like this that we focus on,” says Donald Phillips, managing director of the Tampa-based company that bears his name. “The Skyway Marina District is screaming for retail, luxury living and involvement from the St. Petersburg art scene.”

St. Petersburg officials have been touting the potential of the marina district for nearly two years, citing its urban infill characteristics and proximity to beaches and major employers.

Mayor Rick Kriseman, in a statement, says the Phillips project “compliments the vision for development within the District.”

To help jumpstart development there, the city has pledged $1.6 million in improvements. It also will spend $1 million in public improvements directly adjacent to the Phillips site to facilitate development there.