A Chicago development team is preparing to begin construction on a 24-story apartment tower in downtown St. Pete, bringing 373 apartments, ground-floor retail, and a rooftop lounge to a site just steps from Central Avenue.
Focus is actively conducting early groundwork testing at 275 5th Street South as it moves toward construction of its first project in the local market.
The project has been years in the making.
While Focus purchased the 0.92-acre property from Tampa-based investment firm EquiAlt in a $20.25 million transaction in 2023, rising interest rates and a challenging capital environment slowed multifamily development projects across the country.
Finally, the project is moving ahead.
The development team closed on its $135 million construction loan Wednesday with Affinius Capital and is actively conducting groundwork testing at the site.
Following the engineering work, Focus and co-developer Bradford Allen expect to begin construction on the tower.
Construction is expected to take approximately 26 to 28 months, with the building anticipated to open in 2028.
The project team includes general contractor KAST Construction, local architect Tim Clemmons of Place Architecture, and global architecture and design firm Gensler, which is leading the building’s interior design.
The tower will feature 373 apartments, approximately 6,000 square feet of retail space, and a parking garage with more than 300 spaces.
When Focus began evaluating opportunities in the southeast, St. Petersburg quickly stood out.
“When we first decided to expand into the southeast, we did a tour of the Tampa and St. Pete market,” Vicky Lee, Executive Vice President of Capital Markets + Investments at Focus, said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “Even on a random Tuesday, we saw people walking up and down the street, enjoying local restaurants and bars.”
“St. Pete is just so lively that you could tell this is the place people wanted to be,” she continued. “We see that activity as a great opportunity.”
Lee said the area reminded the team of Chicago’s Fulton Market district, a neighborhood known for its walkability, restaurants, apartments, and active street life.
That pedestrian-friendly environment, coupled with the city’s growing concentration of employers, helped convince the team to invest in St. Petersburg.
About 75% of the apartments at the new tower will be one-bedroom units, with the remaining 25% consisting of two-bedroom residences.
“In designing the building, we wanted to do something atypical and lean more toward smaller units because we expect to cater to a demographic that includes young professionals,” Lee said.
An amenity deck above the parking podium will feature a resort-style pool deck and additional resident amenities, while the tower’s centerpiece will be a double-height Sky Lounge on the 24th floor.
The indoor-outdoor space will offer panoramic views of downtown St. Pete and Tampa Bay and can be reserved by residents for private gatherings and events.
The ground floor will include a 3,000-square-foot co-working space, a high-end fitness center, and retail space positioned at the corner of 6th Street South and 3rd Avenue South.
“We designed it intentionally to activate the streetscape and have retail on the hard corner,” Lee said. “We are also providing a covered patio for outdoor seating.”
While the tower marks the first project for Focus in St. Petersburg, Lee said the company hopes it won’t be the last.
“We are focusing a lot on the Tampa-St. Pete market right now,” she said. “We haven’t identified another project yet, but we are looking.”
Bradford Allen’s Senior Vice President of Development added, “We continue to be bullish on Florida as well, having acquired several properties in other Florida markets in the last few years, and we have recently focused specifically on opportunities in St. Pete and Tampa.”
