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Constant construction

Condos accounted for many of the year's construction projects, but new retail stores also appeared.

By SHARON L. BOND
Published January 1, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Terrill Brown knew 60 was a big number of new, affordable homes to aim to sell throughout the city in 2005.

His company, Gateway Housing Center, was new and had opened its headquarters in Midtown when it announced that goal last January.

Of those 60 homes, 25 would be in Midtown, a mostly African-American area south of Central Avenue where some of the most basic of services are lacking.

"We thought it was high at first, but I thought it was attainable," Brown said of the goal. He is sales director for Gateway.

It was attained and then surpassed.

"We sold 70 houses, 27 in Midtown," said Brown, recapping his company's year.

Construction and the opening of new businesses dominated the commercial world in south Pinellas County in 2005. As in the past few years, condominium complexes accounted for much of the activity.

Announced in 2005 were some dazzling projects. Here is a mention of a few.

Signature Place, a tall triangle of a building, will be built in downtown St. Petersburg by Cantor Development LLC. A second Opus South condominium tower, 400 Beach Drive, started rising. Still another project called Ovation will be built on Beach Drive and offer one of the highest starting prices, $1.6-million. It will be built by JMC Communities and includes the Sembler Co. and developer Jimmy Aviram.

Frank Maggio of First Dartmouth Homes has four projects in the planning stages, including the Edge, a glass ellipse that will change colors with the outside temperature.

The Arts Village will move condo development farther west in St. Petersburg and have twin glass towers and a new home for the Arts Center.

A project originally called the Harborage, located south of downtown, changed owners and names. The Windward at Harborage Marina, now owned by Vector Properties, should be under construction by the end of February. Demolition is finished.

But construction in 2005 spread beyond expensive condominium complexes. New projects announced or completed also included a Wal-Mart at St. Petersburg's southern end, a Marriott hotel downtown, a Hilton hotel at Carillon and a Grand Bohemian hotel downtown.

The past year also was about projects such as the homes of Gateway. It builds houses for people who are above low-income levels but don't earn enough for down payment and closing costs plus a mortgage. The city and Neighborhood Housing Services offer programs to aid first-time home buyers. The city also helps Gateway. The company spends some of its time helping buyers navigate the purchasing process.

Its home prices began in the low $90,000s last year, a seemingly low number when compared with the million-dollar-plus condominiums being built.

Buyers are "teachers, city workers and middle-income people," Brown said. "They make just enough to not be considered lower income. We can help those families."

Gateway is a for-profit company. Brown says it plans to sell 80 new homes this year, perhaps 120 in five years.

Affordable housing is becoming more of an issue in south Pinellas County since a number of lower rent apartment complexes have been converted to for-sale units.

The largest this past year was Coquina Key, where 1,006 apartments were turned into 912 condominiums. Not all residents, who paid an average rent of $650 per month, were able to buy the condominiums. Few wanted to leave Coquina Key, which offered water views and a family atmosphere.

As Midtown benefits from Gateway's construction, it also saw several long-planned projects come to fruition in 2005. Though Midtown is not a microcosm of St. Petersburg, it provides an example of where construction and expansion provided needed services.

Residents finally got a chain grocery after years of wanting one. Sweetbay, the former Kash n' Karry, opened in November to eager throngs. When city officials asked residents in the late 1990s what they needed to make their life better, a chain grocery was at the top of the list.

A retail post office and a bank also were on residents' lists.

In October, the post office opened. Part of a carrier station was renovated to allow residents to walk in to get mail from post office boxes, buy stamps and mail packages. The city provided the money for construction. The U.S. Postal Service provided the space.

SunTrust Bank announced in August that it will build a branch near the Sweetbay Supermarket. Construction is expected to take about a year.

Family Dollar built a new store in Midtown, and residents could hardly wait for the dignitaries to finish speeches so they could get inside and shop.

A longtime Midtown retailer, Badcock Furniture & Appliances, was purchased by an African-American businessman and has been renovated.

Here is a look at some of the other projects announced or completed in south Pinellas in 2005:

In downtown St. Petersburg, Progress Energy started construction on its new headquarters, the first to be built in the city in more than a decade. A Kessler Grand Bohemian hotel will be built in the same block. Several blocks away, the old Pennsylvania Hotel is being brought back to life as a Marriott with renovation and new construction.

In north St. Petersburg, the Hilton at Carillon Park has been under construction all year. It is scheduled to open March 27. The hotel is one of several projects under way in the Carillon office park and in nearby Gateway, both commercial and residential.

Also in the Gateway area, construction began on the old Sod Farm, now called La Entrada, a Grady Pridgen project. It will be home to businesses, condominiums, warehouses and retail, and it will have hotel accommodations.

St. Petersburg's first Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in January.

In west St. Petersburg, Tyrone Square Mall is being renovated to reposition stores, add new tenants and provide a more pleasing view from Tyrone Boulevard.

The bare white wall that faced the boulevard is being decorated with a string of restaurants and shops. When the renovation is complete, Tyrone Square will have 180 stores.

Finally, the Pinellas ParkSide Mall, which seemed for years unable to thrive, was knocked down.

The Shoppes at Park Place rose on the site with 50 stores. Some, such as Target and American Signature Furniture, already are open. Others, such as Coldstone Creamery and Michaels, the arts and crafts store, will open soon.

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:28:15]