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Wrecking ball getting ready to make signature

By SHARON L. BOND
Published February 1, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Interior demolition is under way at the former Cramer federal building downtown, and the wrecking ball will start on the exterior March 8 to make way for Signature Place, the wavy triangle condominium building.

Developer Joel Cantor said a construction fence will go up around the property at 100 First Ave. S soon. Progress Energy will have to relocate a chunk of electrical grids in the building before demolition starts, he said.

About 80 percent of the 221 units in Signature Place have sold. Buyers are coming from all over the country, and some are international. Most have said they want to live in St. Petersburg full time, Cantor said.

Architect Ralph Johnson of Perkins+

Prices on units range between $380,000 and $3.5-million. There was a $7-million unit, but it was broken into smaller sizes, Cantor said. Some units in each of the four designs were kept off the market and will be offered later, he said.

"Now we are starting to market the office condominiums," Cantor said.

The building has 40,000 square feet of space for office condominiums on three floors. The typical size will be 2,800 square feet, Cantor said.

At 390 feet high, Signature Place will be tied with the Arts Village, another planned condominium project, as the tallest building in St. Petersburg. Both, if built as planned, would top the current tallest, the Bank of America building, by 4 feet.

Fifth Third Bank is financing the $150-million project, Cantor said, and it will have a branch in the building.

[Last modified February 1, 2006, 01:03:19]