St. Petersburg's Skyway Marina District is booming. Here's what's ahead
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Construction at the former Ceredian campus at 3201 34th St. S. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
St. Petersburg's once-dormant Skyway Marina District is going through big changes.
Why it matters: Development in the retail and housing corridor along 34th Street South has brought new restaurants, businesses and hundreds of apartment units to south St. Pete, with much more to come.
The latest: Arguably the district's biggest project just got a funding boost from the city.
- City Council members have agreed to kick in $4.5 million for affordable housing at Sky Town, an apartment and shopping center planned for the 34-acre former Ceredian campus at 3201 34th St. S.
- It's on top of $5.5 million that Pinellas County commissioners have pledged for the project using Penny for Pinellas funds.
State of play: The money will go toward the project's first phase, which includes a Sprouts grocery store and an apartment complex with 401 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
- While the housing was initially supposed to be all market-rate, city officials negotiated with the developer to convert 121 units to workforce housing, according to city documents.
- Sixty of those units will be for households making up to 80% of the area median income (currently $68,800 for a family of three), with the additional 61 for households at or below 120% ($103,200).
Meanwhile, construction on the Sprouts is underway and set to wrap in October, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.
The big picture: The project as a whole will include more than 2,000 apartments, 69,000 square feet of grocery and retail space, and 120,000 square feet of self-storage, per the site plan approved by the city.
Catch up quick: Skyway is a boomlet. In recent years, it also saw the openings of Sur Club, Marina Walk and The Addison.
- On the southern end, SkyBeach Resort opened last year at the former Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove with 113 renovated guest rooms, per the St. Pete Catalyst.
- The resort has pickleball courts, boat slips and a just-opened second location of downtown favorite Paradeco Coffee.
Yes, and: You know it's real when a neighborhood gets a Starbucks.
- The coffee chain opened a store off 34th Street South last year, and a few months ago, a Chipotle opened nearby.