$115M high-rise planned near St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field

Rebecca Liebson, Tampa Bay Times
·2 min read

A 23-story, $115 million building with luxury apartments and retail is set to break ground in downtown St. Petersburg later this year.

Two Miami-based real estate firms — Black Salmon and LD&D — partnered to purchase a 0.77-acre parcel at 155 17th St. S. for $9.05 million last month. The companies announced plans Wednesday to develop a mixed-use project called Gallery Haus.

“We love the Tampa Bay area,” Diego Bonet, managing partner of LD&D, told the Tampa Bay Times. His company is heading up another development in Tampa. “We think this place has so much room to grow and we’re excited to be a part of that.”

The developers acquired the land from St. Petersburg-based Apogee Real Estate Partners. Apogee bought the land in 2022 for $2.85 million and received approval from the city to build a 23-story apartment tower there.

“Apogee Real Estate Partners as an entity was winding down and we were looking for a developer to take it the distance and complete our vision for the property,” said John Barkett, managing partner for Ascension Real Estate Partners and a former broker/owner of Apogee.

Gallery Haus will include 253 apartments and 5,000 square feet of retail space on the street level facing the Pinellas Trail. Residents will have access to over 10,000 square feet of amenities, including a gym, a pool, a “wellness area” featuring a plunge pool and steam sauna and a rooftop with views of downtown and spaces for coworking.

The property’s location, wedged between the Edge District and the Warehouse Arts District, was what initially drew the developers in. But when plans for the $6.5 million redevelopment of neighboring Tropicana Field were announced last year, “it was the absolute cherry on top,” Bonet said. That project will bring thousands of apartments, hotel rooms, shopping, dining, a museum and more.

The land is also located in an opportunity zone, which means that the developers could pursue certain tax incentives for the project.

“We think this location is the center of gravity for St. Pete,” Bonet said. “Historically everyone has wanted to be by the waterfront but we think it’s going to shift a little bit more in this direction now.”

Gallery Haus is expected to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2024. Construction will take around two years to complete.