Downtown St. Pete will soon have a second grocery store. According to Fox 13, a developer has filed plans with the city to build a 32,000 square-foot grocery store with another 18,000 square-feet of planned retail space.
It’s not yet clear what chain is planned for the space, but renderings filed show the word “grocer” in Publix’s token green.
The store will be developed on the 700 block of Central Avenue with the entrance facing First Avenue South. That entrance will directly face a new apartment complex also under construction.
According to Fox, the two developments are set to be completed at approximately the same time, though that timeframe is not yet certain.
Residential development continues to spread from the downtown waterfront westward. Aside from the Publix on Second Avenue South, residents would have to travel North to any number of stores along Fourth Street.
“As the downtown area evolves, there is a clear need for modern, amenity-rich rental apartments that not only meet current demand, but help define the downtown corridor itself,” said Allen Morris Company CEO W. Allen Morris to Multi-Housing News. “That is what makes The Hermitage an ideal project for this stage of downtown St. Petersburg’s evolution.”
That aparentment complex is expected to house some 400 to 500 residents in nearly 350 units making a grocery and retail development across the street a worthy endeavor.
The news also adds to the city’s current excitement over expanding downtown development West as conversations continue to develop about the possibility of eventually demolishing Tropicana Field.
In addition to a grocery store, the development will also include a parking garage. That should serve as welcome news to business owners and patrons along the burgeoning 600-block of unique consignment and specialty shops.
This will be the second grocery store available to downtown residents. Another Publix near the waterfront serves residents in the high-rise condos flourishing in St. Pete’s downtown residential boom.
