The development team behind the proposed $90 million mixed-use project in St. Pete Beach publically unveiled conceptual renderings and plans for the first time.
On Thursday, South Florida-based real estate firm Ram Realty Advisors presented glossy renderings of the planned waterfront development dubbed Corey Landing during a public meeting at St. Pete Beach Community Center. The images revealed a modern building that would have 243 Class-A residential units along with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space to the east end of Corey Avenue.
A close-up rendering of the apartments for Corey Landing. Photo by: Ram Realty Advisors
A five-level parking garage was also part of the design; however, the six-story apartment complex would be designed to wrap around the parking structure.
The images also revealed a potential 3,000-5,000-square-foot waterfront restaurant, a park that the group would partner with the city to create, and boat docks that would be split between residents of the residential tower and for public use.
The four-acre property, which Ram Realty Advisors is under contract to purchase, is adjacent to The Blue Parrot and includes the site of the former Leverock’s restaurant.
Although the plans are preliminary as the engineering plans must be filed, it sparked concern in a crowded room as many questioned the needed parking spaces, the transient users of the units and the height of the building; the maximum height the complex can reach is 85 feet or roughly seven stories.
“We are still in the conceptual stage and haven’t submitted any applications to the city,” Ram Realty Advisors Director of Development Travis Williams cautioned the crowd. Williams, who is based in Tampa, and the other representatives reiterated they still need to complete a traffic study and that they are unsure if the docks will be floating or fixed. Additionally, the exact number of parking spaces the garage will include is not yet determined, as the city is changing its parking code.
The site plan. Photo by: Ram Realty Advisors
The development team said the types of residential tenants would need to earn anywhere between $75,000 to $150,000 annually as the average monthly rent would be $2,600 and that the average lease would be 12 months.
This isn’t the first time the property has garnered interest from a developer. Through the years, there have been multiple failed attempts to develop it as the proposals were met with opposition from the public and officials, according to numerous reports.
However, Rams Realty Advisors remains bullish on acquiring the property. The group is known for other sophisticated projects such as Curv in Fort Lauderdale, which Williams compared to the Corey Landing site. The urban infill mixed-use Curv development was completed last year. It is on three acres of land and includes an eight-story luxury apartment complex with Whole Foods as the anchor.
The team, which is working with North Carolina-based design consultant Kimley-Horn, is planning to submit an application to the city by August. They hope to break ground in June 2022 and complete the project by June 2024.