Attorneys for the as-yet-unnamed 21-story residential tower proposed for the corner of 5th Ave. N. and 4th St. N. asked St. Petersburg's Development Review Commission for a 60-day continuance following comments from the public and trepidation from members of the Commission.
As Commissioners debated approval, Chair Kevin Reali asked the applicants if they wanted to continue the hearing and meet with city staff to discuss further changes to the 200-foot-plus project.
The continuance followed comments from Preserve the 'Burg Executive Director, Manny Leto, as well as several members of the public. Preserve the 'Burg also submitted a letter prior to the Commission meeting raising several important points, including the loss of naturally occurring affordable housing, the applicant's failure to seek community input, and the overwhelming scale of the project relative to neighboring Round Lake, a National Register Historic District.
The project is also within 200 feet of the historic Trinity Lutheran Church, which City Council added to the local historic register in August. Preserve the 'Burg worked with parishioners of the church to secure the designation, a process that began in January of this year.
"The proposal has numerous impacts that at best brush the outer limits of the code, and we ask that you vote no," said Leto. "We have no doubt that a no vote today will result in a better project tomorrow."
The case will return to the DRC on November 5.
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8/13/25
Stadler Development has filed plans to construct a 21-story residential tower on a 1.3-acre site along 5th Avenue North and 4th Street. The project sits within the Downtown St. Petersburg National Register Historic District, and will result in the demolition of seven structures, five of which are listed as contributing to the Historic District.
The elimination of five contributing historic assets is the most of any project that we can recently recall. A city staff report indicates that the structures to be demolished are around 100 years old and currently house 74 rental units, which the report refers to as “naturally occurring affordable housing” since these older, no-frills units often offer a level of already-existing affordable housing that would not be available in a new market-rate development.
The proposed project sits at the confluence of three historic districts. In addition to being located within the Downtown National Register District, it sits across the street from the Uptown National Register Historic District, one block from the Northshore National Register District, and two blocks from the Mirror Lake Local Historic District. The 101-year-old Trinity Lutheran Church is within 75 feet of the proposed project and is currently listed on the “Potentially Eligible List” or “PEL,” and a historic designation application for the church has recently passed the Planning and Preservation Commission.
Renderings for the project show a 485-space parking garage, 370 residential units, and 3,819 square feet of ground-floor retail space. At more than 200 feet and a “floor area ratio” or “FAR” of 7.0, it would be nearly double the height of the next-tallest residential or commercial structure within at least three square blocks, an area dominated by one and two story buildings.
Its 485 proposed parking spaces are not included in the city’s FAR calculations and exceed what is currently required by city codes. Despite being located on the outer edge of the DC 2 zoning district, the unnamed project equals the intensity of residential towers more commonly located within the downtown core, known as the “DC-C” and “DC-1” zoning districts. One St. Petersburg, for example, has a FAR 7, 400 Central has a FAR of 8, while the Reflection, nearer to Mirror Lake, is a 7.0.
The Stadler development is located in the DC2 district, where city code 16.20.120.3.3 states, “heights in this district begin to taper down as development sites become less proximate to the core and transition to surrounding neighborhoods.”
The Development Review Commission is receiving public comments on this project at drc@stpete.org
