St Pete Rising: Florida Trend Article
Waddell, Lynn “St Pete Rising.” Florida Trend. January 2018: Pg 62. Print
“St Pete Rising: As more people rediscovered the St Pete lifestyle, downtown condominium development exploded around 2010. More recently apartment complexes have sprung up downtown and beyond. Large single-family homes are replacing many smaller ones, and vacant neighborhood lots are filling fast.
“So many people who chose to come to Florida are choosing to come to St. Pete because it’s so cool here,” says Lari Averbeck, a residential agent with RE/MAX Metro. Whole demand close to downtown outpaces supply, Uber, improved bicycle lanes and expanded public transit have helped fuel housing growth beyond the city core. “People often ask, ‘How far of an Uber ride is it:” Averbeck says. “White Bike Share, you can Uber downtown and ride bikes once you get down there.”
Though the St Pete real estate market is hot, opportunities for commercial development remain.
Ron Wheeler, CEO of The Sembler Company, a major developer, and manager of shopping centers throughout the Southeast, says St. Petersburg’s retail market is also strong.
“We’ve got a really healthy retail market in particular downtown where occupancy is very high,” Wheeler says. “There’scertainlyy opportunity for more development–primarily redevelopment.”
On the horizon, Wheeler says “the biggest real estate deal” will be the Tropicana Field property, which holds the possibilioty for a large corporate headquarters, housing, retail, and more!
