Planned retiree complex will link to USF St. Petersburg

Developers of a $250-million retirement community linked to USF St. Petersburg plan to kick off sales next month for the twin tower project just north of campus.

The Praxeis Group of Jacksonville said it will build Harborside by USF on the block between Third and Fourth Streets and between Fourth Avenue S and Delmar Terrace.

The project is designed to appeal to retirees who want to keep their minds active. USF professors will teach onsite classes that also will be open to the community. Praxeis intends to develop affiliation agreements with colleges on the St. Petersburg and Tampa campuses.

"There will be a lot of integration," said Dave Stauffer, senior vice president for Praxeis. He said, for example, that nursing students might work in the health center and exercise physiology students in the fitness center, while other students looking for extra income might work in the dining hall.

The project will consist of two towers, each about 30 stories high. One will be devoted primarily to health care, including nursing care, and will have about 100 private suites. The other will have 220 to 250 apartments.

"We're working with 60 feet less vertically than we had assumed because of the airport," Stauffer said, referring to nearby Albert Whitted Airport. "We're reconfiguring the entire complex."

He said Praxeis will set up a sales office at 360 Central Ave. and begin taking $1,000 refundable deposits in September. He said he expects it will be a year and a half to two years before construction begins, with completion about five years away.

Praxeis developed Oak Hammock, tied to the University of Florida, and is building Westcott Lakes at Southwood, linked to Florida State University.