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THIRD TRY FOR CONDO TOWER

 
Published Feb. 24, 2006|Updated Feb. 24, 2006

For the third time, developer Grady Pridgen has submitted a design for a major condo tower he intends to build in downtown St. Petersburg at Third Avenue N between Second and Third streets, kitty-corner from the BayWalk entertainment complex. The newest version of this project, originally announced in 2003, will have its initial city hearing in April.

PLAN A (2003): As originally planned, Bayway Lofts was to rise to 510 feet to be the tallest building in St. Petersburg by far and have a rooftop restaurant. The tower was to include 277 lofts in 42 stories and cost $50-million to build. City officials balked at the height, and Pridgen scaled it down but increased the number of units. The second version was to be 371 feet high, lower than the Bank of America, the city's tallest building at 386 feet. Bayway Lofts No. 2 would have had 350 units in 29 stories and cost $100-million.

THE LATEST (PLAN C): Plans for the latest incarnation of Bayway Lofts, very different from the first two, have now been filed with the city. The architectural design is described in the plans as "the idea of an undulating glass sail." The building would have other nautical themes and rise 371 feet with 350 units in 29 stories. The cost now is $150-million.

- SHARON L. BOND, Times staff writer