South Florida firm buys 34-acre St. Petersburg office park, plans apartments, retail

Altis Cardinal, a real estate company based in Miami-Dade County, bought 34 acres of St. Petersburg land currently home to the Ceridian Office Park at 3201 34th Street S.

The sale closed Wednesday for $40 million in cash, according to a news release and property records. Altis Cardinal called it St. Petersburg’s “largest land purchase in decades.”

The company plans to keep about 180,000 of the existing 380,000 square feet of office space, a spokeswoman said, and the current tenants will be allowed to stay. But the new development will also feature up to about 1,500 apartments and approximately 50,000 square feet of retail, adding to a “new living corridor” in the Skyway Marina District.

The project is expected to break ground in early 2023. No renderings of the planned designs were available Friday.

This isn’t Altis Cardinal’s first foray into St. Petersburg. It also redeveloped the old Mosley Hotel and Cornerstone Office Complex, turning 10 acres in Historic Kenwood at 3201 3rd Avenue N into the Elements on Third, which includes 431 apartments and a self-storage building.

“We’ve been developing in St. Petersburg for nearly a decade and are pleased to continue our presence here for another decade while working on this multi-phase development,” said Frank Guerra, principal and founder of Altis Cardinal, in a statement. “This area is booming with growth, maturing as a world class city, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

The purchase adds to a growing list of Tampa Bay parcels being developed by Miami-area companies, as developers farther south continue to be bullish about building in an area that’s more affordable than their home turf.

Mast Capital, a different Miami company, recently announced its acquisition of 16 acres in Wesley Chapel to build nearly 250 apartments, for example, with plans for further expansion into Tampa Bay.