Construction starts on 42-story luxury condo tower Art House in St. Pete

Construction is underway on a 42-story, 244-unit luxury condominium tower, the latest in a string of new projects planned for St. Pete’s burgeoning downtown.

Delray Beach developer the Kolter Group broke ground on Art House Wednesday. The building, located at 200 Central Avenue in St. Pete includes two- and three-bedroom units starting at $1 million. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2024.

“We named it Art House because we wanted to embrace all that St. Pete has to offer: art, culture, galleries, live music,” said Bryan Van Slyke, regional president for Kolter. “We think it’s fitting, this building being so centrally located.”

Kolter has earned a reputation for churning out mega-towers like the 41-story ONE St. Petersburg, which is St Pete’s current tallest building; and the 54-story One Tampa, which is proposed to become the tallest building in the region once it’s complete.

“St. Pete has changed a lot,” said St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch. “This is truly the next elevation of our downtown. We’re no longer God’s waiting room.”

Van Slyke said that droves of people relocating from the Midwest and Northeast are eager to buy luxury condos downtown.

“The demand has been such that we’re starting construction on this building just three months after opening sales,” he said, though he declined to say how many units have been sold so far.

The ninth floor of the building has been set aside entirely for amenities. They include a private dining room with a catering kitchen, a virtual reality game room, a fitness center with a sauna, steam room and juice bar and a resort-style pool deck complete with a bar and fire pit.

“We’re calling it Cloud 9,” said Van Slyke.

Other perks include a gallery in the lobby with rotating works of art and a resident-exclusive co-working space called the Hub, which Van Slyke said will accommodate anyone who wants to work from home.