Apartments, public lazy river, retail coming to Skyway Marina District

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Another major development project is coming to St. Petersburg, but this one's not downtown.

A $70 million project is coming to South St. Pete in what's called the Skyway Marina District.

If you look at the vacant lot next to the St. Pete Community College Allstate Center on 34th Street South, it's easy to tell the Skyway Marina District in south St. Petersburg is not an area that has seen a lot of love.

“We are ready for some change. We are 10 minutes from downtown and we are 10 minutes from the beaches.”

And because of that prime location, Phillips Development and Realty is pumping $70 million to transfer a desolate field into a mixed-use property.  It will have retail space including two restaurants, 250 apartments, storage units, and even a lazy river - open to the public - running through it.

“That's a cool way to break up the residential side and the retail side.”

“I think it's going to be very successful,” said City Councilman Steve Kornell.

Kornell helped bring development to this particular area of South St. Pete. Rumors of this particular development have already spread.

“It’s already kick-started growth,” he said. “Wawa has called about a land parcel.”

In addition to this project, more than $20 million is being spent to remodel Maximo Marina, which is right next door.

“This is an incredibly exciting time to be in south St. Pete,” Kornell said. “We have several different lots in this area that are being closely looked at.”

In fact, Kornell says if you add up all the projects in the Skyway Marina District, more than $100 million is being spent. So if you’re looking to invest, here’s some advice:

“Get in now, it's only going to go up,” Kornell said.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2020.