Two developers have pursued apartment towers on the same downtown St. Petersburg property in less than two years. Neither project has moved forward, leaving an older commercial building and parking lot across from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus without a clear future.
The latest proposal, a 16-story building with 165 apartments, was withdrawn in September by Charleston, South Carolina-based The Beach Company. It followed a 21-story development from Stadler Development that received city approval in February 2025 but never broke ground.
The setbacks at 446 Fourth Street S. come as developers across the region contend with high interest rates, rising insurance expenses and construction costs that have made new projects increasingly difficult to finance…