Partner play: Developer works the system with its approach to deals

Churches enjoy tax-exempt status. But religious organizations still have bills to pay for property maintenance, and sometimes it makes more business sense to sell off assets rather than pay for upkeep.

That's mostly why Christ United Methodist Church in downtown St. Petersburg reached a preliminary agreement with the DeNunzio Group and the City of St. Petersburg that will see DeNunzio acquire the church’s 0.65-acre parking lot. The DeNunzio Group paid $5.3 million for the lot, at the southeast corner of First Avenue North and Fifth Street North. The firm intends to develop an office tower there that will include ground-level retail, multiple levels of parking and some loft-style rental apartments.