St. Pete assisted-living facility to get new life

ST. PETERSBURG — After closing in 2011, the Palazzo Di Oro assisted-living facility in St. Petersburg has new owners who have plans to renovate and reopen the property.

The new owners plan to renovate and rebrand the community as the Grand Villa of St. Petersburg, according to a release. The new facility, planned to open late 2014, will have approximately 150 units, of which 30 will be devoted to memory care.

Senior Management Advisors and ValStone Partners bought the property out of foreclosure recently for $2 million. The purchase includes two buildings with 120,784 square feet located on 4.8 acres at 3600 34th St. S., according to Pinellas County records.

Prior to foreclosure in 2011, the property was bought by Senior Care Group Inc. of Tampa on March 30, 2007, for $4.9 million.

This will be the 11th senior-living community project on which the new owners have partnered. SMA and ValStone have Grand Villa properties in Delray Beach, Largo, Altamonte Springs, Melbourne and Ormond Beach, the release says. Clearwater-based SMA specializes in the management of senior-living communities in Georgia and Florida. ValStone, which has offices in Birmingham, Ala., and Baltimore, is a private-equity firm.

Built as a hotel in 1971, the Palazzo Di Oro was renovated in the 1990s and converted to an assisted-living facility, with additional improvements made in 2005.