Edge Central plan gets thumbs up

The St. Petersburg City Council late last month voted unanimous support for a local firm’s plan to redevelop the city’s former police headquarters into a mixed-use project with office and retail space, residences and parking.

Specifically, the council vote authorized Edge Central Development Partners — a group comprising J Square Developers, Backstreets Capital and DDA Development — to proceed with a lease and development agreement for the roughly two-acre site at 1300 First Ave. North.

If that deal reaches fruition, Edge Central hopes to complete its roughly $80 million project from a place Architecture design in 2023. Mayor Rick Kriseman selected Edge Central last November for the site.

The new 100,000 square feet of offices, which will be leased by Cushman & Wakefield Director Wendy Giffin, will represent the first in the city in three decades. Likewise, the project’s 56 market-rate condominiums will be the Edge District’s first in a decade.