Work underway at $110M St. Petersburg apartment project

A Tampa-based developer is entering the multifamily housing business with a roughly $110 million apartment project planned for a long-vacant industrial property in west St. Petersburg. 

Metro Development Group, along with partners Porter Development, broke ground Monday on the first phase of Azalea Cay — a 341-unit apartment complex at 1501 72nd St. North, near the Tyrone Square Mall, the Azalea Park neighborhood and the Pinellas Trail. 

Of the apartments planned for the first phase of the development, 102 will be designated as affordable or workforce housing, Metro says in a release. The remaining 239 will rent at market rates. Half of the restricted apartments will be reserved for households earning no more than 80% of the area median income, according to a release from Pinellas County, while the other half will serve households earning up to 120% of AMI.

Those affordability restrictions will remain in place for 50 years, according to documents presented when the St. Petersburg City Council approved funding for the project in February 2025.

In all, local governments contributed about $11.25 million to the apartment complex. St. Petersburg has committed $6 million, while Pinellas County approved $5.25 million from its Penny for Pinellas tax funding. Earlier this year, developers and county officials estimated the first phase of development would cost about $109.8 million. 

Plans for Azalea Cay, previously known as Azalea Gateway, call for roughly 1,000 apartments to be constructed in three phases on the 29-acre property, although city approvals cover as many as 1,056 apartments. Of those new homes, 30% will be designated as affordable or workforce housing, according to a county release. 

Azalea Cay is Metro Development Group’s first attempt to build a multifamily community. The company is best known for its large suburban developments with MetroLagoon-branded amenities, including Mirada and Angeline in Pasco County. Metro’s partner on the project, Clearwater-based Porter Development, spent several years pursuing residential redevelopment of the property. 

Porter first acquired the property in August 2021 for $10.5 million, county property appraiser records show. Initially, Porter had planned to develop a sports and recreation complex at the site before turning to housing. The apartment plan received city approval in 2023 after earlier redevelopment concepts failed to advance. 

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott, City Council member Copley Gerdes and representatives from both development firms were scheduled to attend the ceremonial groundbreaking Monday morning.