EDGE Collective II Demolition Begins as 20-Story Tower Moves Forward in St. Pete

Demolition preparations are underway for EDGE Collective II, a massive mixed-use development planned for the EDGE District near Central Avenue. The centerpiece of the project will be a 20-story apartment tower at the northwest corner of 11th Street South and 1st Avenue South, adding roughly 330 apartments to one of the fastest changing sections of downtown St. Petersburg.

A construction fence recently went up around the property, which includes the former Dr. BBQ restaurant and buildings previously occupied by Pin on Cafe, EMOTO Electric Motorbikes and Chai Mixology. Pin on Cafe has since moved west to 2458 Central Avenue and reopened as Pin on Grand. Once demolition and site clearing are complete, production pile installation is expected to begin in September or early October, depending on final utility relocation coordination with Duke Energy.

Hundreds of Apartments and More Retail Are Coming to the EDGE District

Current plans call for approximately 330 apartments, between 17,000 and 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and roughly 280 to 290 parking spaces. That is a sizable influx of new residents and businesses for an already busy stretch of downtown St. Pete.

The development will also look somewhat different from earlier versions of the project. Previous plans included another smaller apartment building on the Central Avenue surface parking lot between Sweetgreen and The Candle Pour. PTM Partners has removed that building from the current construction phase and plans to use the property as a staging and material storage area while the tower is built.

One of the more interesting parts of EDGE Collective II may actually be what happens at street level. Instead of creating another large building that simply walls itself off from Central Avenue, plans include pedestrian paseos and interior arcades connecting Central Avenue with 1st Avenue South. Those corridors are expected to lead visitors past smaller storefronts along Central Avenue and 11th Street South before reaching larger retail spaces along 1st Avenue South. PTM Partners has said it expects a combination of national and local businesses, with potential space for restaurants, shops, galleries and other operators.

That pedestrian component matters in this part of town. The City of St. Petersburg officially defines the EDGE District as the area surrounding Central Avenue and 1st Avenues North and South between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street and 16th Street. It has been a designated Florida Main Street district since 2014, with small businesses and neighborhood character playing a major role in its identity.

The EDGE District Is Starting to Look Very Different

EDGE Collective II follows the completion of the first phase of the development in 2024. That phase brought the 163-room Moxy hotel to Central Avenue and renovated the existing three-story building at 1246 Central Avenue, which is now home to businesses including Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine and Amorino Gelato.

The second phase takes things to an entirely different scale. Residents of the new tower are expected to have access to a seventh-floor amenity deck with a pool, spa, fitness center, coworking and meeting areas, and a media room. PTM Partners is also planning a significant wellness component with programming and events for residents. St. Pete-based Storyn Studio designed the project, while Balfour Beatty is serving as general contractor.

For longtime St. Pete residents, projects like this can bring mixed feelings. More housing, more pedestrian activity and more storefronts can strengthen an urban neighborhood, especially when development fills underused land and creates reasons for people to stay on the street instead of simply driving through it. At the same time, there is no ignoring how dramatically Central Avenue has changed. Familiar low-rise buildings and longtime hangouts continue disappearing as increasingly large developments move west from downtown.

That tension may end up defining the next era of the EDGE District. The neighborhood built much of its popularity around independent businesses, nightlife, art and a slightly rougher character than the blocks closer to the waterfront. Adding hundreds of residents directly into the district could give those businesses an enormous new customer base, but keeping the neighborhood interesting will depend heavily on what eventually fills those new storefronts.

EDGE Collective II is still listed by developer PTM Partners as being in development, but the appearance of construction fencing and preparations for demolition are the clearest signs yet that the project is moving beyond renderings and plans.

Construction is expected to take more than two years, with the tower currently targeting completion in late 2028. If that timeline holds, the EDGE District that emerges on the other side will have hundreds more residents, thousands of square feet of new commercial space and another 20-story building reshaping the western edge of downtown St. Pete.

And whether locals love the growth or are starting to wonder just how much more Central Avenue can change, one thing is becoming difficult to argue: the EDGE District of a few years ago is disappearing fast, and the next version of the neighborhood is already being built.