The potential redevelopment of the Municipal Services Center was first discussed by Mayor Kriseman in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times back in 2018. In the interview, the Mayor suggested a vision for building a new MSC near City Hall in order to establish a “campus-like” feel among the city’s services. Having the MSC closer to City Hall would be more efficient from the city’s standpoint and would additionally enable the activation of a key portion of Central Avenue. Currently, the base of the existing MSC building is largely office space with no street level interaction. This creates a dead-zone along Central Avenue between 3rd Street and 4th Street.

"Having a new Municipal Service Center built across from City Hall could save taxpayer money, as our current, aging building will soon be in need of considerable maintenance expenditures.” says Mayor Kriseman. “This new location will also create more efficiency for both residents and employees who currently walk between both buildings. Finally, a new development at Central Avenue and 4th Street could provide a better use of this significant location, activating a key corner and placing this parcel of land back onto our tax rolls. The possibility of this idea is truly exciting.”

If the PMG proposal is ultimately selected, Downtown St. Pete would likely see the addition of two new high-rises, one along 2nd Avenue North and one along Central Avenue. We could also potentially see a new tallest building be proposed. Red Apple Group’s 400 Central Avenue, which is proposed across the street from the existing MSC building, is expected to be 515-feet and total 1,300,000 square feet. PMG’s conceptual plan for the 300 block of Central Avenue is nearly 200,000 square feet larger and could very well be taller than the proposed condo tower at 400 Central Avenue. The site of the current MSC building is situated in the DC-C (Downtown Center-Core) zoning district, the most intense zoning district in the city.