Fred Hemmer has lived in St. Petersburg for most of his life, and while he wasn’t born here, he calls St. Pete his home. After graduating from Boca Ciega High School he went on to study at St. Petersburg College and then the University of South Florida. Over the past few decades he has worked in banking and in real estate throughout Florida and has witnessed Downtown St. Pete’s transformation firsthand. Recently he even become a downtown resident himself.

After selling his Tierra Verde home, Hemmer and his wife moved into Camden Pier District, an 18-story apartment building in Downtown St. Pete. And although they traded their waterfront home for a high-rise, they viewed the move as an upgrade, “Downtown has so much entertainment to offer,” Hemmer says, “We were tired of always driving downtown and figured, ‘Why not just move there?’”

Now, Hemmer is looking to use his decades of experience in banking and real estate to further transform Downtown St. Pete. A group of locals, led by Hemmer, are proposing an 18-story condominium tower for the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue North and 8th Street North. The project, named Reflection, will be located a block from Mirror Lake and will offer 77 units in a modern building with a glass facade. The building was designed by SMP Architecture.