In 2016, John Catsimatidis acquired a 2-acre lot on Downtown St Pete’s 400 block for $16.5 million. “St. Pete needs a skyline,” said the Greek-American billionaire as he announced plans to construct the tallest in Pinellas County on the site.

The proposal called for a 50-story tower filled with around 325 condominiums, 200 hotel rooms, and ground-level retail.

While the tower may still become the county’s tallest, it won’t soar quite as high as initially planned. “Because of the proximity to the flight paths from Albert Whitted Airport, we needed to reduce the height of the building,” said Ralph Zirinsky, Development Manager at Red Apple.

The revised proposal now shows two buildings — a condo tower of around 40 stories on the east side next to a 20-story Marriott-flagged hotel. “The total square footage of the project is largely unchanged. We’ve just moved the hotel component into a separate building,” says Zirinsky.



There’s also interesting design changes included in the plans. The balconies of the condo tower are now broken up in the center of the building, which makes the tower appear less massive. This design element is incorporated into the hotel building as well.