The Central St. Pete Land Sale Closes for $200M EDGE District Project

The Central in St. Pete cleared a major hurdle this week: the City of St. Petersburg has closed the sale of the former police headquarters site at 1301 Central Avenue to entities tied to Tampa-based Ellison Development, finally transferring the land under the roughly $200 million hotel, office and workforce housing project in the EDGE District, according to deeds signed November 3 and recorded November 4, 2026 (St Pete Catalyst).

City Administrator Robert Gerdes signed both deeds, which were recorded Wednesday in Pinellas County’s official records (St Pete Catalyst). Ellison Development announced the closing the same day. “This is a big day for The Central and for the EDGE District,” said Casey Ellison, the company’s President and CEO (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth).

What Happened

One deed conveys about one-third of an acre to OS Hotel LLC. The other conveys property that includes the project’s finished parking garage to OS Parking Sub LLC (St Pete Catalyst). A 28-page post-closing agreement between the city and EDGE Central Development Partners sets the terms that follow the sale (St Pete Catalyst).

Under that agreement, as reported by the Catalyst:

• The developer must complete the office, retail and workforce housing components by January 1, 2030, unless an extension is granted.
• The base purchase price is $6.4 million, subject to negotiated credits, and the city may hold a purchase-money mortgage of up to $4 million.
• The developer may owe the city a $1 million payment if the office improvements are not completed under specified circumstances.
• At least 5 of the project’s 42 workforce apartments must first be offered to eligible city employees.
• The transfer includes a permanent sidewalk easement near Central Avenue and 13th Street North.

Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reported that the sale price was not disclosed in the company’s announcement (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth); the $6.4 million base figure comes from the closing documents reviewed by the Catalyst.

What The Central Includes

The project sits on a 2.1-acre site (St Pete Catalyst). Plans call for:

• Halcyon office tower: about 116,000 square feet of Class A office space and more than 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, with exterior balconies (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth). ARK Invest announced in July 2025 that it will occupy the top floor (St Pete Catalyst). Cushman & Wakefield is handling office leasing and The Archer Group retail leasing (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth).
• Hotel: a Marriott Autograph Collection property with a restaurant, rooftop amenities and event space. The Catalyst reports 168 rooms in a 15-story building, while Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reports 165 rooms (St Pete Catalyst; Tampa Bay Business & Wealth).
• Workforce housing: 42 apartments (St Pete Catalyst).
• Public space: Central Plaza linking the hotel and office tower, a walkable rooftop park with native Florida landscaping, and a public art installation by Ya La’ford honoring the “Courageous Twelve,” Black St. Petersburg police officers who fought for equal treatment in the 1960s (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth).

The public parking garage is already finished and will stay open during construction. The Catalyst puts it at 540 spaces and says it opened in June 2025; Tampa Bay Business & Wealth puts it at 531 spaces (St Pete Catalyst; Tampa Bay Business & Wealth).

Where Things Stand

The project has been a long time coming. The development team was selected in 2019 and broke ground in February 2024 (St Pete Catalyst). A lawsuit filed by Backstreets Capital against Ellison was dismissed without prejudice in March; Ellison denied the claims (St Pete Catalyst).

The deeds do not settle everything. The Catalyst noted that the documents confirm the transfers but do not show whether financing is in place for the remaining construction or when work will resume (St Pete Catalyst). Completion dates for the remaining buildings have not been announced (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth). Ellison said that “the excitement surrounding this project has continued to grow” (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth).

The closing adds to a busy stretch for downtown St. Petersburg, which includes the $125 million construction loan for PTM Partners’ EDGE Collective II tower and voter approval of the city’s $600 million storm resilience bond.

Implications for Owners, Developers, Contractors and Subs

Contractors and subs. With land in hand, the vertical work on a hotel, an office tower and housing is the next opportunity. Hotel, curtain wall, MEP and interior trades should watch for bid activity once financing is confirmed.

Owners and developers. The post-closing agreement shows how the city is protecting its interests on public land: a hard completion date of January 1, 2030, a $1 million office completion payment and a city employee preference for workforce units.

Office market. Halcyon adds new Class A office space to downtown St. Petersburg, with an anchor tenant already announced.

What to Watch

• Announcement of construction financing for the hotel and office tower.
• Restart of vertical construction and the general contractor for the remaining buildings.
• Progress toward the January 1, 2030 completion deadline.

Bottom Line

The land sale for The Central in St. Pete is closed after years of delay, giving Ellison Development control of the site for its $200 million EDGE District project. The open questions now are financing and timing for the hotel, office tower and workforce housing.

Key Questions

What is The Central in St. Pete?

The Central is an approximately $200 million mixed-use project by Ellison Development at 1301 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg’s EDGE District, with the Halcyon office tower, a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, 42 workforce apartments and a public garage (St Pete Catalyst).

How much did Ellison Development pay for the St. Pete police headquarters site?

Closing documents show a base purchase price of $6.4 million for the former St. Petersburg police headquarters site, subject to negotiated credits, with the city able to hold a mortgage of up to $4 million (St Pete Catalyst).

When will The Central be finished?

The post-closing agreement requires Ellison to complete The Central’s office, retail and workforce housing components by January 1, 2030, unless extended; the developer has not announced completion dates (St Pete Catalyst).

Who is leasing space in the Halcyon office tower in St. Petersburg?

ARK Invest announced in July 2025 that it will occupy the top floor of Halcyon, the office tower at The Central in St. Petersburg (St Pete Catalyst).

Related Coverage

• PTM Partners Lands $125M Construction Loan for 330-Unit St. Petersburg Tower
• Update: St. Petersburg GO Bond Passes as Voters Approve $600M for Storm Resilience
• Second Tower Plan Withdrawn for 446 Fourth Street South in St. Petersburg

Image credit: Ellison Development. Image from the source article, St Pete Catalyst.

Sources

• St Pete Catalyst, “St. Pete closes land deal for long-stalled EDGE project,” https://stpetecatalyst.com/st-pete-closes-land-deal-for-long-stalled-edge-project/
• Tampa Bay Business & Wealth, “Former St. Pete police HQ sold for office tower, hotel,” https://tbbwmag.com/2026/11/04/st-pete-police-headquarters-sale/