A long-vacant piece of St. Petersburg is officially getting a new chapter.
The former Raytheon property at 1501 72nd Street North is moving forward with the development of Azalea Cay, a new apartment community that will bring hundreds of homes to the west St. Pete area.
The first phase is set to include 341 apartments, with 102 designated as workforce and affordable housing. Construction is scheduled to break ground this month, marking a major step forward for a property that has been the subject of redevelopment plans for years.
From Former Industrial Site to Residential Community
The 29-acre property has a complicated history.
Raytheon purchased the site in the 1990s, but the property eventually became associated with environmental contamination and went through an extensive cleanup process. After sitting largely vacant for years, developers began exploring new uses for the land.
The current plan is a significant change from the property’s former industrial use: residential development near Azalea Park, Tyrone Square Mall and the Pinellas Trail.
And while the first phase will include 341 units, this isn’t the end of the story.
The larger project is planned to eventually bring more than 1,000 apartments to the site across multiple phases. Current plans call for approximately 1,058 total units, with roughly 30% dedicated to workforce housing.
What Makes This Project Stand Out?
One of the biggest pieces of the development is its workforce and affordable housing component.
Of the 341 apartments in the first phase, 102 are planned as workforce and affordable homes. The project is also backed by $11.25 million in public investment from the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, helping make the first phase possible.
That matters in a market where housing affordability continues to be a major issue throughout Pinellas County.
Earlier plans for the overall project called for approximately 300 affordable or workforce units, split between households earning up to 80% and 120% of the area’s median income. City documents have described the larger development as a three-phase project expected to take several years to complete.
What This Could Mean for West St. Pete
New apartment construction doesn’t just create additional places to live. It can also change the surrounding real estate landscape.
More housing can support population growth without requiring every new resident to compete for an existing home. It can also bring additional demand to nearby businesses, retail centers and services.
For the west St. Pete area, the location is particularly interesting. The property sits near established neighborhoods, the Pinellas Trail and major commercial areas, making it part of an already connected part of the city rather than a development being built entirely on the outskirts.
The project also represents another example of how former commercial and industrial properties can be repurposed as communities evolve.
A Development That’s Been Years in the Making
What’s happening now is the result of several years of planning and changing proposals.
A previous version of the project called for more than 1,000 apartments, including workforce housing, and received approval from St. Petersburg City Council in 2023. Since then, the development team has worked through financing, infrastructure and other steps needed to move the project toward construction.
In September, Porter Development announced that it had secured $75 million in financing for the larger multifamily project, another major milestone for the redevelopment of the former Raytheon property.
Now, with the first 341 apartments moving toward construction, the long-vacant property is finally beginning to look less like an empty parcel and more like the community it has been planned to become.
What Real Estate Professionals Should Watch
For buyers, sellers and real estate professionals throughout Tampa Bay, projects like Azalea Cay are worth keeping an eye on.
New residential supply can influence everything from rental inventory and neighborhood demand to nearby home values and future development patterns. It also shows how quickly the landscape of a neighborhood can change when previously underused land is put back into circulation.
St. Petersburg has experienced substantial redevelopment in recent years, and the former Raytheon property is another example of that evolution.
The first residents of Azalea Cay won’t be moving in overnight, but after years of planning, financing and redevelopment proposals, this project is finally moving from the planning stage toward construction.
And for west St. Pete, 341 new apartments are just the beginning.
Sources: Tampa Bay Business & Wealth, Tampa Bay Business Journal, City of St. Petersburg, Porter Development and St. Pete Rising.