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The long-vacant Coquina Key Plaza in South St. Petersburg is finally on track for a new chapter. Bayline Group plans to transform the defunct shopping center at 575 45th Ave S. into Marinova at Coquina Key, a mixed-use project with 456 residences and more than 20,000 square feet of retail space, with construction anticipated to start by the end of 2026 or in early 2027, per the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
The 14.5-acre site has sat largely dormant since Coquina Key Plaza's Save-A-Lot grocery store closed, a loss that stripped South St. Petersburg of its only full-service grocer in the immediate area, according to The Weekly Challenger. The plaza itself dated back to 1957, when it opened as a 110,500-square-foot shopping center with a Save-A-Lot, an Ace Hardware, and 613 parking spaces spread across 9.5 paved acres, according to city staff records reviewed by the City of St. Petersburg. As detailed by Florida YIMBY, the site's ownership traces back to an affiliate called SWD Coquina Key LLC.
From Empty Shelves to a Fresh-Food Gap
The grocery closure did more than leave a hole in a strip mall. After the store shut down, South St. Petersburg residents were forced to travel more than three miles west to I-275 to reach the nearest major grocer offering fresh produce, according to reporting by WTSP. That travel burden turned the area into a flashpoint during the project's approval process, as neighbors weighed the promise of new housing against the loss of essential retail.
Those tensions came to a head in 2022, when the St. Petersburg City Council voted to approve a rezoning and development agreement for the property despite receiving 82 opposition emails from residents concerned about building height, density, and the disappearance of commercial retail space, the outlet reported. In response, city economic development officials considered offering a $50,000 incentive to help recruit a fresh-food grocer to the site's planned retail space, though whether that incentive succeeded in landing a grocery tenant remains unclear. Florida YIMBY reports that future retail tenants are expected to include restaurants, boutique shops, and a pet grooming salon.
What's Actually Getting Built
Per Florida YIMBY's reporting, the development will include nine four-story multifamily buildings: six residential buildings with 40 units each and three residential buildings with 72 units each, totaling 456 residences. Two retail buildings, measuring 10,629 and 10,188 square feet, will front the residential buildings along the site. BDG Architects designed the project, and NDC Construction Co. is listed as the general contractor.
Architectural engineering filings published by BNI Engineers show the residential component will feature nine garden-style buildings surrounding surface parking, anchored by a full-service clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool, green space, and a dog park. Bayline Group is the developer of record, having taken over the project through its affiliate, SWD Coquina Key LLC, which purchased the build site for $8.9 million in 2021, according to Florida YIMBY.
A Longer Ownership Trail and Workforce Housing Rules
The path to Bayline's ownership has its own backstory. An affiliate of St. Petersburg-based Stoneweg US originally purchased the Coquina Key Plaza property for $7.23 million before partnering with Tampa-based developer Bayline Group to move the multi-family project forward, according to St. Pete Catalyst. The project's development agreement requires at least 20% of total residential units to be dedicated to the city's Workforce Housing Density Bonus Program, targeting households earning between 80% and 120% of area median income, per city planning documents.
City affordable housing tracking data from last month shows the Coquina Key redevelopment is slated to deliver 53 workforce housing units and 54 affordable housing units as part of the overall multi-family development. Stoneweg has a track record in the immediate area: the firm previously developed Lake Maggiore Apartments, a 330-unit workforce housing community less than 1.5 miles from Coquina Key Plaza that features a solar-powered clubhouse earning a Green Globes environmental sustainability certification, St. Pete Catalyst reported.
What Comes Next for South St. Petersburg
With construction targeted for late 2026 or early 2027, Marinova at Coquina Key represents one of the larger infill projects reshaping South St. Petersburg, replacing a 67-year-old commercial hub with hundreds of new residences and a fraction of the retail footprint that once stood there. Whether the site's new commercial space ultimately lands a grocery tenant remains an open question for a neighborhood that has gone years without one nearby.
