John Catsimatidis is committed to the Sunshine City regardless of what the Tampa Bay Rays decide about their future.
The founder and CEO of Red Apple Group and the developer of The Residences at 400 Central in downtown St. Petersburg said he is looking forward to his next local development that was announced in 2024 — and even more projects in St. Pete after that. Red Apple Real Estate paid $13 million for a 0.94-acre site located a few blocks away from 400 Central that is already entitled for a 23-story tower.
Buyers at 400 Central are expected to begin closing on their condos in September. Last year’s hurricanes — one of which knocked a crane at 400 Central into a nearby office building — forced a construction delay of a few months, Catsimatidis said. About 45,000 square feet of office space is included in 400 Central and has been rented by an unspecified company, according to Catsimatidis. He declined to provide any specifics.
As of now, 400 Central is the tallest residential tower on Florida’s West Coast at 515 feet tall. The Waldorf Astoria Residences St. Petersburg, which the St. Pete Development Review Commission has approved, would become the tallest building in the city at 525 feet above street level.
Catsimatidis held a press conference on Monday, where he discussed the following topics. This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
On the Tampa Bay Rays’ future as the team’s stadium deal hangs in limbo: “St. Pete is where they belong, and I hope they get to stay here. They made that commitment many, many years ago. They should stick by their commitment.”
If the Rays walk away, does that affect St. Pete’s reputation? “I think St Pete goes on regardless.”
Has he been contacted to purchase a stake in the Rays? “We haven’t talked to anybody in at least 60 days. … If they sell it to me for the same price they bought it for 20 years ago, I’ll write a check tomorrow.”
On the crane crash: “We’re not in the crane business. We contract out people to do their jobs. And the problem that happened in that situation was that the hurricane came in so fast, and we notified the mayor and the city. There wasn’t enough time to take it down. … We evacuated one and a half blocks. The good news? Nobody was injured, nobody died. Did we lose a few bricks here and there? Sure, it happened. But things happen.”
On a uniform crane safety standard, which St. Pete is pushing for: “I’m not a detailed person. I’m a visionary. I want to create things and build. I let our lawyers or our politicians do the detailing. Do we want people to be safe? Yes, of course, we want people to be safe. If you overburden the system, people may not come here. They may build in Tennessee, they may build in South Carolina and they may build in Georgia. You want jobs? Let them sit down and discuss it. If we can live and exist under the rules in New York City, we can do anything.”
What makes New York City hard to do business in? “Delays, delays, delays, delays. And no common sense decisions.”
On the office space at 400 Central: “Our deal is done. We cannot announce yet who the people are, but our office space is rented, and we’ll make an announcement in the near future.”
On the Waldorf Astoria proposal: “You think with what’s going on with the [Federal Aviation Administration], they’ll allow that to happen? You can dream but you have to be realistic.” (The FAA has already submitted its approval of the 49-story Waldorf Astoria, according to a spokesperson for the project.)
On whether he wants to build apartments or condos at Red Apple’s next St. Pete project near Mirror Lake: “Some on our team want rentals. I think it’s easier to do condos. We’re throwing around [ideas].”
On if he will expand elsewhere in Florida after the Mirror Lake project: “We’re concentrating on St. Petersburg.”
This is an article from the Tampa Bay Business Journal written by Henry Queen. Click here to view.
