Sales open for the Residences at Central
Future residents of The Residences at 400 Central reserve spots before construction starts.
Emily L. Mahoney with the Tampa Bay Times
Workers haven’t yet put their shovels in the ground on the mega-tower at 400 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg, but wealthy future residents are already writing five-figure checks to reserve their spots in the luxury condominium.
Red Apple Real Estate announced Wednesday that units are available for purchase, with private appointments for buyers available at the sales gallery just across from the fenced two acres of grass slated for the tower, called The Residences at 400 Central.
Pre-construction pricing starts at $800,000, according to a news release. But the ceiling is likely much higher, with floor plans ranging from one to four bedrooms as well as “a selection of custom penthouse homes.” The cost to reserve a condo is $25,000, the company said.
At 515 feet, the downtown, 46-story building will be the tallest in St. Petersburg, and, according to Red Apple founder John Catsimatidis Sr., the tallest on Florida’s west coast.
Ahead of the announcement, priority VIPs got early access to reservations, which the billionaire New Yorker Catsimatidis said indicated already that demand is going to be high.
“It’s double beyond exceeding expectations,” he said in a phone interview with the Tampa Bay Times, during which he dropped another piece of news: “That doesn’t count me announcing at the groundbreaking that I’m buying the penthouse.”
Forbes estimates Catsimatidis has a net worth of $3.7 billion. He’s accumulated his wealth over time, beginning with a chain of supermarkets he bought in New York City and now includes Red Apple’s long list of investments such as oil refining, finance, convenience stores and real estate. Red Apple Real Estate is the developer of the Residences at 400 Central, and purchased the land for $16.5 million in 2017.
