A controversial proposal to redevelop the Tierra Verde Marina is back before the city, but this time the developer says it is significantly smaller.
Tampa-based Greenleaf Capital has submitted a new application to St. Petersburg to redevelop the 40-year-old marina, after withdrawing its original proposal last November to make what it described as “material changes.”
The revised plan reduces the size and intensity of the project that circulated last fall and restructures the redevelopment into a single phase instead of two.
Most notably, the number of proposed dry boat storage spaces has been reduced. The earlier proposal envisioned four new dry-rack buildings with capacity for 711 boats at full buildout. The new application proposes two additional dry-rack buildings with 173 spaces, bringing the total marina capacity to roughly 500 dry storage spaces.
The height of the buildings has also been reduced from 90 feet to 72 feet, and the existing boat barn would now remain in place.
Residents had raised concerns about both height and traffic during earlier discussions.
“Regarding height: When we previously discussed height with residents in person and via email, the request was to reduce the height,” said former Mayor Rick Kriseman, who serves as the project’s spokesperson. “We made that change, reduced the total number of new buildings and shortened the overall construction duration to one phase.”
Traffic was another focal point of neighborhood concern. But according to the developer’s analysis, the shift away from retail uses toward boat storage could actually reduce vehicle trips.
“Based on traffic analysis applying National Institute of Transportation Engineers standards, we have consistently maintained that redeveloping from retail to boat storage would actually reduce traffic,” Kriseman said. “Now, with the further reduction in storage units, the projections reflect a 37% reduction in daily trips compared to the uses that exist on the site today.”
“We have years of data from our marina that reflects that people who store boats don’t use them very often,” Kriseman said.
Beyond storage, the new proposal includes several amenities intended to make the marina more accessible to the public.
Plans call for a new marina office and a three-story pavilion called Harbor House. The structure would include a restaurant with outdoor balcony seating on the second floor and a bar on the third floor operated by the same tenant. A small amount of retail space, about 1,250 square feet, would also be included.
The redevelopment would also upgrade fueling facilities for boats arriving by water and install new stormwater systems designed to increase dry retention capacity on the site by roughly 70%.
No new wet slips are proposed as part of the project. Existing slips that were damaged during recent storms would be repaired.
Greenleaf says the revisions come after months of meetings with residents and city staff.
“Over the past year, we’ve spent considerable time on engagement, meeting in person with the Tierra Verde Community Association, members of Tierra Verde Next, speaking directly with individual residents and responding to dozens of emails and questions,” Kriseman said.
“This new plan balances responding to community feedback with making the investments needed to modernize a marina that has been part of Tierra Verde for over 40 years,” he said, noting the project complies with the city’s zoning and development code.
Tierra Verde Marina has long served as a hub for boating activity in southern Pinellas County, offering boat storage, rentals and club memberships. Businesses operating on the property, including Tierra Verde Watersports and local boat clubs, are expected to continue operating as redevelopment plans move forward.
The marina is also home to the Pinellas office of the Tampa Bay Pilots Association, whose harbor pilots guide large vessels through Tampa Bay and under the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
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