ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With the swing of an excavator's arm, the demolition of the old St. Petersburg Police Department headquarters is officially underway.
The site will be transformed into the new mix-use project called Orange Station at the EDGE. A name which Jay Miller, president of J Square Developers, says pays homage to the original train depot for the Orange Belt railroad which once stood in the same space.
Included in the project will be an outdoor gathering space, 1,300 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of Class-A office space, 61 luxury condos, 42 rental apartments and a 400 car public parking garage
Orange Station at the EDGE is set to welcome its first guests in late 2023.
The project will also have a monument honoring "The Courageous 12," a group of 12 Black St. Pete police officers who risked their livelihoods in 1965 when they filed a discrimination lawsuit in order to gain full rights as their white counterparts.
"We may be tearing something down here but today is really about St. Pete's upward trajectory", Mayor Rick Kriseman said ahead of the demolition.
The police department's new $78 million, state-of-the-art headquarters opened across the street from its old home at 1300 1st Ave. N back in 2019. The facility spans 168,000square feet and is equipped with the latest technology.
