Teardown Of St. Pete Yacht Club Planned: Reports

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — More big changes are coming to downtown St. Petersburg's waterfront.

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club, located at 11 Central Ave., across the street from the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina, will be torn down to make way for a new facility, according to multiple reports.

The club’s board told its members about the redevelopment plans for the property on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.

The yacht club was founded in 1909 and the clubhouse was inaugurated at its current site in 1917, according to its website.

The clubhouse flooded in October 1921 when the Great Hurricane hit the area. Despite this, membership grew and the club expanded the building. The addition formally opened at the end of 1922, the club said in its Centennial Book.

Initially, the club planned to renovate the existing building, but after hiring an architectural firm to review plans and holding 20 focus group sessions with members last year, the organization determined this wasn't feasible, reports said.

Renovation requests from members included an elevator, new roof, tiki and pool deck replacement, electrical repairs, and an updated kitchen, according to the St. Pete Catalyst. These projects were cost-prohibitive.

“It became evident that remodeling of the clubhouse to accommodate all of the changes desired by the membership would simply not be practical,” Brian K. Smith, club president, wrote in a letter to members. “But most importantly, we would end up with a remodeled building which would not comply with current FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) standards.”