ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 1, 2026--
Metro Development Group, in partnership with Porter Development, broke ground today on Azalea Cay, a new residential community located at 1501 72nd Street North in St. Petersburg. Azalea Cay is Metro’s first multifamily community, marking the launch of its Multifamily division with more communities to come.
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Mayor Ken Welch, Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott, St. Petersburg City Councilmember Copley Gerdes, community leaders and project partners joined Metro Development Group and Porter Development to celebrate the start of construction.
Phase One represents an approximately $109.8 million investment and will include 341 apartments. Of those, 51 homes will be available to households earning at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and another 51 will be available to households earning at or below 120 percent of the Area Median Income. The remaining 239 apartments will be offered at market rate.
“Azalea Cay demonstrates what is possible when the public and private sectors work together toward a shared goal,” said Kartik Goyani, principal of Metro Development Group. “The support of the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County has helped make it possible to move this important project forward. Together, we are creating more housing choices while bringing new life and long-term value to this property.”
The development is supported by $11.25 million in combined public investment. The City of St. Petersburg approved $6 million for Phase One, while Pinellas County committed $5.25 million in Penny for Pinellas affordable housing funds.
"Azalea Cay is the result of creative solutions and strong partnerships working together to address housing affordability and availability, in St. Petersburg," said Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. "This project will directly benefit our community by bringing together affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing. It will provide more housing options for the people who make St. Pete work every day - teachers, first responders, hospitality workers, and so many others who want to live in the community they serve. This is real, measurable progress, and it's possible because we're working together. We look forward to watching Azalea Cay take shape, welcoming new residents, and continuing our work to make St. Pete a city where people at every stage of life and every income level can find a place to call home."
Azalea Cay is planned as a three-phase community with approximately 1,000 apartments at full buildout. Phase One will establish the foundation for a mixed-income neighborhood designed to serve the needs of a broad range of residents.
“Azalea Cay has required a tremendous amount of coordination, trust and shared commitment,” said Les Porter, president of Porter Development. “From the beginning, our focus has been on bringing the right public and private partners to the table and building a path forward for this important property. Today’s groundbreaking reflects what can happen when everyone works together with a common vision for the community.”
Following the remarks, elected officials and project leaders participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking to mark the official start of construction.
About METRO Development Group
Founded in 2003, Tampa-based Metro Development Group has been redefining Florida living and master-planned communities for more than 20 years. As Florida's largest privately held residential developer, Metro focuses on managing all aspects of land development by working with investors, landowners and award-winning builders. Metro has set a gold-standard of inland coastal living through innovative technologies, iconic entryways and world-class amenities, including its signature MetroLagoon. In 2025, two of Metro's Pasco County communities - Mirada and Angeline - were ranked among the 30-top-selling master-planned communities in the country by real estate consulting firms RCLCO and John Burns Real Estate Consulting. For more information, visit MetroDevelopmentGroup.com.
A rendering shows one of the courtyards planned for Azalea Cay, Metro Development Group’s first multifamily community in St. Petersburg.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts rocketed into orbit Thursday on a space station mission that will stretch until spring, among them a Canadian whose wife will give birth while he’s away.
SpaceX launched commander Jessica Watkins and her crew for NASA after a three-week delay to fix the capsule’s leaking fuel system. Thick clouds threatened all morning to halt the countdown but in the end, the skies cleared enough to allow for a safe liftoff.
Although their stay at the International Space Station will last a long six months, the flight there promised to be the quickest yet for Elon Musk’s company: a mere eight-hour transit with an arrival well before bedtime.
With the late morning liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Watkins became the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. A geologist who worked with NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity a decade ago, Watkins is making her second trip to the space station following a lengthy stay in 2022.
“Thanks for an amazing ride,” Watkins radioed after reaching orbit.
The others are newcomers to space: NASA’s Luke Delaney, a retired Marine; Canada’s Joshua Kutryk, a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force; and Russia’s Sergey Teteryatnikov, a former submariner. They will replace four astronauts who have been living at the orbiting laboratory since February.
“We feel like some of the luckiest people in the world,” Kutryk said ahead of the launch.
This was the 13th crew launched by SpaceX for NASA, not counting 2020s test flight. All four embrace their Crew-13 designation that pays homage in their mission patch to Apollo 13. The harrowing 1970 moonshot ended with the astronauts’ safe return.
“We really wanted to honor their legacy, honor their resilience and their grit, and bring a little bit of that with us,” Watkins said. She and her crewmates rode to the pad in black Teslas bearing plates that read “Lucky 13.”
Kutryk will become the fourth man to become a father while orbiting Earth. Wife Heather is due to give birth to their third child in late November. The Canadian Space Agency promises plenty of support for the entire family when the big day comes.
“A lot of life-changing things can happen over six months,” NASA manager Dana Weigel said on the eve of liftoff, noting that the space agency will do its best to keep Kutryk looped in to his family.
In 2004, NASA provided a radio link between space station astronaut Mike Fincke and his wife’s delivery room during the birth of their daughter. Five years later, Randy Bresnik, commander of next year’s Artemis III mission, dialed in to his wife’s hospital from orbit.
The happy news traveled more slowly for Austrian astronaut Franz Viehbock. His daughter was born a few hours after he launched to the Soviet Union’s Mir space station in 1991. He was not informed until the next day.
The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org
The booster from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket returns to pad 40 after launching the crew capsule at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 with a crew of four launches from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of four launches from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of four launches from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, of Russia, greets family and friends as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Pilot Luke Delaney, left, and commander Jessica Watkins leave the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Commander Jessica Watkins greets family and friends as she leaves the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Astronauts, from left, Joshua Kutryk, of Canada, pilot Luke Delaney, commander Jessica Watkins and Cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, of Russia leave the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Astronauts, from left, Joshua Kutryk, of Canada, pilot Luke Delaney, commander Jessica Watkins and Cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, of Russia leave the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of four launches from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
