The site of Clearwater’s former City Hall will finally be given new life.
Mayor Bruce Rector, City staff and project stakeholders came together Monday to break ground on a new mixed-use development. The Bluffs, a 28-story residential tower at 100 and 150 S. Osceola Avenue, will feature 400 units and 12,000 square feet of retail space.
Clearwater officials demolished the 1960s-era City Hall building in 2022. The City Council approved the sale of the site the same year. New York-based Gotham Organization and Palm Harbor-based DeNunzio Group were selected to revitalize two adjacent waterfront sites after responding to a request for proposal (RFP).
“I understood that the City really had a desire to grow and work with the business community to come up with a sound-minded economic approach,” Gotham Organization vice president of development and acquisitions Matt Picket explained to the Catalyst. “When this RFP came out, it excited me and DeNunzio Group founder and president Dustin DeNunzio and we decided to go after it for a lot of reasons.”
He added that the construction project should be completed by early 2028. Amenities will include a gym, spa, co-working area, a game room and terrace with indoor and outdoor seating.
The retail space planned for the project will be leased to “community-oriented” businesses, Picket said, such as restaurants, fitness centers and hair salons. Specific tenants have not been selected yet.
In February, the Gotham Organization and DeNunzio Group announced that $160 million has been secured in construction financing for the Bluffs project.
“Clearwater is not just Clearwater Beach,” he explained. “The downtown area continues to become a really exciting and vibra, dynamic base to live and visit.”
A ground breaking for the DeNunzio Group’s 10-story Ballad Hotel, at 320 Cleveland Street & 50 North Osceola Ave., was held in December 2025. The 1.43-acre property was once home to an event venue, the Harborview Center, which was demolished in 2019. Additionally, the hotel site will include ground-level restaurant and retail space, a rooftop bar and 169-space parking garage.
The Bluffs and the Ballad Hotel will be adjacent to the 24-acre Coachman Park redevelopment, which began to welcome guests in 2023. The construction of the BayCare Sound amphitheater was a part of the project.
“This is just a continuation of the growth along the bluff that we have already had,” Mayor Bruce Rector said. “We have waited for so many years for our downtown to prosper like St. Petersburg and Tampa. This is what we are seeing now.”
He believes removing the City Hall building was a “wise” decision. The aging facility had a variety of issues including asbestos problems.
“This project in particular,” Rector added, “will allow more folks to live downtown, experience the water and be active and engaged residents in the community.”
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