Built in 1924 and designated a historical landmark last year by the City of St. Petersburg, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church is officially on the real estate market.
Sale of the towering, gothic revival-style sanctuary on .74 acres at 401 5th Street N. was approved in July by the church’s congregation, which cited dwindling membership and rising maintenance costs.
Proceeds from the sale will be used for expansion of the ministry, church leaders said. The Trinity congregation has been meeting at a smaller campus, 1801 62nd Avenue N., since 2025.
The sale includes the 24,402 square foot sanctuary and education building, an on-site parking lot and a surplus parking lot on the west side of 5th Street N.
Listed as a redevelopment/specialty property by Orlando-based Foundry Commercial, the property is “subject to offer,” meaning an asking sale price has not been disclosed.
Any complete or partial demolition of the historic building would be subject to approval by the Community Planning & Preservation Commission, and by the City of St. Petersburg.
“I have not seen many applications to demolish historic buildings in St. Petersburg,” said Emmanuel Leto, CEO of the nonprofit advocacy and historic preservation organization Preserve the ‘Burg. In the past, he said, “I haven’t seen them either come forward or get approved.”
Taking the entire building down, Leto added, is “not impossible, but it would be certainly more difficult. You could say unlikely.”
The historic designation provides Transfer of Development Rights credits, which let owners sell unused development potential to developers. In addition, the credits for the property – within the boundary of the Downtown Historic District – have not been sold.
See Foundry Commercial’s property brochure at this link.
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