How We Got Here

Tierra Verde History Related to Marinas and the Greenleaf Property

1982: Tierra Verde Hi and Dry Boat Storage was built on the north side of Madonna Boulevard, on the main ICW channel east of Tierra Verde Structure E bridge.

2008: One developer owned both of Tierra Verde’s marinas: The Resort Marina on the south side of Madonna (currently Port 32) and Tierra Verde Hi and Dry Marina on the north side, which had the only dry stack storage on the island.  The developer at the time planned on building a Las Vegas style hotel and pool on the north side.

The developer requested a height variance from TVCA, whose charter includes deed restrictions. TVCA denied the variance. This rejection led the developer to seek a workaround.

The developer evicted voters living on boats in the marina. Then the developer requested the City of St Petersburg, with more lenient zoning restrictions, to annex the entire marina area.

St. Petersburg supported the annexation, led by then-Mayor Rick Baker, with the promise of increased tax revenues.

The City of St. Petersburg based its bid to annex on the faulty premise that St. Petersburg and Tierra Verde are connected by contiguous “submerged lands”, which include a portion of the federal Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) – a deep channel that must be kept free for maritime traffic at all times. 

Tierra Verde residents vigorously protested and initiated lawsuits. The lawsuits failed. 

November 2008: Approximately 28 acres of Tierra Verde were annexed by the City of St Petersburg. With live-aboard boaters gone, few people lived within this area, so the annexation was granted at the request of the primary property owner.

2010: The developer went bankrupt and the properties were sold.  On the south side of Madonna Boulevard, an update to the Resort Marina and addition of a hotel (the current Marriott Residence Inn) were planned along with another 151-slip high and dry storage facility.

While that project proceeded, local residents successfully lobbied to reduce the hotel’s originally proposed height and alter the appearance of the high and dry and retail.  Currently that high and dry has an attractive and modest footprint with approximately 340 dry-stack racks. 

2011: The north side of the marina area was sold to Greenleaf Capital.  The original vision of a hotel and pool on the north side had been abandoned.

2018: The Resort Marina to the south (next to Island Grill) was sold and rebranded PORT 32.

March 2025: Greenleaf presented its redevelopment plan for the first time during a TVCA meeting. The proposal included four 90-foot-tall open rack storage facility, an expanded marina, and a private restaurant and pool.  The 711-slip proposed dry rack boat storage was to be the SECOND LARGEST high and dry in the USA.  (The largest is the 780-rack Legendary Marina in Destin, situated not in a small residential neighborhood, but among retail, a seaplane airport, a school’s outdoor field and track grounds, and a golf course, on about double the amount of land.)

The Greenleaf plan alarmed and concerned many Tierra Verde and Isla del Sol residents. Both TVCA and individual homeowners have voiced strong objections to Greenleaf and to officials at the City and County levels.

Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman was hired and paid to lead these expansion efforts—despite widespread local resident opposition.

September 2025: The TVCA hired a land-use attorney to support its position. Concurrently, Tierra Verde NEXT, a grassroots organization, was formed to communicate with residents regarding this project and others. TV Next also hired a professional consultant to represent the residents’ concerns over this project.

October 2025: Although the plan was not yet approved, Greenleaf terminated leases for all retail businesses on the site. The final lease, a Shell gas station, expired at the end of October, despite a petition drive and large, vocal outcry from the community.

Greenleaf did not engage with residents regarding height limits or design mitigation. Residents, led by Tierra Verde Next, wrote letters, made phone calls, engaged on social media, and encouraged elected officials to intervene on our behalf to reduce the size of Greenleaf’s plan.

Nov. 21, 2025: Greenleaf withdrew its application to the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission after being told by staff that the plan would not be approved due to residents’ concerns over height and density.

Coming up: Greenleaf will submit a new plan at some point in the near future. Residents are prepared to push for a project that is the right size for the parcel, adheres to environmental and safety standards, does not exceed 50 feet in height, and, ideally, conforms to the Tierra Verde Overlay of the County’s Land Use Plan, which provides for development to serve the surrounding community.