FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2026 · London, UK
Edenwell has designed the Social Impact Investment Programme embedded in the Commerce Park proposal and has issued a Letter of Intent to lead the capital formation and sourcing for the project.
July 9, 2026 · London, UK – Edenwell Capital Partners confirmed today its role in a mixed-use redevelopment RFP proposal submitted to the City of St. Petersburg’s Economic & Workforce Development Department for Commerce Park — a 3.03-acre, nineteen-parcel site on 22nd Street South in the historic Deuces Corridor, standing directly across from the Historic Manhattan Casino.
The proposal, submitted by a development consortium comprising Zarius Property Developments, White Keys Real Estate Partners, and Homage Hospitality, envisions a 160-key boutique lifestyle hotel, approximately 90 units of workforce-oriented co-living housing, and 8,000 square feet of community-serving retail anchored around the City-led restoration of the Manhattan Casino.
Edenwell designed, and will operate when awarded, the Social Impact Investment Programme (SIIP) embedded across the development, comprising five integrated initiatives:
- A hospitality workforce apprenticeship pipeline
- Minority-contractor participation targets
- A curated cultural heritage suite and residency programme
- A quarterly measured resident wellbeing index
- A culinary and urban-agriculture initiative tied to the Cultural Heritage Corridor
Each programme carries a defined budget, quantifiable KPIs, and a proposed direct financial return to the asset – from reduced staff turnover to average-daily-rate premiums on culturally curated suites, to improved community-reinvestment lending terms.
Edenwell has also issued a Letter of Intent confirming its capacity to lead the structuring and formation of the equity and debt required to deliver the project, drawing on its institutional and family-office investor network as well as the impact-focused, faith-aligned, and minority-focused capital pools it is actively expanding.
“Commerce Park is Edenwell in its purest form: a hospitality and housing development where community outcomes and financial performance are equal parts of the business case rather than competing priorities. Impact is underwritten from day one reflecting Edenwell’s strategic approach to projects such as this.” — Josef Reisz, CEO & Partner, Edenwell Capital Partners
Mr. Reisz added that Edenwell sees institutional appetite building for developments of this kind in the capital market, particularly for those projects offering durable real assets and credible yield alongside a rigorously underwritten social return.
“Real estate has spent a decade treating social impact as a box to check and forget. We built the Social Impact Investment Programme to end that. Every initiative carries a budget, a measurable KPI, a financial return, and independent third-party verification — no exceptions. Commerce Park is our most complete deployment yet of the Community Flourishing Index, and we're now bringing that same discipline to hospitality, co-living, and affordable and workforce housing operators across the UK, US, and Europe.” — Jenniffer Gearheart-Tang, Chief Innovation & Impact Officer, Edenwell
The Commerce Park RFP is one of several proposals under review by the City of St. Petersburg for the site. A shortlisting decision from the City Council is pending, and Edenwell’s participation in the proposal does not constitute selection or award by the City.
Beyond Commerce Park
Edenwell is providing its Social Impact Investment Programme (SIIP) as a standalone advisory and strategy service for operators across the living sector incl student housing, workforce and affordable housing, co-living, and active and later living, who are seeking to embed quantifiable investor-grade social impact frameworks centered around service-rich resident programmes designed to uplift NOI.
About Edenwell
Edenwell is an impact real estate investment and operating platform focused on the living sector, built on financial durability and social outcomes structurally aligned. Through its capital markets advisory, Edenwell originates and structures institutional-quality assets across student housing, workforce and affordable housing, co-living, and active and later living. Edenwell operates across the UK, Luxembourg, Europe, and the United States.
Learn more at www.edenwellcapital.com and www.edenwellcapital.com/advisory
Media Contact
press@edenwellcapital.com