Armed with an active demolition permit, Backstreets Capital could have flattened St. Petersburg’s historic Cade Allen home. Instead, founder Will Conroy chose to spend millions restoring the Mirror Lake landmark.
Now, after more than 7,800 hours of painstaking craftsmanship, the 90-year-old residence has hit the market for $3.5 million. The milestone caps a multi-year effort to save the last remaining single-family home on Mirror Lake, while clearing the way for a seven-story condominium building in the backyard.
The 4,000-square-foot, ranch-style residence was crafted by Cade Allen, a pioneering St. Petersburg developer who gave the Allendale neighborhood its distinct architectural identity and name. Backstreets operated out of a neighboring building for over four years, and Conroy thought that “it wasn’t the right thing for the home or the city to knock this thing down.”
“We could have demolished the home if we wanted to, but that was never our intention,” Conroy told the Tampa Bay Reporter. “A lot of people thought we were a little crazy that we didn’t do that and go much more vertical .. We felt like the best outcome would be to restore it and bring it back to life, and we’re really happy we made that choice.”
The ambitious project presented complex logistical hurdles from the start, as Backstreets is also building The Cade, a 15-unit condominium mid-rise, behind the historic home. Configuring a site plan was comparable to solving a Rubik’s cube, Conroy said.
In 2024, Backstreets received approval to redevelop the adjacent property – provided the firm preserved the Cade Allen home. While not listed on local or national historic registers, the city considers it a contributing structure to the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District.
Conroy said the home was in relatively good shape. Backstreets and its team, however, dedicated 7,779 hours to preservation work.
Roughly one-third of those hours were spent restoring 30 original windows and building four others to match Allen’s architecture. Another 1,000 hours went toward restoring exterior stone – of the builder’s trademarks.
Craftsmen also refinished 16 original interior doors and hand-polished accents. “Restoration of the flooring – we knew it could be difficult,” Conroy said. “I don’t think we knew how difficult it would be in certain instances.”
Backstreets also spent “many tens of thousands of hours” on general construction aspects, Conroy said. “I would say the biggest challenges of the development itself were related to the site.”
“Things like water lines that aren’t sexy and don’t hit anybody’s radar… that was one of those complicated puzzle pieces that we had to solve well in advance of when the (Cade) condo was going to be finished,” he added.
Though separate, the restoration project and new development share a physical connection. Crews salvaged 250 original granite stones – now incorporated into The Cade’s entrance – when Backstreets removed the home’s detached garage to make room for the condominium’s footprint.
The restoration provided a unique, full-circle moment during a recent open house event. Two of Cade Allen’s granddaughters, along with a great-grandson and a 2-year-old great-great-granddaughter, walked through the doors unannounced.
“It was just pretty neat,” Conroy said.
The total restoration cost was “well into the seven figures,” said Conroy, who hopes the project will serve as a model for other developers. Historic preservation is now part of his firm’s ethos.
“We’re comfortable taking on that mantle,” Conroy continued. “I will tell you, it’s economically hard to do preservation projects. It’s not nearly as easy as it is to build from the ground up on vacant dirt.”
The Cade is now halfway complete, and Backstreets has sold six of the building’s 15 units. Conroy said he has several promising leads, and the firm is “very excited about where we stand.”
