Snell Isle is a waterfront neighborhood in northeast St. Petersburg, built in the 1920s on a former mangrove island across Coffee Pot Bayou from Historic Old Northeast. It is about 3 miles from downtown St. Petersburg and about 21 miles from downtown Tampa by road. Tampa Bay, Coffee Pot Bayou and Smacks Bayou surround it, and the neighborhood is laid out around the 18-hole Vinoy Golf Club course.
Snell Isle history
Developer C. Perry Snell opened Snell Isle in October 1925. At the time, only 39 of its 275 acres were above the high tide line. Snell chose Mediterranean Revival architecture for his own 1928 home on Brightwaters Boulevard. The Snell Isle Bridge was designed by Hadley, Nordstrom and Atkinson in the style of Renaissance Venetian bridges. It was begun in 1928 and opened on Christmas Day 1931. When it was rebuilt in 1996, its drawbridge leaves were removed and it became a fixed span.
Homes in Snell Isle
Snell Isle's homes span about a century. A handful from the 1920s and 1930s remain. In MLS records, about half of the neighborhood's homes were built in the 1950s and 1960s, and about a third are newer homes built since 2000 in contemporary, coastal and custom designs. Single-family homes make up most of the neighborhood, with some condominiums. About three in ten homes that have come up for sale are waterfront, on open Tampa Bay, Coffee Pot Bayou or Smacks Bayou, and many have private docks. Most listings include a private pool.
Golf, parks and water near Snell Isle
The Vinoy Golf Club's 18-hole, par-71 course (6,626 yards) traces its roots to Snell's 1920s Sunset Golf Club. It was redesigned by Ron Garl and reopened in 1992. It is part of The Vinoy Resort & Golf Club and is open to resort guests and members. Snell Isle Park holds a memorial to C. Perry Snell. Across the bridge in Historic Old Northeast, North Shore Park stretches along Tampa Bay with a sandy beach, tennis courts, a dog park, a playground and the North Shore Aquatic Complex, which has a 50-meter pool.
Dining, shopping and getting around
Downtown St. Petersburg is about 3 miles away, roughly 10 minutes by car. The St. Pete Pier, with restaurants, Spa Beach and the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center, is about 2.5 miles away. The Museum of Fine Arts on Beach Drive and The Dalí Museum are also downtown. On the way downtown you pass The Vinoy, a 1925 Mediterranean Revival hotel on the National Register of Historic Places, at the south end of Old Northeast. Downtown Tampa is about 21 miles by road.
