What It Takes to Build a Waterfront Home on Treasure Island
Three years, $50K in pilings and permits issued one week before Helene. What building new on the water takes, from someone who did it.
About the Author
Carly Majorana
Waterfront and luxury real estate specialist at NextHome Gulf Coast in St. Petersburg, Florida. CLHMS Guild Member, specializing in the technical side of waterfront: seawalls, boat lifts, bridge clearance, and flood zones. Serving buyers and sellers in St. Pete Beach, Tierra Verde, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Bayway Isles, and Pinellas Point.
Every buyer who looks at a vacant lot on the beaches does the same math. Lot price plus build cost comes out lower than the finished new build down the street. So why would anyone buy the finished one?
The math is fine. It's missing three years of your life.
I built my house on Treasure Island. Three years from buying the lot to moving in. There was a hurricane in the middle. I was also pregnant when we bought the lot, so every decision after that got made with a newborn. 10/10 would not recommend.
This is what it took, with numbers.
How long does it take to build a waterfront home on Treasure Island?
Ours took three years.
Some of that we did to ourselves. We built fully custom. That means an architect and an engineer have to draw a house that has never existed, and nothing else starts until those drawings are done.
A builder will tell you less. One St. Pete builder publishes a timeline of about 24 months from first sketch to move-in. Three to six months of design, three to six months of permitting, then construction. That's the version where nothing happens.
Something happens. For us it was Hurricane Helene.
What happens if a hurricane hits while you're waiting on permits?
We got our permits the week before Helene. One week.
After the storm, the Treasure Island building department got buried. By early November 2024, 772 permits had been submitted and 85 had been approved. Contractors could only apply on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The city brought in an outside firm to help, and by February 2025 the backlog was down from 320 to 65.
Every one of those was somebody trying to fix a flooded house. A new build on an empty lot does not go to the front of that line. If our permits had been a week later, we would not be living in the house right now.
The other thing we did was go to Treasure Island city hall every single day. First to make sure the permits were moving. Then at the end, to get the certificate of occupancy, which is the piece of paper that says you're allowed to live there. Nobody puts "stand in city hall daily" on the construction schedule. It should be on there.
The storm backlog has been worked down since, and the city launched a new permit process in 2025. I'd still show up in person.
Do you need pilings to build on Treasure Island?
We did, and it added about $50,000.
It's a cost that catches people, because not every city requires them. Treasure Island does on a lot of lots. The city's own flood zone guide says Coastal A zone properties have to build to V-zone construction standards. V-zone means the house sits on pilings or columns with open space underneath, so the water goes through and not into your living room.
The zones, per the city:
- AE. It floods, and waves stay under 1.5 feet.
- Coastal A. It floods, with waves of 1.5 to 3 feet.
- VE. It floods, with waves of 3 feet or more.
On a plain AE lot in plenty of other places, a builder can put the house on a raised foundation with fill under it, which costs less. On a Coastal A or VE lot here, that's off the table.
So before you buy a lot, call the building department and ask which zone it's in and what foundation they'll require. That phone call is worth $50,000. (If the zone letters are new to you, I explained them in flood zone AE vs X.)
How much does it cost to build a new waterfront home in Pinellas County?
Custom construction on the beaches runs about $400 to $600 a square foot, and high-end waterfront goes past that. Those are the numbers local builders publish. Bettencourt Construction puts 2026 custom homes in Pinellas at $350 to $600+ a foot, with their own projects averaging $425 to $525. The builder with the 24-month timeline says $400 to $500 for a custom home in a flood zone and $500 to $1,000+ for high-end waterfront.
That number is construction only. This is what moves you up the range or lands on top of it:
- Pilings. About $50,000 for us. One local builder's range is $50,000 to $100,000.
- Building up. Elevating in a flood zone adds $60,000 to $150,000 over a regular slab, per Bettencourt.
- Permits. $15,000 to $45,000 on a $1.5 million to $4 million house, same source.
- Architect. 8 to 12 percent of the construction cost, before the engineers.
- Impact windows and doors. Required on new construction in Pinellas, and they take 10 to 16 weeks to show up.
- Fill and drainage. Treasure Island started letting owners bring in fill to raise a lot on May 1, 2025. It's optional, and it comes with a signed and sealed drainage plan.
- The seawall and the dock. If the lot came with a tired seawall, that's its own project with its own permit.
- Somewhere to live. You're paying for housing the whole time the new one is going up. For us that was three years.
Then add the lot. I wrote up what vacant lots are going for after Helene separately.
What should you ask before you buy a lot to build on?
- Which flood zone is it in? AE, Coastal A or VE?
- What foundation will the city require?
- What's the base flood elevation, and how high does the first floor have to be?
- What shape is the seawall in, and has anyone actually inspected it?
- Is the old slab still there, and who's paying to haul it off?
- Are water, sewer and power still connected at the street?
- What are the setbacks and the height limit for what you want to build?
The seller's agent will know maybe two of these. The building department knows all of them.
What would I do differently?
Two things.
First, I'd go semi-custom. Find a builder with a plan they've already built that fits the lot, and put the custom part inside. The plans already exist, so you're not waiting months on an architect to invent them. You still pick everything you actually look at.
It usually costs less too. One St. Pete builder prices semi-custom at $250 to $350 a foot and full custom at $300 to $400, both before the flood zone premium.
Second, pick every finish before the build starts. All of them.
We didn't, so the decisions showed up on the builder's schedule and not mine. I was pregnant when we bought the lot. By the time anyone needed an answer on tile, I was answering with a newborn on me.
If you're going to do this, have these picked before the first piling goes in:
- Tile and flooring
- Cabinets and counters
- Plumbing fixtures
- Lighting
- Appliances
- Exterior colors, windows and doors
Put it all in one document with model numbers. Future you will be tired.
Is it better to build or buy a finished new build?
What you get at the end is a house built to current FEMA elevation standards. Insurance companies treat that very differently from an older house sitting at ground level. How much it saves is different for every house, so get quotes on the actual address before you assume anything.
You also don't have the 50% rule hanging over every renovation, because the house already complies.
So building can come out ahead on paper. What it costs you is two to three years, a second housing payment and a lot of mornings at city hall.
When you buy a finished new build, part of the price is somebody else's three years. Some people should pay it. If you have a newborn, pay it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a waterfront home on Treasure Island, FL?
Plan on two to three years from buying the lot to moving in. Local builders publish timelines of about 24 months for a custom home, including design and permitting. A fully custom design adds architect and engineering time up front. Mine was fully custom and took three years with a hurricane in the middle.
Do you need pilings to build a house on Treasure Island?
It depends on the lot's flood zone. Treasure Island requires Coastal A zone properties to build to V-zone construction standards, which means pilings or columns with open space underneath. On my house, pilings added about $50,000.
How much does it cost to build a waterfront home in Pinellas County?
Custom construction on the Pinellas beaches runs about $400 to $600 per square foot in 2026 for construction alone, and high-end waterfront runs higher. That does not include the lot, design fees or permits. Building elevated in a flood zone costs roughly $60,000 to $150,000 more than a standard slab.
Can you bring in fill to raise a lot on Treasure Island?
Yes. Treasure Island's terrain modification program took effect May 1, 2025 and allows structural and non-structural fill. It's voluntary, and it requires a signed and sealed drainage plan.
Is it cheaper to build a new waterfront home or buy a finished one?
Building can cost less on paper. It also takes two to three years, and you pay for somewhere else to live the whole time. A finished new build costs more because someone else already spent that time.
Is insurance cheaper on a new elevated waterfront home?
A new build elevated to current FEMA standards starts with an advantage, because flood insurance is priced largely on how high the house sits. The premium itself is different for every house, so get quotes on the specific address.
