11-Story Apartment Tower To Rise Near St. Pete’s EDGE District

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11-Story Apartment Tower To Rise Near St. Pete’s EDGE District

A well-respected developer from Michigan has unveiled plans to build an 11-story apartment tower just outside of Downtown St. Pete’s trendy EDGE District.  DevMar Development is in the process of assembling 1.9 acres of land located at the corner of 16th Street and 1st Avenue North.  With the exception of a small car wash, a majority of the land has been sitting vacant for over a decade.

The mixed-use building, dubbed First North Lofts, is a collaboration between Mark DeMaria, CEO of DevMar Development, Jonathan Daou, a local real estate investor, the project’s architects, and local consultants.  DeMaria brings over 20 years of multi-family development expertise and Daou contributes his retail experience into this collaborative tailor-made project specifically designed for St. Pete.

The development will be perfectly flanked by two of St. Pete’s most desirable neighborhoods — the EDGE District and the Grand Central District.  In either direction, residents will be steps away from hundreds of restaurants, bars, art galleries, and coffee shops.  

However, if residents are so inclined, they wouldn’t really have to leave the property.  First North Lofts, which DeMaria describes as “an urban resort at an affordable cost”, will provide a wealth of attractive amenities.

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Empire Oyster Bar Gives Back to Tampa Bay

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Empire Oyster Bar Gives Back to Tampa Bay

Empire Oyster is, without a doubt, the talk of the town. For the uninformed, I’m referring to the raw oyster bar that opened up at the beginning of March inside the EDGE District’s Intermezzo Coffee and Cocktails.  Coffee, cocktails and oysters.  It seems like an unlikely trio does it not?  Certainly I would’ve never predicted it, but the combination has proven to be a smashing success at 1111 Central Ave.

Intermezzo Coffee originally opened as a pop-up coffee bar in September of last year — planning to only be open for 3 months.  However after much success, owner Jarrett Sabatini resolved to keep Intermezzo Coffee open permanently. 

In January,  Sabatini decided that instead of closing the coffee shop in the afternoon, he would simply transition the space into a cocktail lounge at 5pm every day.   Sabatini developed a fantastic drink menu that offers his own innovative creations as well as tried and true classics.  Again, he found success. 

Three months later, a new decal went up in the window — “EMPIRE OYSTER”.  It was then that St. Petersburg was introduced to an incredible raw oyster experience courtesy of Kevin Joseph, Master Mermmelier at Empire Oyster.

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Downtown St. Pete Development Update - First Quarter 2017

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Downtown St. Pete Development Update - First Quarter 2017

Another great quarter is in the books for Downtown St. Pete.  In the past three months we’ve learned of numerous new projects proposed for the area, seen significant progress on developments currently under construction, and even saw a few projects reach completion.

As home prices continue to rise in popular neighborhoods, such as the Old Northeast, other communities on the outskirts of downtown are beginning to heat up, especially Historic Kenwood and the Grand Central District.  This quarter saw the introduction of Uptown Kenwood, a 69-unit townhouse community, proposed for 13th Ave North.  Also rising in Kenwood are affordable housing communities Burlington Place, which is nearing completion, and Burlington Post, which will begin construction in the next few months.

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St. Pete Makes Tropicana Field Redevelopment Pitch to the Tampa Bay Rays

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St. Pete Makes Tropicana Field Redevelopment Pitch to the Tampa Bay Rays

The City of St. Petersburg has a long history of hosting professional baseball. From amateur leagues to Major League Baseball, the roots of America’s pastime run deep.

Since 1914, more Major League spring training games have been played in St. Petersburg, FL than in any other city. And over its history, baseball in the Sunshine City has hosted legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, and Joe DiMaggio.

But since 1998, the highlight of St. Pete’s baseball history has been hosting the Tampa Bay Rays, who play at Tropicana Field in Downtown St. Pete. With a stingray as a name, a burst of sunshine as a logo, and a “seadog” as a mascot, the Rays embody Tampa Bay and the Sunshine City.

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Sweet Charlie's to Bring Rolled Ice Cream to Downtown St. Pete

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Sweet Charlie's to Bring Rolled Ice Cream to Downtown St. Pete

From New York City to Los Angeles, Montreal to Atlanta, one of the latest food trends to sweep the country is rolled ice cream.  This summer, St. Pete will join the craze as Sweet Charlie's debuts at 1010 Central Avenue in the EDGE District.

The movement began last year when ice cream shops started springing up across the U.S. serving cups stuffed with small rolls of ice cream and topped with an assortment of extras, including fruit, candy, drizzles and more.  Lines regularly snake around the corner at establishments like 10Below in NYC and Hi B3ar in Boston.  Although the trend is brand new here in the States, this method of making ice cream has been around on the streets of Thailand and other Asian countries for quite a while.

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