June 02, 2017

New St. Pete Pier Moves Forward With Construction Set to Begin this Month

June 02, 2017/ Anthony Close

Throughout St. Pete’s history, the public pier has always been a waterfront destination. From the “Railroad Pier” to the “Million Dollar Pier” and the famed “Inverted Pyramid”, the history of the pier runs nearly as deep as the city’s.

The most recent iteration of the St. Pete Pier, the Inverted Pyramid, closed its doors to the public for the last time on May 31, 2013. Since then, there has been a long, often controversial, pier replacement process that involved public forums and information sessions, a dramatic citizen referendum, and of course, a lot of emotion.

Now, exactly four years later, St. Pete enters a new chapter in its pier history. On Wednesday—May 31st, 2017—the city officially received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction on the new St. Pete Pier. This was the final permit needed before construction could begin.

May 22, 2017

Check Us Out in Green Bench Monthly!

May 22, 2017/ Brian Zucker

Whether it's the opening of a new restaurant or the announcement of another apartment tower, one thing is for certain -- Downtown St. Pete is constantly changing. While we would love to provide in-depth coverage of everything that is on the horizon for our beautiful city, there is simply not enough time in the day!

This is why we've decided to team up with our friends at Green Bench Monthly, St. Pete's direct-mail community magazine. Starting with the May issue, we will publish a monthly column called Downtown Developments, highlighting all of the latest news that never made it onto our homepage. Be the first to find out about future retail, restaurants, and real estate in Downtown St. Pete.

May 17, 2017

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

May 17, 2017/ Brian Zucker

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.

May 15, 2017

Empire Oyster Bar Gives Back to Tampa Bay

May 15, 2017/ Brian Zucker

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.

April 17, 2017

Downtown St. Pete Development Update - First Quarter 2017

April 17, 2017/ Brian Zucker

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.

April 06, 2017

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

April 06, 2017/ Anthony Close

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.

March 24, 2017

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

March 24, 2017/ Brian Zucker

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.

February 28, 2017

Two Affordable Housing Communities Coming to Historic Kenwood

February 28, 2017/ Brian Zucker

It is no secret that St. Pete is currently experiencing a huge building boom. Nearly 2,300 rental units are either under construction or proposed for the city over the next few years. Just take a walk through downtown and you are bound to run into numerous apartment communities in some stage of development. A commonality between the majority of these projects is that they are building luxury apartments with top-of-the-line amenities that will be leased at premium rates.

As a result, one of the most frequent questions we are asked is, "Where is all of the affordable housing being built?" And up until recently, we didn't have a great answer to that question. Then we learned about the Green Mills Group, a real estate development firm from Ft. Lauderdale, and their plans to bring affordable housing to St. Pete.

February 08, 2017

Modern Townhomes Proposed Minutes From Downtown St. Pete

February 08, 2017/ Anthony Close

Just a short bike ride west from downtown is St. Pete’s eclectic Grand Central District and the popular Historic Kenwood neighborhood. Being a few blocks north of Central Avenue, the Kenwood neighborhood combines a proximity to walkable amenities with classic charming bungalows to create an authentic urban neighborhood.

The unique nature of this community has spiked interest among real estate developers and homebuyers leading the area to be named one of the hottest zip codes in Tampa Bay for real estate.

Looking to satisfy the increased demand in the area, Icon Residential is teaming up with Crestview Realty and Clear pH to introduce a new townhome community just north of Historic Kenwood. Dubbed Uptown Kenwood, this new development will be built on 13th Avenue North and 25th Street North just a short distance from Booker Park.

February 06, 2017

Verve Boutique to Bring Women and Men’s Apparel to Downtown St. Pete

February 06, 2017/ Brian Zucker

The boutique scene in Downtown St. Pete is about to heat up. In early March, Verve Boutique will open their doors in the ever-growing EDGE District, introducing both men and women to popular clothing brands not currently represented on this side of the Bay. The new store will focus on elevated street style, meaning, “everyday wear that is comfortable, but that you can still transition easily if you want to go grab dinner or cocktails with your friends,” says owner Susie Wheldon.

Verve Boutique will occupy 2,350 square feet of space that was previously home to Paper Street Market, who closed their doors on Christmas Eve. The shop will carry brands that you would typically find at a department store such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. For women, you’ll be able to find premium denims, tees, wovens, knits, and maxi dresses offered by well-known brands such as McGuire, Current/Elliot and Flynn Skye.