February 07, 2020

AD Lofts to Bring More Retail and Residential to Grand Central District

February 07, 2020/ Brian Zucker

The Grand Central District is really heating up. On the eastern edge of the neighborhood, at the corner of 16th Street and Central Avenue, four large developments are about to wrap up construction and bring an additional 132 hotel rooms and 700 rental units to market — Tru by Hilton, Artistry St. Pete, 1701 Central, and Vantage.

On the western end of The Grand Central District, around 30th Street and Central Avneue, two apartment communities have been recently proposed — Gallery 3100 and a project tentatively titled “2800 Central Ave”. Those developments would add 200 apartments to the neighborhood.

Other major developments under construction in the district include the Grand Central Brewhouse at 2324 Central Avenue and Six Point Row, a 19-unit townhome community currently rising at 2611 1st Avenue North.

February 06, 2020

Submissions Revealed for the Redevelopment of St. Pete’s Municipal Services Center

February 06, 2020/ Anthony Close

In December, St. Pete Rising announced that the City of St. Petersburg had received an unsolicited offer to purchase and redevelop the Municipal Services Center at 1 Fourth Street in Downtown St. Pete.

The Municipal Services Center, or MSC for short, is an 11-story city-owned office building that primarily houses City of St. Pete services such as the planning department, code enforcement, and parking management. The building has millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and as a result the City has been exploring ways to renovate or build a new Municipal Services Center.

As a refresher, the New York-based Property Markets Group (PMG) offered the City $12 million for the 0.8 acre lot that sits along Central Avenue between 3rd Streets and 4th Streets. Under their proposal, PMG would construct a new MSC building across from City Hall on 2nd Avenue North, about two blocks away. The new MSC building would contain 100,000 square feet of Class A office space along with 220 apartments and parking.

February 04, 2020

Station House is Coming Soon to Sundial Shopping Center

February 04, 2020/ Brian Zucker

The folks behind one of Downtown St Pete’s most popular coworking space have their sights set on expansion. The concept first debuted in Downtown St Pete in 2016 and has since expanded to the EDGE District of St Pete and Hyde Park Village in Tampa. Recently, a Station House outpost was announced for the EDGE Collective, a mixed-use project featuring a food hall, hotel, and coworking space in Downtown St Pete.

Now, the creators behind St. Pete’s Station House are developing a space exclusively for Sundial St. Pete. The 8,300 square foot project will offer a dynamic mix of co-work and event space in a fun, vibrant lifestyle environment. The new concept will encompass the prime space on the second level of Sundial next to Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

January 28, 2020

18-story Condo Tower, Reflection, to Rise Above Mirror Lake

January 28, 2020/ Anthony Close

Fred Hemmer has lived in St. Petersburg for most of his life, and while he wasn’t born here, he calls St. Pete his home. After graduating from Boca Ciega High School he went on to study at St. Petersburg College and then the University of South Florida. Over the past few decades he has worked in banking and in real estate throughout Florida and has witnessed Downtown St. Pete’s transformation firsthand. Recently he even become a downtown resident himself.

After selling his Tierra Verde home, Hemmer and his wife moved into Camden Pier District, an 18-story apartment building in Downtown St. Pete. And although they traded their waterfront home for a high-rise, they viewed the move as an upgrade, “Downtown has so much entertainment to offer,” Hemmer says, “We were tired of always driving downtown and figured, ‘Why not just move there?’”

January 22, 2020

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opening in the EDGE District

January 22, 2020/ Anthony Close

Downtown St. Pete’s growing EDGE District is set to gain a new business looking to capitalize on an expanding Florida industry. AltMed LLC, a Florida-based medical marijuana company, is slated to open a MÜV dispensary at 1101 1st Avenue North.

MÜV will offer an extensive selection of medical marijuana products including flower, pre-rolls, a wide range of vaporizer pens, topicals, oral sprays, and more. One of MÜV's more unique products are 72-hour Transdermal Patches, which are simply medicated patches, and Metered Dose Inhalers which feature patent-pending encapsulation technology, basically an inhaler with medical marijuana.

January 20, 2020

Bandit Coffee Opens New Roasting Facility and Celebrates 4th Anniversary

January 20, 2020/ Shannon Gasper

Back in 2016, Joshua and Sarah Weaver opened Bandit Coffee Co inside of a former Porter’s Paints store at 2662 Central Avenue with the goal of fostering community through coffee. Since then, the perfectly curated and minimalistic coffeeshop has become a beloved St. Pete staple for locals and visitors alike.

The coffee menu has always been easy to understand, whether you’re a coffee aficionado or casual drinker. You can get a hot coffee, cold brew coffee, espresso, espresso + milk, a mocha, and a vanilla latte. You won’t find any frappe-cappu-mocha-latte-chinos.

January 17, 2020

Downtown Developments Jan 2020: City Receives $12M Offer for City Block and More!

January 17, 2020/ Brian Zucker

2020 is off to a strong start! Along with the updates below, we had a few new businesses open their doors, including a yoga studio, a candy and soda shop, a salad restaurant, and a bookstore. Also, an old nightclub was demolished to make room for a tower, a developer started scouting the area for their next project and the city released their plans to revitalize The Deuces.

As many of you are aware, we write a column every month called Downtown Developments for Green Bench Monthly, a local community magazine. In the column, we highlight everything coming soon to Downtown St. Pete, including new restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. We also reveal new tower renderings, announce townhome projects, and much more. A few months ago, we started publishing that column right here on St. Pete Rising, in addition to Green Bench Monthly!

January 16, 2020

A Year of Rising: Here’s What’s Planned for Downtown St. Pete in 2020

January 16, 2020/ Anthony Close

Downtown St. Pete finished up the 2010’s decade with incredible momentum and is starting the 2020’s off with what is expected to be another unprecedented year for new development. Between project completions, known ground breakings, and new project announcements, we expect Downtown St. Pete will continue its evolution into a preeminent area to live, work, and play.

One of the most anticipated developments that will be completed in 2020 is the new St. Pete Pier. The 26-acre project is expected to cost over $92 million and will contain five eateries including Doc Ford’s, Pier Teaki, Teak, and the Driftwood Cafe. The new St. Pete Pier will also feature a hanging net sculpture by world-renowned artist Janet Echelman.

January 15, 2020

Former WingHouse on 4th Will be a Rumba Island Bar and Grill

January 15, 2020/ Brian Zucker

After years of sitting vacant, we are finally seeing progress on a new 5,300 SF restaurant coming soon to the site of a former WingHouse at 6445 4th Street North. Construction permits have recently been approved for the build out of Rumba Island Bar and Grill.

Rumba, which has two additional locations in Clearwater and Oldsmar, gives diners a taste of the islands in a laidback tropical atmosphere. Menu items include favorites like the Island-Style Quesadillas and Jerked Smoked Chicken Wings for starters and the signature Rumba Salad with Grouper, Crispy Coconut Shrimp and the Caribbean Pulled Pork for an entree.

January 13, 2020

Brick Street Farms to Construct Cultivation Hub, Increase Production in St. Pete

January 13, 2020/ Brian Zucker

For some reason, I can never keep plants alive. Maybe I don’t water them enough. Or perhaps I water them too much! Could it be the amount of light I expose them to? You know what, it’s probably due to my cats eating the leaves off every plant I’ve ever owned. Either way, I’ve never been able to provide the perfect environment for green life to thrive. And back in 2015, Shannon O’Malley and Brad Doyle were having similar troubles. But for them, the problem was the Florida heat.

Luckily, the couple found a solution to their woes. When they took their plants inside and put lights on them, the plants flourished. Brad and Shannon didn’t know it yet, but this revelation would end up being the seed that would sprout into an agricultural movement in Downtown St. Pete. After extensive research, the duo realized they could use their backgrounds in computer engineering and IT skills to build indoor hydroponic farms.