Retreat St. Pete to open upscale consignment shop in the Grand Central District

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Retreat St. Pete to open upscale consignment shop in the Grand Central District

A new upscale consignment shop will soon be joining the ranks of the small businesses in St. Pete’s Grand Central District. Retreat St. Pete will open this November at 1940 Central Avenue and will offer a carefully curated selection of furniture, décor, art, and designer goods at reasonable prices.

The business is being opened by celebrity and entrepreneur Rhonda Shear along with her husband Van Fagan. Shear is a regular correspondent on the Home Shopping Network where she sells a self-named line of lingerie and shape-wear for women. She also holds the title of Miss Louisiana USA 1975 and has starred in over a dozen films.

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St. Pete Meat & Provisions to launch digital butcher in downtown St. Pete

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St. Pete Meat & Provisions to launch digital butcher in downtown St. Pete

There’s no doubt COVID-19 has had a drastic effect on both the retail and hospitality landscape. Over the past few months, we’ve seen many local shops completely pivot their business model in order to stay afloat. Bars have started selling cocktails to go, breweries have added food menus, and many retailers have opened online stores.

On Wednesday, one of the most well-respected chefs in Tampa Bay, Chef David Benstock of IL Ritorno, will launch a brand new digital butcher case stocked with essentials from beef, poultry, pork, special ‘Butcher’s Cuts’ such as lamb and veal, and an array of specialty provisions including handcrafted seasonings, rubs, salad dressings, cooking oils, and more.

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40 condominiums planned for empty lot in downtown St. Pete

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40 condominiums planned for empty lot in downtown St. Pete

St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay continue to see high demand for new housing with historically low supply. This demand is why, despite COVID-19 and economic uncertainty, we’ve seen a number of new residential projects launch in downtown St. Pete over the past six months.

The latest project to debut is a proposed condominium building located just three blocks south of Central Avenue in an area which has seen increased interest and development activity in recent years.

Domus Urbana will be built at 644 3rd Avenue South on a vacant lot that previously housed a 18-unit three-story apartment building, which was demolished in 2019.

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ParaDeco Coffee Roasters to open expansive cafe near Beach Drive

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ParaDeco Coffee Roasters to open expansive cafe near Beach Drive

Six weeks ago the highly anticipated new St. Pete Pier opened for the first time. With it brought a new $92 million, 26-acre pier district which welcomed over 68,000 visitors in the first week. The opening has transformed the downtown waterfront, bringing new energy into an already radiating downtown.

Later this year, at the doorstep of the St. Pete Pier, a new coffee shop will open, which will be perfect place to satiate your pre-pier caffeine cravings.

ParaDeco Coffee Roasters is opening at 111 2nd Avenue Northeast in the Plaza Tower & Courtyard Shops in a space which previously housed Uniquely Yours Boutique. Located adjacent to Sab Café, ParaDeco will be well-situated between Sundial and Beach Drive.

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Machine Shop to provide barber cuts and community in the EDGE District

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Machine Shop to provide barber cuts and community in the EDGE District

We aren’t the only region in the world with beautiful beaches. Walkable downtowns can be found in just about every major city. And most places in Europe have us beat by a few hundred years when it comes to historic buildings. But what makes St. Petersburg truly unique and special to me are the people.

There are countless ways to meet people in St. Pete, but an especially great place to get to know your neighbors is at a local barbershop or salon. And there’s a new high-end barbershop coming soon to 915 Central Avenue that promises to be a cut above the rest.

The priority at Machine Shop Barber Company will be the people. “I want to create a place that feels like family,” says owner Brandon Thompson. “In fact, I’d love to periodically shut down the shop and take my staff to do haircuts for the homeless or any other community event we can be a part of.”

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Pour Judgement will be Tampa Bay’s first craft shot bar

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Pour Judgement will be Tampa Bay’s first craft shot bar

You can’t talk about nightlife in Downtown St. Pete without mentioning the Jannus block. Bound by Central Avenue and First Avenue North between 1st Street and 2nd Street, nearly every business on the block is a bar, except for a handful of restaurants specializing in the drunk food. I’m looking at you Joey Brooklyn’s, Top Slice, and Hoots!

While we are sad to report on the closing of The Tamiami at 269 Central Avenue, we are really excited about what is replacing it. Pour Judgement will be a craft shot bar featuring hundreds of cleverly crafted shots opening later this month.

This new bar concept will be the first of its kind in Tampa Bay and is being brought to life by a group of seasoned hospitality veterans in St. Pete including Michael Jennings, Miles Duncan, Jerrad Atkin, Billy Orfanakos, Joe Moledo, and Melissa Powell. Jennings, Duncan, Atkin, and Orfanakos also own One Night Stand, a lively country bar located a block away at 149 1st Avenue North.

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St. Pete moves forward with electric scooter share program

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St. Pete moves forward with electric scooter share program

St. Pete may finally be getting e-scooters! On August 20th, St. Pete City Council will vote on an agreement which will allow two scooter vendors to participate in a pilot e-scooter share program in downtown St. Pete. E-scooters would be deployed by two companies – Veo and Razor.

Discussion about having e-scooters in downtown St. Pete began in 2018 when scooter sharing was first sweeping the nation. But unlike many cities, St. Pete was in no rush to have e-scooters and waited to see how other cities regulated them before deploying their own program.

Last October, St. Pete City Council approved an ordinance which green lit an e-scooter pilot program and began the vendor application process.

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Aerial St. Pete: Skyway Marina District is rising in south St. Pete

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Aerial St. Pete: Skyway Marina District is rising in south St. Pete

This is the third quarter 2020 update of St. Pete Rising’s Aerial St. Pete series. Aerial St. Pete is a quarterly column we launched earlier this year which features exclusive aerial photography of projects under construction in St. Petersburg, FL. To accomplish this we have teamed up with Anthony Bove at AB3 Visuals.

In this update we’re taking a look at construction in the Skyway Marina District. The Skyway Marina District was founded in October 2013 and is located along 34th Street South between 30th Avenue South and 54th Street South. The district has undergone a series of changes in recent years including new place making signs and a renewed focus on bringing new businesses and residents to the area.

And these efforts are paying off! There are currently over 900 rental units planned for the district and of those, 850 are currently under construction. To put it another way, there are currently more residential units under construction in the Skyway Marina District than any other area of St. Pete.

These new units are concentrated in three projects – Sur Club, the Addison Skyway Marina, and Marina Walk.

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A spotlight on The Mar, St. Pete's newest performing arts studio

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A spotlight on The Mar, St. Pete's newest performing arts studio

In the aftermath of COVID-19 unemployment, The MAR St. Pete will be a refuge for artists. But Heather Hamar’s dream, transforming the space at 2309 Central Avenue into a workshopping wonderland, started long before the coronavirus chaos.

Originally from Flower Mound, Texas, Hamar wore many hats before settling into St. Pete. From Event Coordinator at Busch Gardens to Production Management at Norwegian Cruise Line, she knows what it takes to put on a great show.

She also knows that breaking into show business is no easy task.

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Redevelopment of 86-acre Tropicana Field site begins in St. Pete

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Redevelopment of 86-acre Tropicana Field site begins in St. Pete

Today the City of St. Petersburg officially kicked off planning for the public/private redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site with the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP is seeking submissions from developers to redevelop an 86-acre site in Downtown St. Pete which is currently home to the Tampa Bay Rays.

For years, city and county leaders have touted the site as a once in a generation opportunity to redevelop a large, publicly-owned tract of land in densely populated Pinellas County. Downtown St. Pete’s revitalization over the past decade has only made the site’s redevelopment potential even more attractive.

In 2017 the City contracted planning firm HKS to develop two vision concepts for the site – one with a Rays stadium and one without it. The plans are comparable but with different demand drivers and uses. These vision plans will likely guide developers in creating their redevelopment submissions.

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