January 14, 2021

EDGE District hotel is dead, but a new proposal has emerged

January 14, 2021/ Brian Zucker

Back in October 2018, St. Pete Rising broke the news about an 11-story Marriott Tribute hotel that was to be built in the EDGE District at the corner of 11th Street and 1st Avenue North. The 135-key hotel was proposed by Michigan-based DevMar Development, whose first residential project in St. Pete, Vantage, began move-in’s in May 2020.

DevMar Development closed on the hotel site in January 2020 for $3 million. But unfortunately, due to COVID-19, hotel financing has all but dried up. As a result, DevMar has scrapped plans for the boutique hotel.

January 12, 2021

Aerial St. Pete: Multi-family projects make progress and a two-story brewery is born!

January 12, 2021/ Brian Zucker

We’re back with a new batch of drone shots for the year’s first installment of Aerial St. Pete, a quarterly column 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.

This quarter we are taking a look at five projects in the greater downtown St. Pete area including: Gallery 3100, Grand Central Brewhouse, Saltaire, and The Mirror. This is second time we shot three of these projects, so be sure to check out their individual project pages to see the progress that has been made.

January 11, 2021

The rise of the MLK Business District and how to connect bifurcated St. Pete districts

January 11, 2021/ Guest

The MLK Business District, particularly the stretch of MLK Jr. St. N between 5th Ave. and 7th Ave. N, is home to some of St. Pete’s favorite shops, restaurants, and places to spend an afternoon. However, it wasn’t always a bustling hub of activity—it’s taken over a decade of hard work from community leaders, business owners, and city officials to curate this district.

John Barkett, MAI, was one of the first business owners to join this area, and he has worked closely with public officials, business owners, and community organizations to curate a district that meets the needs of St. Pete’s residents—and continues to work to evolve the area.

January 08, 2021

Belpointe proposes 15-story, 256-unit development for St. Pete’s EDGE District

January 08, 2021/ Anthony Close

A new multifamily building has been proposed for the EDGE District in downtown St. Pete.

In October 2020, Belpointe, which invests in opportunity zones, closed on 1.6 acres at 1000 1st Avenue North for $12 million. The site is currently home to two small vacant office buildings, two surface parking lots and the former Shirley Ann Hotel, which has been vacant for three years.

Belpointe has announced plans for a development tentatively being referred to as 1000 1st Avenue North featuring two, 11-story apartment towers with a combined 256 rental units. The residential buildings will sit atop a four-story, pedestrian base that features 23,000 square feet of ground floor retail and 4,400 square feet of space for a leasing office and two resident lobbies.

January 06, 2021

Micromobility, a good fit for St Pete!

January 06, 2021/ Guest

Love them or hate them, the scooters have arrived in downtown St. Pete! While it may be too early to say whether this new form of shared transportation is an amenity or a nuisance, they represent only one example of an emerging form of transportation known as micromobility. Cities around the world are scrambling to figure out how to accommodate this growing trend in mobility which has accelerated during the pandemic. Given our great weather and multiple downtown destinations, frequented by residents and tourists alike, St. Petersburg is a natural fit for micromobility. But to fully realize its potential, there is work to be done. We need to rethink and “tame” our car-dominated downtown streets so that all forms of mobility can share the road.

January 04, 2021

Hatchet Hangout to bring 15 lanes of indoor axe throwing to the Grand Central District

January 04, 2021/ Brian Zucker

Calling all lumberjacks and lumberjills! Get ready to don your red and black flannels and pick up a throwing axe. A 15-lane axe throwing venue and lounge is coming soon to Central Avenue.

Hatchet Hangout will be located at 2360 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District. The 3,800 square foot building was formerly home to Shamie and Sons Auto Repair before it was purchased for $700,000 in June 2019 by Michael Andoniades. Andoniades also owns the Mari Jean Hotel across the street, which is home to Sophia's Cucina + Enoteca and The Saint, as well as the popular Hollander Hotel in downtown St. Pete.

Hatchet Hangout is being brought to the Sunshine City by Andrew Nawoichik, who also owns a variety of other Tampa Bay businesses including Central Avenue Vapors at 1610 Central Avenue. Nawoichik has commissioned local muralists, The Vitale Bros, who were hard at work last week painting the interior walls of the space.

December 30, 2020

74-unit apartment building proposed for 17th Street in downtown St. Pete

December 30, 2020/ Anthony Close

Another infill apartment building that is seeking to take advantage of recent changes to the City’s parking code will go before Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) on January 7th.

Developer Tony Zhukovskyi is proposing a 74-unit development at 200 17th Street North. The building will be located less than a block away from the two other apartment buildings he recently proposed at 1750 2nd Avenue North and 1735 1st Avenue North.

In September 2019, St. Pete City Council approved a package of Land Development Regulation (LDR) changes in an effort to help reduce the cost of building housing in the city. The package of code changes was just one prong in a multifaceted approach to help address housing affordability in the Sunshine City.

December 24, 2020

204-unit apartment building proposed for Central Avenue in west St. Pete

December 24, 2020/ Anthony Close

When Gallery 3100, a 122-unit apartment building, broke ground earlier this year at 3100 Central Avenue, it marked the farthest west new multifamily development had reached since the revitalization of Central Avenue began. Located just a few blocks from 34th Street, many wondered if, or when, new development would leap over U.S. 19 and expand to west St. Petersburg. Well, it appears the westward spread will continue.

Local real estate firm DDA Development is proposing a four-story, 204-unit multifamily development on the 6000 block of Central Avenue in west St. Pete. DDA, which is led by Bowen Arnold and John Schilling, closed on the land last Friday in a $5.6 million purchase from local businessman Bill Edwards.

December 22, 2020

36-story apartment and hotel tower prepares to break ground in downtown St. Pete

December 22, 2020/ Brian Zucker

Ascent St. Petersburg, a 36-story mixed-use building planned for the northwest corner of 2nd Street and 1st Avenue North in downtown St. Pete, took a huge step forward last Friday. The developer of the project, Greystar Real Estate Partners, simultaneously closed on the land and two construction loans.

The 1.26-acre tract of land sold for just under $15.1 million, or about $12.0 million per acre. The transaction represents one of the highest prices per acre ever paid for land in downtown St. Pete.

The recent record price for land in downtown belongs to Kolter Group for their purchase of a parking lot next to the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront hotel. That sale, which occurred in October 2019, hit $12.2 million per acre. Saltaire, a 35-story condominium tower, is currently under construction on that site.

One day after Greystar closed on the land for Ascent, a fence was erected around the perimeter of the site, which is situated adjacent to the 16-story Duke Energy building and across the street from the Jannus Block, downtown’s hub for nightlife. Site preparations have already begun, and vertical construction is slated to ramp up in the new year.

December 14, 2020

Seven new businesses opening up on 4th Street's Holiday Motel site

December 14, 2020/ Brian Zucker

Businesses are beginning to open at a new 15,000 square foot retail strip at 4th Street North and 24th Avenue that was recently constructed following the demolition of the former Holiday Motel. As of today, seven of the nine retail spaces are leased.

The Holiday Motel was built back in the 1940’s when Fourth Street was home to 95 roadside motels and known as “the longest motel street in the world.” At the time, before the construction of I-275, 4th Street was seen as the primary tourist route into downtown St. Pete.

However, as the motel owners dealt with the difficulty of operating the motels and battling crime the motels attracted, many owners decided to cash out and sell to developers. By 1985, about half of the motels were gone. Only a few still remain today with many catering to longtime residents instead of tourists.