January 13, 2022

New middle school and YMCA approved for 62nd Avenue

January 13, 2022/ Brian Zucker

Last Wednesday, the City of St. Petersburg’s Development Review Commission (DRC) unanimously approved a site plan to construct a new middle school and YMCA at 501 62nd Avenue Northeast.

The 15-acre site, which has sat vacant for over a decade, was formerly home to Riviera Middle School. The district closed the school in 2008 because of budget cuts and declining enrollment and razed the building in 2010 because it was in such bad shape.

The Pinellas County School Board, which owns the land, has proposed to construct a 111,757 square foot two-story building to be shared by a new middle school and YMCA. Two smaller buildings, a pool equipment building and an energy plant, will also be constructed.

January 12, 2022

Local pet market St. PetersBARK to open second location in Grand Central District

January 12, 2022/ Brian Zucker

Nearly seven years after opening a natural pet market on Dr. MLK Jr. Street North, the owner behind St. PetersBARK has signed a lease for a second location.

The new 2,300 square foot shop will be located at 3001 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District. Montana Massa of Vector Realty represented the landlord and Wendy Giffin of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease transaction.

January 11, 2022

19-story apartment building proposed for 1st Avenue North in downtown St. Pete

January 11, 2022/ Anthony Close

A new apartment project just west of St. Petersburg’s growing EDGE District could bring hundreds of new residents to the area.

St. Pete-based HP Capital Group and Chicago-based Tandem Partners have filed plans for a 19-story residential building at 1641 and 1659 1st Avenue North in downtown St. Pete.

The 0.73-acre site was assembled by HP Capital Group, who is also developing the 18-story Reflection condominium tower at 300 8th Street North, in a series of transactions in late 2020 and early 2021 that totaled $4.2 million.

January 07, 2022

Plans for 22-story apartment tower near Mirror Lake move forward

January 07, 2022/ Brian Zucker

On Thursday, a 0.94-acre property in downtown St. Pete was sold for $15.5 million to Las Vegas-based Ault Global Real Estate Equities (AGREE), a subsidiary of BitNile Holdings. The land, which is located on the southeast corner of 3rd Avenue North and 5th Street North across from the Mirror Lake Community Library, will be the site of a new high-rise multi-family project.

“We are pleased to be in a position to acquire this property in a growing metropolitan area, surrounded by historic buildings, a public library, and various other municipal buildings,” said Christopher Wu, Chief Executive Officer of AGREE.

January 04, 2022

Mixed-use project with 163-key Moxy Hotel to break ground in St. Pete's EDGE District

January 04, 2022/ Anthony Close

A mixed-use development planned for downtown St. Pete’s EDGE District is moving forward and will break ground later this year.

The project, known as the Edge Collective, is a joint venture between Miami-based PTM Partners (PTM) and Fort Lauderdale-based and DoveHill Capital Management (DoveHill).

The Edge Collective will be built on a 1.6-acre site at 1234-1246 Central Avenue that PTM purchased in October 2019 for $13 million. The parcel is currently home to the EDGE Collective Urban Market Place, a temporary market that opened in 2021 just before the Super Bowl.

January 04, 2022

Bin 6 South to debut curated fine dining, wine, and sake experience in downtown St. Pete

January 04, 2022/ Alexia Gonzalez

An immersive fine dining concept is coming soon to downtown St. Pete. Set in an intimate wine cellar and offering a culinary experience unlike any in the area, Bin 6 South is currently under construction at 330 6th Street South, and if completed as scheduled, the grand opening is slated for March, 2022.

The seasonally focused, rotating food and beverage program is the brainchild of seasoned restaurateur, culinary connoisseur, and Executive Chef/Owner of Bin 6 South Bren K. Ankrum, who has owned and managed restaurants in Atlanta and Philadelphia. With Bin 6 South, Ankum is set on creating, “St. Petersburg’s most innovative wine cellar and tasting bar.”

January 03, 2022

Mayor Kriseman picks Dynasty Financial to redevelop 2-acre site near Tropicana Field

January 03, 2022/ Anthony Close

In one of the final working days of his administration, Mayor Kriseman has announced the selection of a proposal from a group comprised of Dynasty Financial Partners, ARK Invest, and GF Investments to redevelop a city-owned lot at 910 2nd Avenue South in downtown St. Pete. The lot currently is a dirt parking lot serving Tropicana Field.

In early November, the City of St. Petersburg received an unsolicited offer from Atlas Real Estate Partners, which owns The Wayland, a 481-unit apartment complex at 300 10th Street South, to purchase and develop a mixed-use project on the 2.02-acre lot.

December 17, 2021

New courthouse for Second District Court of Appeal to be built in downtown St. Pete

December 17, 2021/ Brian Zucker

On Thursday, Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls announced the decision to construct a new courthouse for Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal (DCA) in downtown St. Petersburg.

The new $50 million courthouse will be built at 525 Mirror Lake Drive, near the Pinellas County Clerk of Court and various other government buildings. The site is currently home to the Sebring Building, which will be demolished to make way for the new courthouse.

“We are delighted that legislative leaders recognized the need for this critical facility,” said Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership. “A downtown location in Pinellas County’s most populous city will be a prominent and smart location for the new courthouse.”

December 15, 2021

Mixed-use development with 1,500 residential units planned for Skyway Marina District

December 15, 2021/ Brian Zucker

A 34-acre office park in the Skyway Marina District has been sold. Coral Gables-based real estate firm Altis Cardinal closed today on the Ceridian campus located at 3201 34th Street South in a $40 million all cash acquisition. The deal represents the Sunshine City’s largest land purchase in decades.

“We’ve been developing in St. Petersburg for nearly a decade and are pleased to continue our presence here for another decade while working on this multi-phase development,” said Frank Guerra, Principal and Founder of Altis Cardinal. “This area is booming with growth, maturing as a world class city, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

The firm’s next step will be the submission of a master plan for the property. Preliminary development plans call for an urban mixed-use project which keeps a portion of the property’s existing 380,000 square foot office complex while adding multi-family units and retail space along 34th Street.

December 15, 2021

Aerial St. Pete: Construction updates from St. Pete's Grand Central District

December 15, 2021/ Anthony Close

This edition of Aerial St. Pete shows the latest progress on several developments in St. Pete’s Grand Central District. Aerial St. Pete is a column by St. Pete Rising which features exclusive aerial photography of projects under construction in St. Petersburg, FL.

To accomplish this, we team up with Anthony Bove at AB3 Visuals. In the past, Aerial St. Pete has once a quarter; however, in the future we plan on running the column more frequently to cover more projects in more neighborhoods of St. Pete.

In this column, we are looking at four projects in the Grand Central District which is comprised of the area from 16th Street west to 31st Street between 1st Avenues North and South.

These projects include: Six Point Row, Gallery 3100, Driftwood on Central, and the townhomes at 2801 1st Avenue South.