The world’s largest collection of artist sketchbooks is moving to St. Pete

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The world’s largest collection of artist sketchbooks is moving to St. Pete

After spending over a decade in Brooklyn, the world’s largest collection of artist sketchbooks is moving to St. Pete. The Sketchbook Project will be located inside The Factory, a new creative arts destination in St. Pete’s Warehouse Arts District, at 2622 Fairfield Avenue South, Building 8A.

“St. Pete is an amazing, fast growing creative community and we are excited to put some roots here,” said Steven Peterman, the founder of The Sketchbook Project. “We hope the community really supports us.”

The collection boasts an impressive 45,000 sketchbooks (and growing!) from over 100 different countries. The pages of these books are filled with rough sketches, paintings, portraits, and comics using mediums like graphite, charcoal, chalk, watercolor, and ink. They tell stories of love, comedy, guilt, tragedy, and politics.

Anyone can participate in the project by going to The Sketchbook Project’s website and ordering a book. After filling the pages with your creations, you’ll mail it back. And then it lives permanently in collection.

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330-unit apartment development approved for 6th Street in south St. Pete

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330-unit apartment development approved for 6th Street in south St. Pete

St. Pete’s Development Review Commission approved a 330-unit mixed-income residential development planned for 6th Street South, just east of Lake Maggiore.

The project was first announced in October 2021 and is being developed by Stoneweg US, a St. Pete-based investment firm specializing in multifamily acquisitions and developments. The group purchased the parcel, which was previously a mobile home park, in April 2021 for $6.4 million.

In rezoning the land from Corridor Commercial Traditional-1 (CCT-1) and Neighborhood Suburban Multifamily-1 (NSM-1) to Neighborhood Suburban Multifamily­-2 (NSM-2), Stoneweg is now able to build 30 units per acre or 330 units total.

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Aerial St. Pete: Construction updates from St. Pete's newest high-rise developments

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Aerial St. Pete: Construction updates from St. Pete's newest high-rise developments

The latest edition of Aerial St. Pete shows the progress on several downtown high-rise developments. 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 have teamed up with Anthony Bove at AB3 Visuals.

In this article we are taking a look at five projects in downtown St. Pete which are in various stages of construction. Some are in the demolition stage while other are topped out and closer to completion. These projects include: 334 Apartments, Residences at 400 Central, Ascent St. Petersburg, Saltaire, and Orange Station. We look forward to following these projects as they grow closer to completion.

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$1.5 million renovation proposed for Williams Park's historic bandshell in downtown St. Pete

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$1.5 million renovation proposed for Williams Park's historic bandshell in downtown St. Pete

St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation is seeking nearly $1.5 million to fund upgrades and much-needed renovations to Williams Park’s bandshell in downtown St. Pete, as part of an effort to revitalize and reactivate the historic space.

The park, which sits between 3rd and 4th Street and 1st and 2nd Avenue North, is St Pete’s first. Founded in 1888 and named for the city’s co-founder, John Constantine Williams Sr, it was the historic center of the community for much of St Pete’s early history with its first bandshell constructed in 1895 after a fence was built to keep wandering livestock from entering to graze.

The modern bandshell was designed in 1954 by local architect William Harvard and received both the Award of Merit and Test of Time Award from the American Institute of Architects. More recently, the park has served as the site for the beloved Saturday Morning Market in the summer months and Localtopia, the community’s annual celebration of all things local.

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11-unit affordable townhome community proposed for south St. Pete

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11-unit affordable townhome community proposed for south St. Pete

More affordable housing could be coming soon to south St. Petersburg after the City received an unsolicited offer from Namaste Homes, LLC to acquire and develop a 0.55-acre vacant, City-owned property on the northwest corner of 18th Avenue South and 18th Street South.

Last month, the City received an unsolicited proposal from Green Mills Group, an affordable housing developer, to construct 96 affordable apartments on another City-owned parcel at 18th Avenue South and 21st Street across from Tangerine Plaza. After inviting alternative proposals, four additional groups, including Habitat for Humanity, submitted their vision for the site.

The proposal submitted by Namaste in partnership with Ardent OZF, LLC, a qualified Opportunity Zone Fund, outlines plans for 11 two-story, three-bed, two-and-half bath townhomes to be sold to households earning below 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Based on the current Area Median Income, this means a family of three earning less than $79,800 per year would be eligible. For a family of four, that number is $88,550, and for a family of five, $95,760.

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Habitat for Humanity plans 44-unit affordable townhome project, Pelican Place, in south St. Pete

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Habitat for Humanity plans 44-unit affordable townhome project, Pelican Place, in south St. Pete

In late January, St. Pete Rising reported on a 96-unit affordable apartment building proposed for south St. Pete. The proposal was the result of an unsolicited offer to purchase a 2.1-acre city-owned lot across from Tangerine Plaza on the southwest corner of 18th Avenue South and 21st Street.

Green Mills Group and Advantage Village Academy, Inc. partnered to submit the offer with plans to build a five-story affordable apartment building catering to households earning between 30-80% of the area median income (AMI). The unsolicited offer triggered a request for proposals process that allowed other interested groups to submit proposals for the site. Alternate proposals were due to the city earlier today.

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Tampa Bay's first bus rapid transit line, SunRunner, to launch later this year

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Tampa Bay's first bus rapid transit line, SunRunner, to launch later this year

The SunRunner Bus Rapid Transit system between Downtown and St. Pete Beach will begin operation late this summer as the first BRT project in Tampa Bay. BRT systems are designed to combine the capacity and speed of a metro with the lower cost and flexibility of a bus system. They have been implemented recently in 26 U.S. cities.

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority developed and will operate the $44-million, 10.3-mile route. PSTA is also conducting a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) study, called SunRunner Rising, with consultants Kimley-Horn.

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) Public Relations Coordinator Stephanie Rank indicates that PSTA expects to present recommendations to the City of St. Petersburg by April in conjunction with the StPete2050 plan which was published last year. St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch was a former PSTA Chairman is knowledgeable about transit system issues.

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Affordable housing development, Skyway Lofts, opens in the Skyway Marina District

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Affordable housing development, Skyway Lofts, opens in the Skyway Marina District

A 65-unit affordable apartment community is now open in south St. Pete’s growing Skyway Marina District.

Skyway Lofts, located at 3900 34th Street South, is the latest affordable housing development by Blue Sky Communities. The project broke ground in September 2020 and consists of two four-story buildings with 17 one-bedroom units at 650 square feet each and 48 two-bedroom units at 960 square feet.

Of the 65 units, 10 will cater to households making 0-30% of the area median income (AMI) while 42 units will cater to households making up tp 60% of AMI.

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70s-themed nightclub Good Night John Boy coming to downtown St. Pete

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70s-themed nightclub Good Night John Boy coming to downtown St. Pete

Dig through your closet for those old satin shirts, flared pants, and funky glasses. A groovy 70s-theme nightclub is coming soon to downtown St. Pete.

Good Night John Boy will debut at 16 2nd Street North on the Jannus Block, the most popular block for nightlife in downtown St. Pete. The new nightclub will replace Ringside Café, which closed a few weeks ago and is in the process of finding a new home.

The 4,000 square foot Studio 54-style nightclub is being brought to St. Pete by Cleveland-based Forward Hospitality Group, which owns and operates ten restaurant and bar concepts around Ohio. The group launched Good Night John Boy in Cleveland ten months ago.

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New renderings released for The Residences at Orange Station in St. Pete’s EDGE District

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New renderings released for The Residences at Orange Station in St. Pete’s EDGE District

New details have been revealed for a highly anticipated mixed-use project at 1300 1st Avenue North, the site of the former St Pete Police Department headquarters, in St. Pete’s EDGE District.

The project features an ambitious but thoughtfully designed blend of office, retail, and residential. The residential components include a 42-unit workforce apartment building named The WYE, paying homage to the triangular junction often found in railroads, and a 61-unit luxury condominium building named The Residences at Orange Station.

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