Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on 10-unit townhome community on 16th Street in south St. Pete

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Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on 10-unit townhome community on 16th Street in south St. Pete

Habitat for Humanity along with the City of St. Petersburg and Exact – Shell Dash, LLC have begun construction on a 10-unit townhome project at 1120 16th Street South in the Campbell Park neighborhood of St. Pete. 

“The housing crisis that we’re in continues to really kind of amplify the challenges so many families are facing in our community. So today’s a good day,” said Mike Sutton, President & CEO of Habitat Pinellas and West Pasco. “We’re able to put some shovels in the ground and really show this community in South Saint Petersburg that, you know, there’s a great project coming.”

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22-story residential building approved for 3rd Avenue South in downtown St. Pete

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22-story residential building approved for 3rd Avenue South in downtown St. Pete

The City of St. Petersburg’s Community Redevelopment Agency has approved a 22-story residential building proposed for 511 3rd Avenue South, currently home to an office building, a surface parking lot, and undeveloped land.

The property is owned by a subsidiary of EquiAlt LLC, a financial management company headquartered in Tampa.

In 2020, the company was accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of perpetuating a $170 million Ponzi scheme and misappropriating investors’ money. That case, Securities and Exchange Commission v. EquiAlt LLC. et al., is a civil action that resulted in EquiAlt going through a receivership process to return investors’ funds.

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Japanese-inspired Shiso Crispy food truck to open first restaurant in west St. Pete

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Japanese-inspired Shiso Crispy food truck to open first restaurant in west St. Pete

One of Tampa Bay’s most popular food trucks will open its first brick and mortar location in the summer of 2023.

Ronicca Whaley, the owner of Shiso Crispy, has leased a 2,600 square foot space at 924 58th Street North in the Tyrone Gardens shopping center in west St. Pete.

“I’m going to be able to use it as a restaurant, as a place to pump out all of the food for the trucks, and I’m also gearing up to start wholesaling our sauces and dumplings,” said Whaley in a recent social media post. 

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Upscale rooftop bar Sparrow coming to new boutique hotel on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

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Upscale rooftop bar Sparrow coming to new boutique hotel on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

Construction is under way on the Moxy Hotel by Marriott, a boutique hotel that will be part of the 1.6-acre Edge Collective development at 1234 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete, and the developers — Wurzak Hotel Group, PTM Partners and DoveHill Capital Management — plan to top it off with the second instance of Sparrow, an upscale rooftop bar concept that debuted at The Dalmar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

Wurzak Hotel Group President Jake Wurzak describes Sparrow as an upscale bar “but not a velvet-rope kind of vibe,” adding, “we are bringing it to St. Pete because it has been so successful in Fort Lauderdale. And we think a lot of what we did in Fort Lauderdale will do fantastic in St. Pete. We're making some additional enhancements, as well.”

Wurzak’s company has 16 hotels in its portfolio but only The Dalmar and now The Moxy have Sparrow bars. “It really has to be the right location with the right energy,” he says.

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Breakfast, lunch spot Buttermilk to open in north St. Pete in early January

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Breakfast, lunch spot Buttermilk to open in north St. Pete in early January

Buttermilk, a new breakfast, brunch, and lunch concept created by a pair of Chicago restaurateurs who’ve turned their focus to St. Petersburg, is set to open early next year at 10316 Roosevelt Boulevard in the Ibis Walk shopping center in north St. Pete.

“We're shooting for the first week of January,” says Bob Asani, who co-owns Buttermilk with Ted Theo.

Buttermilk takes the place of a Crabby Bill’s seafood restaurant in a retail strip that also includes Jersey Mike’s and Tijuana Flats franchises. It will offer a menu loaded with traditional breakfast items, including a wide variety of omelets, eggs benedicts, and skillet dishes, as well as pancakes and local favorites such as chicken and waffles.

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Everything you need to know about the Rays & Hines proposal for the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District

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Everything you need to know about the Rays & Hines proposal for the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District

Last Friday was the deadline for developers to submit proposals for the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment. Yesterday, all four proposals were published to the City of St. Pete’s website.

Understand that each of these proposals are massive, absolute tomes clocking in at hundreds of pages a piece. Feel free to read the entire proposal here, but don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Lucky for you, we’ve spent hours upon hours combing through each proposal, so you don’t have to. And we are here to provide you with the Cliffs Notes.

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City of St. Pete receives four proposals for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Tropicana Field site

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City of St. Pete receives four proposals for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Tropicana Field site

Today was the deadline for developers to respond to the City of St. Petersburg’s request for proposals (RFP) for the 86-acre Tropicana Field site, the home of the stadium where the Tampa Bay Rays play and a vast parking lot.

Earlier this morning, the City announced that they have received four proposals in response to the RFP from the following groups:

  • 50 Plus 1 Sports

  • Hines & Tampa Bay Rays

  • Restoration Associates

  • Sugar Hill Community Partners

"We will review the proposers' plans with a keen eye on their interpretation of affordable and workforce housing; office and meeting space; arts and culture; research, innovation, and education; recreation; open space, healthy and sustainable development; and intentional equity,” said Mayor Welch in a statement to the media.

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Revised plans approved for 14-story mixed-use building at 900 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

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Revised plans approved for 14-story mixed-use building at 900 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

A 14-story mixed-use development slated for St. Petersburg’s EDGE District has been approved by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, subject to a final review of the building plans and the developer’s compliance with any conditions of approval.

The $58.1 million project, known by its address, 900 Central Avenue, will feature 185 apartment residences (21 of which will be workforce housing units), 20 hotel rooms, nearly 10,000 feet of commercial space, a 204-space parking garage, and 224 bicycle parking spaces. The building is expected to reach a height of 150 feet.

The building’s footprint will occupy most of the 0.83-acre site, which is currently home to three buildings, two of which will be demolished, and a 41-space surface parking lot. A variety of businesses — including a nail salon, two law offices, and two fitness studios — are located on the site. Anytime Fitness announced in October that it would be closing in December.

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The Juice Shack to bring cold-press juices, smoothies, and acai bowls to the 600 block in downtown St. Pete

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The Juice Shack to bring cold-press juices, smoothies, and acai bowls to the 600 block in downtown St. Pete

Coming this December to 657 Central Avenue is the Juice Shack, a juice bar that specializes in a wide range of cold-press juices, smoothies, and wellness shots. The spot was previously home to a soap shop called BLU Luxe Island, and before that was Two Fold Bicycle Shop.

The Juice Shack is owned and operated by Victoria Sook and her daughter, Miranda Sook, as well as Aaron Dunlap, and if not for COVID-19 pandemic, the establishment might never have existed. The mother-daughter duo, who originally hail from West Virginia, both worked in the service industry in Nashville when the coronavirus began to spread across the country.

They write on their website that they were working as bartenders and waitresses when the virus started “taking people down left and right.” They had been fans of cold-pressed juice for years and decided to take the plunge and start a business based around it.

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The Glass Noodle, an international noodle house, is coming soon to 600 block of Central Avenue

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The Glass Noodle, an international noodle house, is coming soon to 600 block of Central Avenue

The restaurant group behind Mangosteen on Central Avenue and Green Pagoda at 7900 4th Street North plans to add another St. Petersburg eatery to its portfolio when it opens The Glass Noodle, which will take the place of Doormet at 681 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete.

Doormet closed its doors earlier this month after over two years in business. In an email to customers, the owners acknowledged that they “have had consistent issues in St. Pete, everything from finding help, to growing the business, to increased food costs, to increased labor costs, high rents, and a general difficulty in reaching residences and getting orders from homes at night.”

There’s no set opening date for The Glass Noodle, but owner Sean Thongsiri says he hopes to have the new restaurant up and running by the end of year.

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