The Annex Coffee House set to open in Gulfport

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The Annex Coffee House set to open in Gulfport

A new drive-through coffee shop will open before the end of the year on Gulfport Boulevard South, giving residents a locally owned alternative to the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts that opened a few years ago.

Located at 5133 Gulfport Boulevard South, The Annex Coffee House takes the place of Two Dads, a takeout restaurant that opened in early 2021. Before that, the 600-square-foot building, which neighbors the recently shuttered Smokin’ J’s barbecue restaurant, housed a produce stand.

Jenna Malowany of KW Commercial represented the landlord and tenant in the lease transaction.

Owner Johnny Ciani, a native of Tampa, has partnered with Johnny Ruetz, the owner of Three Birds Tavern in St. Petersburg, on The Annex. The two met through their work with TBS Beverage Solutions, a distributor of coffee and tea products servicing north and central Florida.

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33-unit apartment building approved for 4th Avenue South in downtown St. Pete

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33-unit apartment building approved for 4th Avenue South in downtown St. Pete

A vacant 0.2-acre parcel three blocks east of Tropicana Field could be developed into a seven-story, 33-unit apartment building.

Located at 630 4th Avenue South, the property is owned by Yaron Levi of Onyx St. Pete LLC, which, according to SunBiz, has a Valley Stream, NY mailing address.

Onyx St. Pete LLC purchased the site in August 2022 for $1.55 million. A now-cancelled four-unit townhome project, SOMA, was once proposed for the site.

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St. Pete Pier to get another restaurant with opening of Perry’s Porch

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St. Pete Pier to get another restaurant with opening of Perry’s Porch

Perry’s Porch, a new café concept created by Seed & Feed Hospitality Group, is coming next year to 335 2nd Avenue NE, a space adjacent to the St. Petersburg Museum of History on the St. Pete Pier. It will take the place of Hops and Props, a craft beer bar that moved to 225 2nd Avenue North last year and rebranded as Hops 2.0. 

According to a news release, Seed & Feed Hospitality Group, which also owns and operates local seafood restaurant Trophy Fish and the Mandarin Hide cocktail bar, has enlisted St. Pete-based Wannemacher Jensen Architects to redesign the space.

Jon Robben has been hired as executive chef and plans to offer a menu that features historical local craft cocktails and picnic-basket-style takeout food options for Pier visitors to enjoy in the amenity’s many green and recreational spaces. Robben is currently the executive chef at Trophy Fish and before that helmed the kitchen as Tryst.

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Developer uses new state law to increase residential density in Gandy Blvd mixed-use development

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Developer uses new state law to increase residential density in Gandy Blvd mixed-use development

St. Pete City Council approved a revised development agreement for a proposed mixed-use waterfront project on Gandy Boulevard that increases the number of residential units in the project.

In late 2021, developer Key Gandy LLC, a subsidiary of Miami-based Key International, announced a mixed-use proposal with 376 residences on a 39-acre parcel at 12000 Gandy Boulevard North, near the intersection with Snug Harbor Road. The development was approved earlier this year.

The project also includes a waterfront restaurant and marina with both wet and dry slips, some of which will be available to the public.

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Downtown St. Pete's first toy shop Runrun Kids Store debuts on the St. Pete Pier

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Downtown St. Pete's first toy shop Runrun Kids Store debuts on the St. Pete Pier

It’s not a full-fledged, brick-and-mortar store (yet!), but Runrun Kids Store, a new toy shop that debuted last month in a St. Pete Pier kiosk, fills a large gap in downtown St. Petersburg’s retail scene.

Although there are some shops in downtown St. Pete that sell a small selection of new toys, such as The Canary and Plain Jane, Runrun is the only toy store in the entire city dedicated to new toys and has already proven to be a popular stop for families with young children.

“I knew I wanted to start a kids’ store,” owner Jess Garvin says, “because I couldn’t find one, and I was like, ‘Am I crazy? Is there not a market for this?’ We have one of the largest downtowns in the entire state of Florida and we have zero local toy stores here. After doing some research, I realized there is a big market for this.”

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21-story apartment tower proposed south of Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete

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21-story apartment tower proposed south of Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete

A 21-story building with 200 apartments, 10,843 square feet of commercial space, and a 264-space parking garage has been proposed for 699 1st Avenue North, on the southwest edge of the Mirror Lake neighborhood in downtown St. Petersburg.

According to a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) application filed by SPGRP II LLC, a limited liability company controlled by real estate investment and development company Gravel Road Partners, the project will also include open public space and possibly a covered plaza with an art installation on its northeast side, providing a buffer between it and the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg at 100 Mirror Lake Drive.

“The resulting setback provides an even further separation between the project and the church than the existing approximately 30 feet which is provided by Arlington Avenue North, and significantly exceeds what is required by code,” as stated in the CRA application.

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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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