April 05, 2023

American Stage gears up for new outdoor season in Demens Landing Park with Ragtime

April 05, 2023/ Brian Hartz

Demens Landing Park is again abuzz with the sounds of construction as American Stage gets ready for its 38th park production, which runs from April 12th to May 14th and will feature a production of “Ragtime,” a Tony Award-winning musical that debuted in 1996 in Toronto.

Since 1986 for the debut of the theater company’s production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, American Stage’s park production has been a fixture of springtime in St. Pete. The only exception being in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented performances from being held.

The performances attract an average of 17,000 attendees over a five-week period, according to Production Director Timon Brown, who said the American Stage’s park production crew starts the planning process 12 to 18 months in advance.

April 04, 2023

Pilates and yoga studio Rare Body Studio moves into larger space in downtown St. Pete

April 04, 2023/ Brian Hartz

St. Petersburg residents who would like to build their core strength and mobility with Pilates or yoga; or even refresh their bodies with a nice cold plunge or infrared sauna treatment might want to check out Rare Body Studio’s new 4,000-square-foot facility in downtown St. Pete.

Previously located at 900 Central Avenue, the new space is situated at 276 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North, between Ekeko Gallery and the former Coney Island Grill. Jessica Dwyer of Dalton Wade represented the landlord and tenant in the lease transaction.

Rare Body Studio recently had a soft opening and has planned a grand opening party for April 6th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm that will include live music, food and beverages, chair massages, Invigorate IV’s and permanent jewelry making by local artists.

March 31, 2023

Four groups vie to develop 1.3-acre Tomlinson site near Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete

March 31, 2023/ Brian Zucker

In November, the Pinellas County School Board (PCSB) announced their desire to redevelop the 1.3-acre Tomlinson Adult Learning Center site near Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete.

The site sits on the west side of Mirror Lake at 296 Mirror Lake Drive North and is composed of the former Tomlinson Adult Learning Center building, which sits on the corner of Mirror Lake Drive and 3rd Avenue North, along with two surface level parking lots that front 8th Street and are bordered by Burlington Avenue and 3rd Avenue North.

The school board issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) with the goal of preserve the existing Tomlinson building in addition to addressing the shortage of workforce housing for school district teachers and employees in Pinellas County.

March 30, 2023

New affordable housing website aims to help St. Pete residents access local resources

March 30, 2023/ Anthony Close

A new tool for tracking affordable and workforce housing developments in St. Petersburg has been released by the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership.

The new website serves to compare affordable housing production to the housing targets set by the city in addition to tracking actions the city has taken to assist developers, homeowners, and renters. It will act as a resource for residents, elected officials, and civic leaders.

“This website is designed to help policymakers, developers, advocates and investors make smart decisions,” according to the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership. “There is no silver bullet [to address St. Petersburg’s housing issues], but there are hundreds of actions that can all help attack the problem from different angles and perspectives.”

March 27, 2023

Kaia Bowls to bring acai and poke bowls to Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete

March 27, 2023/ Anthony Close

A new café serving acai and poke bowls is coming to 30 Beach Drive Northeast in downtown St. Pete. Clearwater-based Kaia Bowls is opening a location in the former Naples Soap Company space, bringing a fresh and healthy dining option closer to St. Pete’s waterfront.

The café is owned by the Ancuta family, who hail from Canada, and first discovered Pinellas County in 2013. After traveling the world for both business and pleasure, the family decided to make Clearwater their second home.

During a 2021 trip to the area, Marc and Cristina Ancuta along with their daughter Beverly and her husband Ben, stumbled upon the Kaia Bowls cafe and loved it so much they purchased the business.

March 27, 2023

Vertical construction begins on The Nolen, a 23-story condo tower in downtown St. Pete

March 27, 2023/ Anthony Close

Earlier this month, a massive tower crane was transported to the site of one of downtown St. Petersburg’s newest condominium towers—The Nolen—signaling the start of vertical construction.

The Nolen is a 23-story condominium tower under construction at 126 4th Avenue Northeast. Despite the tower’s height, which will top out at 288 feet, the building will have just 31 residences, far fewer than the other residential towers under construction closer to Central Avenue. For reference, Art House and The Residences at 400 Central will have 244 and 301 units, respectively.

The Nolen is being spearheaded by Tampa-based DDA Development, which is led by Bowen Arnold and John Schilling. Ellison Construction, who serving as general contractor, began construction on the project in October.

March 23, 2023

St. Pete approves new electric bike share program for downtown St. Pete

March 23, 2023/ Anthony Close

On Thursday, St. Pete City Council unanimously approved an agreement that will bring up to 500 shared electric bicycles to downtown St. Petersburg. The program will replace St. Pete’s existing bike share program that commenced in 2016.

St. Petersburg’s current bike share program is operated by CycleHop under the Coast Bike Share brand. The program began in 2016 with the City’s purchase of 300 blue pedal bikes and 30 bike share hubs.

St. Pete’s bike share system saw great success in the early years of the program; however, in late 2020, with the introduction of electric scooters to downtown St. Pete, usage of the bike share system began to decline as riders opted to use electric scooters over pedal bikes.

March 22, 2023

40-unit condo building Domus Urbana reaches completion on 3rd Avenue South in downtown St. Pete

March 22, 2023/ Anthony Close

A mid-rise condominium building has wrapped up construction on 3rd Avenue South in downtown St. Petersburg.

Domus Urbana, a 40-unit development at 644 3rd Avenue South, recently began move-ins and the sales team has completed closings on roughly half of the condominium residences. Closing on the remaining units is expected in the coming weeks.

Domus Urbana was developed by NJR Companies. The development was exclusively announced on St. Pete Rising in August 2020. Construction on Domus Urbana began mid-2021 and, later that year, the developer announced the project had sold out.

March 20, 2023

Plant Love Ice Cream to lay down roots in Gulfport

March 20, 2023/ Brian Zucker

“Plant love and watch it grow.” That’s the mantra at Plant Love Ice Cream, a 100% vegan, zero waste, and community driven vegan ice cream shop in downtown St. Pete.

Since its debut four years ago in the EDGE District, the locally owned creamery has won the hearts of locals and visitors alike thanks to their made-in-house vegan ice cream that’s so good you’d swear it’s not vegan.

Last year, St. Petersburg’s Plant Love Ice Cream was rated the best vegan ice cream shop in the United States and the 3rd best in the world according to Happy Cow, the country’s largest database for vegan restaurants and recipes.

March 16, 2023

20-story apartment building Modera St. Petersburg tops out in downtown St. Pete

March 16, 2023/ Anthony Close

A milestone has been reached on a new mixed-use apartment building under construction in downtown St. Petersburg.

Modera St. Petersburg, a 20-story apartment building being developed by Mill Creek Residential, has topped out. A topping out ceremony, whether official or informal, typically celebrates the time the last structural beam is put into place.

The building has reached a height of 206 feet and will feature 383 rental units and 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space.