April 27, 2023

Local group proposes to purchase, revive Science Center in west St. Pete

April 27, 2023/ Brian Zucker

A local St. Petersburg organization has offered to purchase the long-shuttered former Science Center of Pinellas County with plans to reactivate and reimagine the facility for STEAM-based learning.

The facility, which debuted in 1959, played a pivotal role in many Pinellas County student’s lives for the 55 years the facility was in operation. For decades, the center offered after-school and weekend classes for students from kindergarten through middle school in subjects such as biology, chemistry, electronics, and astronautics. At its peak, about 22,000 children visited the Science Center each school year.

The St. Petersburg Group, led by Irv Cohen and Joe Hamilton, has proposed to purchase the 3.89-acre Science Center property located at 7701 22nd Avenue North from the City of St. Petersburg for an appraised value minus $100,000.

April 27, 2023

City of St. Petersburg launches new electric bike share system in partnership with Lime

April 27, 2023/ Anthony Close

If you’re in downtown St. Petersburg, you may notice bright green electric bikes neatly corralled throughout the city. That’s because the City of St. Petersburg recently partnered with Lime to deploy 300 new shared e-bikes in downtown St. Pete.

The cost to use the electric bikes is similar to downtown’s existing electric scooters. The bikes cost $1 to unlock and $0.39 per minute, which is Lime’s lowest rate in Florida.

Lime is deploying their Gen 4 E-Bike which includes several features such as an adjustable seat, integrated smart lock, 350-watt motor with 2-speed transmission, a 25-mile lithium-ion battery, cell phone holder, and a front basket.

April 25, 2023

Massive indoor pickleball club coming soon to Pinellas Park

April 25, 2023/ Brian Zucker

The Pickleball Club, a Sarasota-based company that develops and operates private membership-based high-amenity indoor pickleball facilities throughout Florida, will be opening an expansive pickleball club in Pinellas Park.

The company is under contract for its seventh site, an 8.07-acre parcel located at the Gateway Centre Business Park in Pinellas Park. The land purchase is expected to close in December 2023 for $1.75 million.

The 40,000-square-foot climate-controlled facility, which is slated to open in early 2025, will offer members 16 indoor pickleball courts made of the same material as those found at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. The new club will also feature an outside activity area, players’ lounge mezzanine, a pro shop, and a cafe.

April 25, 2023

Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning commences construction in downtown St. Pete

April 25, 2023/ Brian Hartz

It was a beautiful day this past Sunday as the Chabad Jewish Center gathered with friends and community members to celebrate the groundbreaking of its new state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a hub for Jewish culture and education in downtown St. Pete. To the accompaniment of the traditional “Siman Tov” tune, shovels were turned to commemorate the momentous occasion.

The new two-story, 13,000-square-foot Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning, which is being constructed at 533 4th Street North, will include a sanctuary, social hall, classrooms, kosher kitchen, library, and rooftop deck. The building was designed by Mike Muroff of Purdy + Muroff Architecture and Heshy Hecht of HH Designers.

Celebrating the groundbreaking was a crowd of 300, including St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, City Council members Gina Driscoll and Ed Montanari, and other dignitaries.

April 21, 2023

Historic boutique hotel Cordova Inn breaks ground on expansion in downtown St. Pete

April 21, 2023/ Brian Zucker

A year and a half after being announced, the Cordova Inn’s planned expansion has broken ground.

The owners of the historic boutique hotel, New Hotel Collection and TDZ Capital Partners, held a ceremonial groundbreaking this morning at the hotel, which is located at 253 2nd Avenue North in downtown St. Pete.

The five-story expansion will more than triple the number of available rooms from 32 to 97 while also adding a restaurant to the first floor and a 5th-floor rooftop bar.

Between the old and new wings will be a lushly landscaped mid-block courtyard. Both the courtyard and porch will be open to anyone, whether they are staying in the hotel or not. The addition will also expand the front porch of the Cordova Inn into a dramatic wraparound balcony with lush streetscaping.

April 21, 2023

SunRunner celebrates record ridership, announces new station near Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete

April 21, 2023/ Anthony Close

“Beach to Burg” is a tagline used by the SunRunner bus rapid transit system, the $44-million, 10.3-mile route that debuted in October and links downtown St. Petersburg to St. Pete Beach via dedicated lanes running along 1st Avenue North and 1st Avenue South.

But soon the slogan may need to be “Beach to Bay.” That’s because the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), which oversees the SunRunner — Tampa Bay region’s first and only bus rapid transit line — plans to add a new station near Beach Drive, one of St. Pete’s most popular areas for shopping and dining and just a block away from the St. Pete Pier and the Tampa Bay waterfront.

In announcing the new station, PSTA also announced that it plans to purchase two new buses and put them into service along the SunRunner route. The new buses will make service more reliable and ease congestion on peak days.

April 18, 2023

Mixed-use apartment building proposed for Central Avenue near 34th Street

April 18, 2023/ Anthony Close

A team of developers has closed on the purchase of a large shopping plaza located at the crossroads of Central Avenue and 34th Street in St. Petersburg’s Union Central District.

St. Pete-based real estate developers Blake Investment Partners and Eastman Equity along with Virginia-based developer Kettler have closed on the Central Plaza Shopping Center at 3365 Central Avenue for $13.3 million.

The three-acre shopping center occupies two city blocks along Central Avenue between 32nd Street and 34th Street. Currently, the retail center has 73,200 leasable square feet and is home to several tenants including a Family Dollar, Hibbett Sports, Citi Trends, and Octapharma.

April 17, 2023

Sirata Beach Resort plans massive expansion with two new hotels on St. Pete Beach

April 17, 2023/ Brian Zucker

The Sirata Beach Resort’s new ownership group unveiled a massive expansion project that not only includes an extensive renovation to the existing hotel but calls for the construction of two new hotels on its property at 5300 Gulf Boulevard on St. Pete Beach.

Columbia Sussex, a hotel management company based in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, presented the full proposal at a community meeting held Thursday, April 13th, at the St. Pete Beach Community Center. It acquired the 13-acre property from Fort Worth, Texas-based Crescent Real Estate, which also owns the Westshore Grand Hotel in Tampa, in late 2022 for $207 million, which remains the highest hotel sale on record with the Pinellas County clerk’s office.

According to a site plan that passed out at the meeting, the existing Sirata resort will be renovated, and two additional hotels will be built: a 290-key luxury hotel to the north and a 130-key, select-service hotel to the south.

April 13, 2023

Aerial St. Pete: Downtown St. Petersburg's tallest residential developments are reshaping the skyline

April 13, 2023/ Anthony Close

This month’s edition of Aerial St. Pete shows the progress on several real estate developments throughout St. Petersburg, FL. Aerial St. Pete is a column by St. Pete Rising which features exclusive aerial photography of projects under construction in St. Pete. To accomplish this, we have teamed up with AB3 Visuals.

In this article we are taking a look at Art House, Ascent St. Petersburg, Evo, Modera St. Petersburg, The Residences at 400 Central, and Saltaire.

Each of these developments is a residential tower project that is helping reshape the downtown St. Petersburg skyline. They are all above 20 stories tall and are in various stages of construction – some of the towers are nearing completion while others are just beginning to rise.

St. Pete Rising looks froward to continuing to be your source for St. Pete real estate development news and we will continue to track these projects as they near completion.

April 12, 2023

357-unit apartment tower Ascent St. Pete opens in downtown St. Pete

April 12, 2023/ Brian Hartz

Two years after breaking ground, Ascent St. Pete, a luxury apartment tower that also features a hotel, has started moving in residents.

The $117 million, 36-story Ascent, located at 225 1st Avenue North, began pre-releasing its apartments in September last year, a few months after the project topped out at 378 feet.

Developed by South Carolina-based Greystar Real Estate Partners, the building features 357 apartments and a 172-key AC Hotel by Marriott, which Greystar recently sold to OTO Development for $60 million.