St. Petersburg Yacht Club to be demolished in downtown St. Pete

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St. Petersburg Yacht Club to be demolished in downtown St. Pete

Five years from now, St. Petersburg’s downtown waterfront will have a different look, because the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (SPYC) board of directors has approved a plan to demolish the club’s 51,000-square-foot building and replace it with an all-new structure, and it intends to raise membership fees to help offset the cost of the project.

SPYC Commodore Brian K. Smith broke the news in a May 30th letter to the club’s members. He said the decision to raze the historic structure, which opened in 1917, is the result of a master-planning process that began nearly a year ago.

During the master planning process, it became evident that the current clubhouse, located at 11 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete, needed significant upgrades.

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Fort Lauderdale developer proposes to build affordable housing in downtown St. Pete

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Fort Lauderdale developer proposes to build affordable housing in downtown St. Pete

Fort Lauderdale-based real estate developer Alexander Goshen has submitted a letter of intent to lease a city-owned lot in downtown St. Pete with the intent of constructing an affordable housing building.

The letter of intent comes in response to the City of St. Pete seeking alternative proposals to a bid from Tampa-based Third Lake Partners LLC, which in April offered to buy the 1.53-acre parcel at the corner of 3rd Avenue South and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South from the city for $6 million.

The property is currently in use as a surface parking lot but in 2021 it was part of a $200 million mixed-use proposal, submitted by UPC Insurance, Moffitt Cancer Center, and TPA Group, that would have included a 75,000-square-foot Moffitt Cancer Center facility, a 30-story residential tower, and a 14-story hotel.

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Upscale steakhouse Frankie's Italian Chophouse coming to 4th Street in north St. Pete

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Upscale steakhouse Frankie's Italian Chophouse coming to 4th Street in north St. Pete

The diversification of 4th Street North’s culinary scene is set to continue with the mid-June opening of Frankie’s Italian Chophouse, an upscale steakhouse created by Frank Schittino, the owner and operator of Café Cibo at 8697 4th Street North, and his business partner, Chad Davis.

Frankie’s Italian Chophouse is located just a couple of blocks north of Café Cibo, at 8901 4th Street North in a 5,400-square foot building most recently occupied by Perico’s Mexican Restaurant. In the mid-2000s, the building was almost home to HipHop Soda Shop, a highly-anticipated restaurant, arcade, and recording studio helmed by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Warren Sapp and other pro athletes. Their plans never came to fruition and the HipHop Soda Shop never opened.

As for Frankie’s Italian Chophouse, Schittino said the concept has been a long time coming.

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97 apartments with no parking proposed for the Grand Central District

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97 apartments with no parking proposed for the Grand Central District

In what could be a harbinger of future developments around downtown St. Pete, a pair of local real estate developers have proposed to construct an 8-story, 97-unit apartment building with zero parking on the east side of the Grand Central District.

Craig Bazarsky of BendinRoad Development LLC and Christopher Bicho of Landings Real Estates Group are under contract to purchase a 0.23-acre parcel at 1663 1st Avenue South. The property is currently home to a commercial building occupied by Dolman Law Group and Sunshine Kitty Catfe, Tampa Bay’s first cat café which debuted in 2019.

"The entire landscape of downtown St Pete has changed dramatically over the last few years and I knew it was only a matter of time until my small business would be directly impacted," said Amanda Jones, owner of Sunshine Kitty Catfe, in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. "It came as no surprise when I received news of the pending sale of our building.

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Construction begins on Castille Urbana, a 40-unit condo building, on 3rd Avenue South

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Construction begins on Castille Urbana, a 40-unit condo building, on 3rd Avenue South

NJR Construction Group has achieved a significant milestone with the groundbreaking of Castille Urbana, a mid-rise condominium building in Downtown St. Petersburg.

Located at 600 3rd Avenue South, Castille Urbana is positioned just 150 feet to the east of the previously completed and sold-out Domus Urbana, a sister project, which was also developed by NJR Construction Group.

Plans for Castille Urbana were announced by St. Pete Rising in December 2021 with reservations for the residences beginning in 2022.

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