February 27, 2024

Investor scoops up Dairy Inn site for luxury townhome development

February 27, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

St. Pete's iconic Dairy Inn ice cream shop, which closed its doors in November after operating for 76 years in Crescent Lake, will be razed for a new residential development.

Local real estate investor Everett Vance, owner of The Vance Group and broker at Premier Properties, plans to build six modern luxury townhomes on the corner lot at 1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Street North.

He purchased the site in December for $740,000.

"For me, this will be my first multi-family project. I typically work on single-family homes," Vance said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

February 26, 2024

Historically St. Pete: The Snell Arcade nears 100 years of prominence in downtown

February 26, 2024/ Rui Farias

Long before C. Perry Snell’s crown jewel reached into the Sunshine City’s blue skies, the northwest corner of 4th Street and Central Avenue was known as the “The Hub of St. Petersburg’s Commercial Activities.”

The city’s original business district was located near 9th Street and Baum Avenue, but when Charles Durant opened a bakery on Central and 4th, the Durant Block was born. In 1897, as downtown continued to lure businesses from 9th Street, Arthur Norwood opened his second store on the Durant Block, connecting it to his 9th Street Store with the town’s first telephone line.

It was saltwater taffy magnate, Noel A. Mitchell, who made the corner the center of St. Pete’s universe. Soon after opening his real estate office in “Mitchell’s Corner” in 1907, the “Sandman” placed his first set of benches on the sidewalk for weary travelers to sit and learn about the property deals to be had in St. Pete. Although the original benches were not green, they soon would be.

February 23, 2024

Done Deals: Affordable housing nears completion, John's Pass density increase passes, Biotech hub to open

February 23, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Done Deals is a weekly column by St. Pete Rising spotlighting recent real estate market insight and significant deals happening in the Sunshine City and beyond. The following information is sourced from public records and trusted intel.

Have real estate news to share? Send us an email at hello@stpeterising.com.

February 23, 2024

Iconic tiki bar and restaurant Don the Beachcomber now open in Madeira Beach

February 23, 2024/ Brian Zucker

The tiki bar that started it all relaunches today in Madeira Beach with authentic tiki cocktails and Polynesian-themed dishes for everyone from hardcore tikiphiles to adventurous locals.

Don the Beachcomber, recognized as the first tiki bar and the genesis of tiki culture in America, has debuted on the ground floor of the Cambria Hotel at 15015 Madeira Way on Madeira Beach.

Donn Beach, an adventurer, businessman, and World War II veteran, opened the original Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood, California nearly 90 years ago. The restaurant and bar was inspired by his travels to the Caribbean and the South Pacific, where he was enchanted by the allure of the islands, their mystique, and their tropical flavors.

February 22, 2024

Commissioners delay vote on massive expansion of St. Pete Beach’s Sirata resort

February 22, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

After a nearly 11-hour-long deliberation, the owners of the Sirata Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach will have to wait until next week to receive a verdict on a massive planned overhaul of the resort and the addition of two new waterfront hotels.

The St. Pete Beach City Commission meeting began at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and ended around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning after commissioners passed a motion to defer the vote to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27th.

Resort owner Columbia Sussex, a Kentucky-based hotel management company, is seeking conditional use permit (CUP) approval for the construction of a 290-key luxury JW Marriott hotel, a limited-service 130-key Hampton Inn, and renovation of the existing 382-key resort at 5300 Gulf Boulevard.