Look Alive Coffee begins roasting specialty coffee in the Grand Central District

/
Look Alive Coffee begins roasting specialty coffee in the Grand Central District

A new coffee roaster that focuses on specialty coffees is up and running at 1920 ½ 1st Avenue South, behind Spitfire Comedy House, in St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District.

Look Alive Coffee is owned and operated by Kelly Packard, who was born in Clearwater but then moved to Dallas, Texas with her family when she was still in elementary school.

“It’s really nice to be back here,” Packard said in an interview with St. Pete Rising. “I’ve always felt at home here. My parents are back here too, so it feels very ‘full circle’ being back at home.”

Look Alive Coffee is primarily a wholesale business, but anyone is welcome to order bags of coffee or sign up for a coffee subscription via the company’s website.

Read More

95-unit affordable housing building proposed near 34th Street in St. Pete

/
95-unit affordable housing building proposed near 34th Street in St. Pete

The St. Petersburg Housing Authority and Tampa Bay Area-based affordable housing developer Blue Sky Communities are moving forward with an affordable housing project that will bring a 95-unit apartment complex to a 1.35-acre site at the intersection of 32nd Avenue North and Hartford Street in north St. Petersburg.

When it was first announced in February 2023, the Hartford project was expected to consist of 47 affordable units for seniors and families whose incomes are below the 60% area median income (AMI) threshold.

However, on February 15th the St. Pete City Council approved a zoning change that will allow higher-density housing to be built on the parcel.

Read More

Massive 2,084-unit apartment community, Sprouts Farmers Market to break ground in the Skyway Marina District

/
Massive 2,084-unit apartment community, Sprouts Farmers Market to break ground in the Skyway Marina District

A pile of concrete and rebar is all that remains on one end of the former 380,000-square-foot Ceridian office park in St. Petersburg's Skyway Marina District where a new master-planned community will soon rise.

Coral Gables-based real estate company Altis Cardinal is redeveloping the 34.2-acre site at 3102 34th Street South into a new $500 million mixed-use destination - now called Sky Town.

Altis Cardinal purchased the property in December 2021 for $40 million.

Today, over half of the buildings at the former office park are demolished, and construction crews are preparing to bulldoze another building to make way for the future development.

Read More

Six-story resort with waterpark and rooftop bar proposed for St. Pete Beach

/
Six-story resort with waterpark and rooftop bar proposed for St. Pete Beach

A vacant strip of waterfront property along St. Pete Beach's Gulf Boulevard may be redeveloped into a full-service resort with floating boat docks, a waterpark, a rooftop tiki bar, and more. 

St. Petersburg architect Jack Bodziak, who has worked on commercial and residential developments throughout Tampa Bay, has filed plans with the city to build a 104-key hotel, dubbed Windward Pass Resort, on the McPherson Bayou.

The 2.76-acre assemblage, bookend by the Sand Cove Apartments and Sun Harbor Condos, is currently owned by local philanthropist and ceramic artist Beth Morean. 

Read More

Inside St. Pete’s Development Guide: Fostering equitable growth amid downtown population boom

/
Inside St. Pete’s Development Guide: Fostering equitable growth amid downtown population boom

It's no secret St. Petersburg is a jewel bustling with small locally-owned businesses and an activated waterfront, but there are glaring gaps in the residential and office markets.

Last week, the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership released its 2024 Development Guide, an annual resource tool providing a snapshot of the latest economic and commercial activity to encourage public and private stakeholders to spur healthy growth.

"St. Pete wasn’t always a vibrant city with intentional development," Mayor Ken Welch said during the partnership's Development Summit hosted at The St. Pete Distillery on Tuesday, February 27th.

Read More

New seafood market, boat-up restaurant McMullen Fish House coming to old Mastry's Bait and Tackle shop

/
New seafood market, boat-up restaurant McMullen Fish House coming to old Mastry's Bait and Tackle shop

Brothers James and Josh McMullen have filled the shelves of the former Mastry's Bait and Tackle shop in Old Southeast with fresh wild-caught fish - breathing new life into the shuttered St. Pete staple. 

"As kids, my brother and I would walk 12 blocks from our home to get to the bait shop," said James referring to the 1945 storefront at 1700 4th Street South that now sports the name McMullen Fish House. 

James, a military veteran, and Josh, who has a background in construction, inked a lease for the 1,658-square-foot space late last year. 

Read More

Done Deals: 25-story tower advances, Art House hits construction milestone, Clearwater estate lists for $37.5 million

/
Done Deals: 25-story tower advances, Art House hits construction milestone, Clearwater estate lists for $37.5 million

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. 

Read More

Philly native to open Little Philly, serving authentic cheesesteaks in the Grand Central District

/
Philly native to open Little Philly, serving authentic cheesesteaks in the Grand Central District

Philadelphia-born-and-raised chef and restaurant operator Sean Ford, alongside prominent local business owner Renaud Cowez, is bringing the taste of Philly to downtown St. Petersburg.

The partners are planning to open a new Philly cheesesteak restaurant - Little Philly - in the Grand Central District at 2063 Central Avenue, which formerly housed The Job Site Burgers.

"Growing up in Philly, I always felt safe and welcomed in the small sandwich shops,” Ford said. “They knew your name and treated you like family. I want to replicate that kind of feeling here in St. Pete.”

"This whole Grand Central neighborhood is buzzing and reminds me of when we opened Tryst on Beach Drive in 2011," said Ford, who moved to St. Pete over a decade ago to launch the high-end restaurant and lounge with Cowez.

Read More

Construction begins on The Central, formerly Orange Station, in St. Pete’s EDGE District

/
Construction begins on The Central, formerly Orange Station, in St. Pete’s EDGE District

Shovels have officially hit the ground on a long-awaited mixed-use development planned for downtown St. Petersburg’s EDGE District.

On Wednesday, Ellison Construction began construction on The Central, previously named Orange Station, at 1301 Central Avenue. 

The Central will feature an upscale Marriott hotel and the city's first new Class A office space in decades. Also included will be workforce apartments, retail space, and a parking garage.

The 2.1-acre project is a joint venture of J Square Developers, DDA Development, Ellison Development, and Backstreets Capital, LLC, who have collectively worked on several other St. Petersburg developments including The Salvador, St. James Townhomes, and The Nolen.

Read More

Massive expansion of Sirata Beach Resort approved, will bring two new hotels to St. Pete Beach

/
Massive expansion of Sirata Beach Resort approved, will bring two new hotels to St. Pete Beach

After months of deliberation and testimony from the public and parties involved, the St. Pete Beach commissioners approved the plans for the controversial Sirata Beach Resort expansion.  

In a 3-2 vote Tuesday evening, February 27th, commissioners greenlighted the conditional use permit (CUP) for the construction of a 290-key luxury JW Marriott hotel, a limited-service 130-key Hampton Inn, and a massive revamp of the existing 382-key resort at 5300 Gulf Boulevard.

The narrowly passed vote is a continuation of the nearly 11-hour public hearing last week when the newly appointed commissioners made a motion to defer the decision.

Read More