The new ownership group of the former waterfront resort Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove, located on the southern tip of St. Petersburg, has brought new life to the beachfront oasis.

Since buying the 18-acre property at 6800 Sunshine Skyway Lane South in 2022 for over $17 million, investor Ben Willner and his team have been feverishly renovating the property that had fallen into disrepair and closed in 2020.

The resort, now named SkyBeach Hotel and Marina, contains 113 renovated guest rooms, a larger private beachfront, a rebuilt marina, a sports complex with pickleball courts, a two-story beachfront bar, a cafe, a food truck, and more.

TradeWinds Island Resort is one step closer to starting work on a $500 million transformation of its 25-acre St. Pete Beach property.

After a nearly six-hour-long St. Pete Beach Planning Committee, the members unanimously approved a development agreement and conditional use permit (CUP) for the redevelopment of the beachfront resort at 5500 Gulf Boulevard that will bring three new hotels and amenities to the property.

TradeWinds, which operates the Island Grand and RumFish Beach Resorts, currently has 967 hotel keys, and 102,373 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Rents continue to soar in St. Petersburg where demand outpaces supply, but one local property management and development firm is addressing the economic issue by building      innovative co-living spaces throughout the city.  

In a co-living space, house members share kitchens, living rooms, and other communal areas.  

St. Petersburg-based Docked Living, a co-living developer that delivers a membership-based housing subscription rather than a traditional lease, is flipping several dormant properties. The company is Florida's largest co-living developer.