April 23, 2024

Texas iced tea franchise HTeaO brews plans for first drive-thru in Pinellas County

April 23, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Iced teas with bold fruity flavors from Sweet Georgia Peach to Mango Tango will be served at HTeaO's new planned Largo store.

Texas-founded franchise HTeaO, an indoor and drive-thru iced tea restaurant chain, plans to expand its Florida footprint with a new storefront at 3460 East Bay Drive.

HTeaO has over 100 drive-thru stores throughout the U.S., offering 26 flavors of unsweetened and sweetened tea, as well as iced coffees and chai lattes, which are available for purchase by the gallon.

April 23, 2024

304-unit apartment development filed under Florida's Live Local Act proposed for 22nd Avenue North in St. Pete

April 23, 2024/ Anthony Close

The City of St. Petersburg has received its first development application filed under Florida’s Live Local Act. The proposed development is located at 3100 22nd Avenue North and currently consists of a retail plaza that houses JB Factory Flooring and Studio Physique, a fitness studio.

The 7.27-acre site is owned by ZSPR PROPCO of Tampa, LLC and is under contract for purchase and development by Houston-based The Hanover Company, a private real estate developer.

A purchase price was not disclosed.

The proposed Hanover development will include 304 apartments which consist of 196 one-bedroom apartments and 108 two-bedroom apartments. All the units will rent to households earning at or below 120% of the area median income (AMI).

April 22, 2024

Flower shop and wine bar Pistil House coming to St. Pete's Grand Central District

April 22, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

A local couple is flipping a 1926 bungalow in St. Pete’s Grand Central District into a combined florist shop and wine bar.

Drawing from his experiences working in Oregon’s wine country and at St. Pete floral shops and breweries, Anthony Diaz and his fiancée Carly Dauscher aspire to bring the same flare through a new venture.

The couple has leased a 1,300-square-foot home at 2533 1st Avenue South in the Grand Central District.

Pistil House will focus on single stem cut flowers and offer imported wines, coffee, and small plates. The word ‘pistil’ refers to the female reproductive part of a flower.

April 22, 2024

Owners behind Lolita’s Wine Market to debut new concept in downtown St. Pete

April 22, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

The owners of Lolita's Wine Market are reopening their former Grand Central District storefront with a new concept.

Owners Alex and Kelly Rodriguez, who relocated Lolita’s from the 1700 block of Central Avenue last year to a space inside the Morean Center for Clay, will debut their new concept - Chef's Table by Lolita's - at 16 18th Street South, according to a recent business filing.

The original Lolita's, which debuted in 2017, is known for its create-your-own charcuterie boards and small plates. The couple named the business after their rescue dog, Lola.

In addition to the new concept, Lolita's will continue to have a presence in the Warehouse Arts District at 420 22nd Street South.

April 19, 2024

Done Deals: Rays seek construction manager, Fresco's remains afloat, 4th Street retail lists

April 19, 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.

April 18, 2024

Aerial St. Pete: New downtown towers join an ever-expanding skyline in St. Pete

April 18, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

This month’s edition of Aerial St. Pete shows the construction progress on several real estate developments throughout downtown St. Petersburg.

Aerial St. Pete is a column by St. Pete Rising which features exclusive aerial photography of projects under construction in St. Petersburg, FL. To accomplish this, we have teamed up with AB3 Visuals.

In the article, we show the construction progress for projects including The Nolen, Reflection, Residences at 400 Central, Viv Apartments, Modera St. Petersburg, Art House, the Cordova Inn expansion, and the Chabad Center for Jewish Life.

April 18, 2024

Kahwa opens long-awaited Fourth Street coffee shop

April 18, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

After a nearly four-year stretch, Kahwa Coffee has opened its newest drive-thru coffee shop at 6601 Fourth Street North in St. Petersburg.

The shop, which is built from repurposed shipping containers, was initially expected to debut in 2020; however, there were reportedly permitting issues and other headwinds.

The new Fourth Street drive-thru offers Kahwa's full menu of pastries and sandwiches.

While there isn't any indoor seating, there is a walk-up ordering window and some outdoor seating. The drive-thru cafe is open every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

April 17, 2024

Collaborative art marketplace ASTRA debuts on MLK in downtown St. Pete

April 17, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Vintage furniture, thrift finds, tarot card decks, and handmade jewelry curated by St. Pete artists have found a home inside a new marketplace.

Cassie Mrotek, founder of ASTRA Aromatherapy, has opened ASTRA & Friends, an art consignment shop at 242 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North.

The storefront was previously occupied by Central Oak Barber Co., which relocated two doors down to vegan grocer Black Radish's old space.

April 16, 2024

Reflection condo sales top $65 million as 18-story tower nears completion

April 16, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Construction crews are wrapping up the interior buildout for the 18-story Reflection condominium building that overlooks Mirror Lake.

Reaching a height of 200 feet at 777 3rd Avenue North in downtown St. Petersburg, Reflection is the tallest building in the Mirror Lake neighborhood and will have 88 condos and 2,800 square feet of retail space at completion.

Local developer HP Capital, formed by partners Fred Hemmer, Angelo Cappelli, Nick Hansen, and Chris Hemmer, recently announced that condo sales for the luxury tower reached $65 million, including $5 million sold in the past two weeks. KW Commercial is the exclusive broker marketing the condominiums.