$500 million financial firm to relocate headquarters to downtown St. Pete

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$500 million financial firm to relocate headquarters to downtown St. Pete

Bankers Financial Group, a nearly $500 million Pinellas County-based financial services firm, is moving its headquarters back to downtown St. Pete.

The firm, founded in St. Pete 50 years ago, recently announced it has signed a 10-year lease to occupy 54,000 square feet of Class A office space in Duke Energy's building at 299 First Avenue North.

Bankers Financial is currently located in a 100,000-square-foot space at 11101 Roosevelt Boulevard North in St. Petersburg’s Gateway area and will move to the 16-story tower in downtown St. Pete in June 2025.

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Publix on 66th Street to be demolished, rebuilt

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Publix on 66th Street to be demolished, rebuilt

Publix will close its 66th Street store this Saturday July 27th so the grocery chain can demolish the existing building and rebuild a new supermarket in its place.

The current supermarket, located at 3900 66th Street North, was built in 1976.

The city is currently reviewing a permit for Publix to build a new Publix Food & Pharmacy and a separate liquor store on the 6.25-acre site at a project cost of $10.5 million. Laura’s Five Star Jewelry on the corner of 66th Street and 38th Avenue North will not be demolished.

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BobaVita, an authentic Vietnamese boba cafe, relocates in downtown St. Pete

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BobaVita, an authentic Vietnamese boba cafe, relocates in downtown St. Pete

Mina Kreitler, a Vietnamese-born entrepreneur who has made St. Pete her home, wants locals to experience the bold and unique taste of authentic Vietnamese coffee and boba teas.

"We have boba shops on every corner in my country," Kreitler said to St. Pete Rising while working inside her new storefront on Central Avenue.

Bubble tea is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s and was introduced to the United States in the 1990s.

The BobaVita Coffee and Boba Bar has relocated to the ground floor of the Arte luxury apartment building at 1661 Central Avenue. 

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Done Deals: St. Pete apartments sell for over $61M, New downtown restaurant and bar prepares for debut, Hilton hotel sells

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Done Deals: St. Pete apartments sell for over $61M, New downtown restaurant and bar prepares for debut, Hilton hotel sells

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.

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Exclusive: Morean Arts Center plans to build new five-story building to expand offerings, relocate Chihuly Collection

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Exclusive: Morean Arts Center plans to build new five-story building to expand offerings, relocate Chihuly Collection

Each year, The Morean Arts Center welcomes more than 90,000 visitors to its downtown St. Pete property. Now, the arts hub looks to the future with expansion plans that would greatly increase its footprint on Central Avenue.

The Morean Arts Center, which contains an amazing contemporary art gallery and offers art classes, is in the early planning stages for a new five-story state-of-the-art building.

The plans call for demolishing the current 27,000-square-foot facility at 719 Central Avenue to make way for the new building, which would contain more gallery space, offices, parking, and an expanded Chihuly Collection.

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St. Pete City Council approves new Rays stadium and redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District

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St. Pete City Council approves new Rays stadium and redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District

In a historic vote, St. Petersburg City Council voted 5-3 to approve an agreement to build a new 30,000-seat stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District site in downtown St. Pete.

The vote caps off decades of discussion surrounding the team’s future. Council members Deborah Figgs-Sanders, Copley Gerdes, Brandi Gabbard, Ed Montanari, and Gina Driscoll voted in favor of the agreement while Council members Lisset Hanewicz, John Muhammad, and Richie Floyd voted against it.

In total, the project will include nearly 8 million square feet of mixed-use development anchored by a new baseball stadium and cost north of $6.5 billion over 20 years.

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Potbelly Sandwich Works to open first St. Pete shop on Fourth Street

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Potbelly Sandwich Works to open first St. Pete shop on Fourth Street

The Midwest restaurant chain Potbelly Sandwich Works is bringing its toasty sandwiches and shakes to St. Petersburg.

Potbelly has started the interior buildout for its first St. Petersburg shop at 5004 4th Street North, a space previously occupied by Earl of Sandwich.

The new shop, which is expected to open on July 30th, will be the chain’s third location in Tampa Bay, joining existing locations on Dale Mabry in Tampa and at Tampa International Airport. 

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Amid concerns, $6.5 billion Rays stadium deal heads to final vote on Thursday

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Amid concerns, $6.5 billion Rays stadium deal heads to final vote on Thursday

Flexible language around promises to bring affordable housing to the area and the lack of transparency on the Tampa Bay Rays partnership agreements are at the top of city council members' minds.

St. Petersburg City Council members met as the Committee of the Whole (COW) Tuesday morning to analyze the details and recent tweaks made to agreements for both the proposed Rays stadium and the Historic Gas Plant redevelopment just two days before they cast their final vote.

The $6.5 billion development, which is being spearheaded by The Rays and Hines, would transform 86 acres in the heart of downtown St. Pete into an 8-million-square-foot mixed-use district anchored by a new ballpark - becoming the largest project to ever commence in Tampa Bay. 

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Aerial St. Pete: Downtown St. Pete’s tallest towers continue to rise

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Aerial St. Pete: Downtown St. Pete’s tallest towers continue to rise

This month’s edition of Aerial St. Pete shows the construction progress on seven residential towers currently under construction 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, Modera St. Petersburg, Art House, 3rd & 3rd, Residences at 400 Central, Reflection, and Viv Apartments.

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The Blend Coffee & Cocktails to open café on Central Avenue in Central Oak Park

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The Blend Coffee & Cocktails to open café on Central Avenue in Central Oak Park

Earlier this month, The Blend opened its newest location at 3001 16th Street North in Magnolia Heights. The café’s other St. Pete locations are situated at 1211 4th Street North in the Old Northeast, 2760 34th Street North in Disston Heights, and 6730 Central Avenue in west St. Pete.

The coffeehouse also has locations Tampa, Pinellas Park, and Palmetto.

The Blend’s menu features traditional drip coffee, iced coffee, and cold brew, as well as a diverse selection of espresso-based drinks, including lattes, americanos, macchiatos, and mochas. Customers can also choose from over 25 flavored syrups.

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