August 27, 2024

City of St. Pete to sell 1.5-acre site near Tropicana Field in downtown St. Pete

August 27, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

The City of St. Pete is in discussions to sell a 1.53-acre city-owned property near the future Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment in downtown St. Pete.

Third Lake Partners, which was established by Ashley Furniture founder Ronald Wanek, is expected to purchase the property at 298 Dr. Martin Luther King Street South from the City of St. Petersburg for $10 million.

The property is situated east of Tropicana Field and directly west of United Property Insurance's (UPC) former headquarters building, which Third Lake Partners bought in 2022 for $10.5 million.

August 27, 2024

71-unit affordable housing community breaks ground at former Ed White Hospital site in North Kenwood

August 27, 2024/ Anthony Close

The St. Petersburg Housing Authority (SPHA) marked a significant milestone in addressing affordable housing needs for seniors with the groundbreaking of a new residential project at 2323 9th Avenue North in North Kenwood.

The project, dubbed the Edward White Campus, a nod to the former Edward White Hospital that operated at the property, is set to be transformed into a six-story, 121,000-square-foot affordable housing complex.

The campus will house three facilities including: the Gemini Senior Living Community, the St. Petersburg Housing Authority Central Office, and Evara Health.

August 26, 2024

Red Thread to bring flavors of the Silk Road to downtown St. Pete this fall

August 26, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

When Saigon Blonde opened in downtown St. Pete, it redefined what a cocktail bar in Tampa Bay could be. Six years later, the team behind Saigon Blonde is putting the final touches on a new immersive upscale restaurant set to debut this September.

In 2018, instead of simply designing a beautiful bar, the owner used Saigon Blonde to tell a story.

Saigon Blonde, located at 265 Central Avenue, is the story of a beautiful Vietnamese-French woman who operated a cocktail lounge deep in the heart of the capital of Vietnam during one of history’s most devastating wars.

The downtown St. Pete cocktail bar could easily fit in on the streets of New York City or in a Disney theme park. And by the sound of it, the team’s next concept would fit right in as well.

August 23, 2024

Atomic Tattoos to open on Central Avenue in the Grand Central District

August 23, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Itching for some fresh ink? The largest privately owned tattoo company Atomic Tattoos is opening a new shop in downtown St. Petersburg.

Atomic Tattoos, which has shops throughout Tampa Bay, including in the Tyrone Square Mall, will open the tattoo and body piercing shop at 2434 Central Avenue next to the Tubular Tokes retail and vape shop.

Atomic Tattoos founders and husband-and-wife duo Clay and Laurie Montgomery purchased the building this month for $1.025 million. It was previously occupied by Charles Edward Salon and the Joel Schmitz CPA firm.

August 23, 2024

Done Deals: New cafe opens in the EDGE, District courthouse tops out, affordable housing breaks ground

August 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.

August 22, 2024

Local developer files plan to preserve historic building and build condos on Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete

August 22, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

A St. Petersburg-based developer has filed plans to preserve a historically significant property fronting Mirror Lake and construct a seven-story condo building in downtown St. Pete.

The 0.47-acre site at 250 Mirror Lake Drive North is currently home to an 87-year-old building that will be restored and remain on site. A new two-story residence will be built on the northeast corner of the property and an 18-unit condo building will be constructed on the west side of the property on what is currently a vacant lot.

The developer, Backstreets Capital, has operated out of a 1920’s-era building across the street from the site at 248 Mirror Lake Drive for the past four years.

The existing two-story 1937-built building, while not listed on the local or national register of historic places, is adorned with a bronze plaque noting the building as being a “contributing structure of the downtown historic district.”

August 21, 2024

St. Pete restaurant openings you may have missed

August 21, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

From Asian-fusion cuisine to smoked fish, established and rising chefs continue to bring new tasty concepts to the Sunshine City for locals to indulge in.

Numerous restaurants have debuted in St. Pete and beyond over the past few months and the city’s culinary landscape has garnered the attention of Travel & Leisure, which recently ranked St. Petersburg as the “top food city in America”.

Here’s a list of recent restaurant openings you may have missed.

August 20, 2024

City of St. Petersburg looks to redevelop site on 22nd Street South in The Deuces

August 20, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

A South St. Pete property, once home to the historic cultural landmark, may be redeveloped.

The City of St. Petersburg issued a request for proposals (RFP) for developers interested in redeveloping three parcels at 951 22nd Street South.

The city is aiming to have the parcel transformed into a mixed-use project encompassing affordable housing, retail, event space, and/or a restaurant.

August 19, 2024

Construction to begin on new SunRunner bus rapid transit station near Beach Drive

August 19, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Construction will soon begin on a new SunRunner station in downtown St. Pete that will increase ridership for the bus rapid transit line.

“Beach to Burg” is a tagline used by the SunRunner bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which is the first high frequency transit line of its kind in Tampa Bay.

The $44-million, 10.3-mile route debuted in October 2022 and links downtown St. Petersburg to St. Pete Beach via dedicated lanes running along 1st Avenue North and 1st Avenue South.

At present, the SunRunner has 30 stops, with buses arriving about every 15 minutes. The new station will be built near the Sundial Parking Garage at 150 1st Avenue North in downtown St. Pete.