Tierra Verde Marina faces demolition for private boat club and expanded boat storage

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Tierra Verde Marina faces demolition for private boat club and expanded boat storage

A retail plaza, home to several local businesses, and a boat yard located just beyond the Pinellas Bayway Bridge at the entrance to Tierra Verde may be demolished to make way for a private boat club and expanded boat storage.

On Monday, Michael Coffey, Executive Vice President of Greenleaf Capital, presented a preliminary redevelopment plan for the Tierra Verde Marina, located at 100 Pinellas Bayway South, during a Tierra Verde Community Association meeting.

Tampa-based Greenleaf Capital, the real estate division of HCI Group, Inc., purchased the seven-acre marina property for $5,000,100 in 2011.

Coffey outlined a phased plan to demolish the existing facilities and construct a larger boat storage facility, a modern boat club with a new restaurant, bar, and pool, as well as upgraded landscaping, security, and additional amenities.

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Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal is dead

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Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal is dead

In a stunning turn of events, the Tampa Bay Rays have abandoned plans to construct a $1.37 billion stadium in downtown St. Petersburg, citing unforeseen challenges stemming from back-to-back hurricanes and delayed negotiations. The decision halts a long-negotiated deal to replace Tropicana Field and redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District, a project once seen as a catalyst for the city's future.

The Rays’ development partner, Hines, will no longer move forward with the ambitious transformation of Tropicana Field’s vast parking lots into a vibrant mixed-use district. That plan aimed to pay homage to the Black community displaced by the original stadium’s construction. While the deal is now off the table, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg left open the possibility of a restructured agreement.

"After careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment," Sternberg said in a statement. "A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision."

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Century-old Playhouse Theatre to be demolished for redevelopment in the Grand Central District

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Century-old Playhouse Theatre to be demolished for redevelopment in the Grand Central District

Boarded-up windows and crumbling stucco line the exterior of the former Playhouse Theatre—a once-thriving venue for the latest Hollywood movies and traveling performers.

The long-vacant, 100-year-old theater at 1850 Central Avenue may soon be demolished to make way for a new development featuring office space and retail.

The site is located next to an Interstate 275 overpass and adjacent to the Trails Crossing development, a proposed linear park featuring public art and event spaces that is being studied for the area under I-275.

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Corner Kitchen and Coffee House to take over Sweet Brewnette in Madeira Beach

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Corner Kitchen and Coffee House to take over Sweet Brewnette in Madeira Beach

The quaint Sweet Brewnette Cafe in Madeira Beach was one of many businesses that fell victim to Hurricanes Milton and Helene that hit Florida last year. However, a new cafe will rise in its place.

Similar to the beloved Sweet Brewnette Cafe, which is relocating to Panama City Beach, Corner Kitchen and Coffee House will serve made-from-scratch breakfast and lunch items, pastries, and coffee inside the corner building at 13999 Gulf Boulevard when it opens later this month.

“What Sweet Brewnette did was remarkable, and when I saw the space was available, I jumped on it,” said Corner Kitchen and Coffee House owner Jonathan Olejnik, who will run the new cafe with his fiancé, Victoria Helton.

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Plan pitched to transform 235-acre Toytown landfill into a premier sports complex

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Plan pitched to transform 235-acre Toytown landfill into a premier sports complex

Pinellas County is once again seeking a partner to develop the decommissioned 235-acre "Toytown" landfill in north St. Petersburg.

The expansive site, located at 10540 16th Street North near Interstate 275 and Roosevelt Boulevard, operated as a landfill from the 1960s until its closure by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in 1990.

The property has been considered for development many times in the past 20 years, yet no group has been able to successfully bring a project to fruition.

In 2002, the County looked into turning the property into a golf course.

Six years later, in 2008, the County released a request for proposal (RFP) seeking a partner to develop the site and selected a group that proposed building 1.5-million square feet of shopping, 1.5-million square feet of offices and 1,500 homes. The deal fell through in 2011.

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Home of the Week: A 1920s Great Gatsby-era waterfront estate in Old Southeast

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Home of the Week: A 1920s Great Gatsby-era waterfront estate in Old Southeast

This week’s featured Home of the Week is a five-bedroom, five-bathroom Great Gatsby-era estate at 1925 Beach Drive SE in Old Southeast, a neighborhood known for historic hex-block sidewalks and brick streets lined with palm trees and laurel oaks.

Just minutes from downtown St. Pete, this 1920s waterfront residence offers 5,762 square feet of living space, boasting water views from every room and seamlessly combining historic charm with modern luxury.

The home has been completely renovated and sits on an expansive 100’ x 156’ double lot in Flood Zone X.

The main level, which contains travertine tile floors and high ceilings, includes an office ensuite and a chef’s kitchen with quartz countertops, a Viking gas range, Bosch paneled refrigerator, Thermador appliances, and a porcelain farm sink.

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City of St. Pete awarded $159.8 million, launches initiative to support recovery efforts from recent hurricanes

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City of St. Pete awarded $159.8 million, launches initiative to support recovery efforts from recent hurricanes

Today, the City of St. Pete launched a new initiative, called Sunrise St. Pete, to determine how to spend $159.8 million the city was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support long-term recovery efforts from Hurricane Idalia (August 2023) and Hurricane Helene (September 2024).

On January 7th, HUD Agency Head Adrianne Todman announced the allocation of nearly $12 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for communities across 24 states and territories.

St. Petersburg was the only city in Tampa Bay to receive funding. However, Pinellas County received $813,783,000 and the State of Florida received $925,394,000.

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Trails Crossing, a new linear park under I-275 in downtown St. Pete, moves forward after City Council vote

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Trails Crossing, a new linear park under I-275 in downtown St. Pete, moves forward after City Council vote

Four blocks of underutilized space beneath Interstate 275 in downtown St. Pete could be transformed into a new linear park featuring public art and event spaces, creating a destination for pedestrians and cyclists.

In a 7-to-1 vote, City Council approved an agreement on Thursday to contribute $150,000 toward hiring Colorado-based LandDesign, Inc. to kick off the master planning process for Trails Crossing, a walkable, activated park under I-275 that will embrace micro-transit and connect urban neighborhoods—an idea that has been in discussion for years.

“For too long, our community has been physically, socially, and economically divided by infrastructure that was never designed with connectivity in mind,” said John Barkett, a local developer and co-founder of the nonprofit group Friends of Trails Crossing, during Thursday’s meeting.

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Seymour’s is now open, serving up scratch-made NY-style eats in downtown St. Pete

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Seymour’s is now open, serving up scratch-made NY-style eats in downtown St. Pete

The team behind Pete’s Bagels has opened their latest venture—a warm and welcoming Jewish-inspired cafe and coffee shop in downtown St. Pete.

Seymour’s quietly debuted last week at 407 Central Avenue, inside the historic 99-year-old Snell Arcade and directly across from the Residences at 400 Central, which will be the largest residential tower on Florida’s Gulf Coast once complete. The space was previously home to Samurai Cat Japanese Café and Bakery, and before that Beans and Barlour.

Seymour’s—named in honor of owner Steven Peterman’s grandfather—offers a menu of New York deli-style cuisine for breakfast and lunch and coffee courtesy of local roaster Look Alive Coffee.

“My grandfather was a typical guy from New Jersey with an upbeat attitude,” Peterman said in a recent interview with St. Pete Rising. “He was born in 1928 in Newark, NJ. He liked his bagels scooped, ate his pickles on the side, and loved a good rye bread sandwich.”

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Glamper, a camping-themed bar, opens this week in downtown St. Pete

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Glamper, a camping-themed bar, opens this week in downtown St. Pete

Burgers sizzling on the grill, beers chilling in coolers, and friends gathered to watch the big game—this is the endless summer vibe that the new Glamper bar and restaurant wants to bring to downtown St. Pete.

Inspired by backyard cookouts, Fourth of July celebrations, and other summertime traditions, Glamper is set to open this Thursday, March 6th, at 217 Central Avenue, starting at 9 p.m.

The space was formerly home to Caddy’s on Central, which closed in 2020 after COVID-19 shuttered restaurants and bars across Florida. It was later slated to become Nauti Duchess, a nautical-themed bar and seafood restaurant, but those plans never materialized.

The new establishment is being brought to St. Pete by Ohio-based Forward Hospitality Group—known for ’70s-themed club Good Night John Boy, country bar Welcome to the Farm, and retro martini bar My Rich Uncle.

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