St. Pete officially ends Rays redevelopment deal, approve Tropicana Field repairs

/
St. Pete officially ends Rays redevelopment deal, approve Tropicana Field repairs

One year after entering into a $6.5 billion redevelopment deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and national developer Hines, St. Pete City Council unanimously voted on Thursday to terminate the agreement.

The deal would have allowed the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District be to redeveloped into a new mixed-use neighborhood with nearly 8 million square feet of space, including a $1.3 billion baseball stadium.

City Council’s vote was largely procedural, as the Rays and Hines had announced in March that they were withdrawing from the deal after missing key project milestones.

Mayor Ken Welch, who was a strong supporter of the project, addressed the termination in a statement following the vote.

“While the Rays’ decision is terribly disappointing, our mission was to adapt and refocus on our primary objective – the progress of our city,” said Welch. “And part of that mission is accomplished by today’s City Council vote.”

Read More

A new neighborhood bar The Green Room opens next to Tchotchke in south St. Pete

/
A new neighborhood bar The Green Room opens next to Tchotchke in south St. Pete

A new neighborhood bar has quietly opened in south St. Pete.

Located at 3920 6th Street South, The Green Room is a new bar from Matthew Firosz, owner of the adjacent diner Tchotchke. The diner opened last year in the former Munch’s space, which had operated for 70 years before closing.

The Green Room takes over a former Phillips Air Conditioning & Heating office, now reimagined as a laid-back, no frills hangout.

Inside, the space feels comfortable and worn in, with classic wooden wainscoting below deep green walls that are collaged with framed artwork and random knick knacks from Firosz’s personal collection.

A trio of dartboards are located in the back by the bathrooms.

At the heart of the space is a 14-seat L-shaped bar, topped with thousands of pennies and stocked with over 50 varieties of bourbon.

Read More

The Nolen, a 23-story condo tower in downtown St. Pete, opens to residents

/
The Nolen, a 23-story condo tower in downtown St. Pete, opens to residents

After nearly three years of construction, residents have started moving into the Nolen, a 31-unit luxury condominium tower in downtown St. Pete.

Located at 126 4th Avenue Northeast, the community has sold 30 of its residences, with just one home still available. Closings began last week, and 80% of homeowners are expected to move in over the next few weeks.

The Nolen was developed by DDA Development and Backstreets Capital, the same team behind The Salvador, which opened in 2017. They are also currently developing The Central, a 2.1-acre mixed-use project in St. Pete’s EDGE District.

Read More

Popular chicken finger chain Raising Cane's announces opening date for its first St. Pete location

/
Popular chicken finger chain Raising Cane's announces opening date for its first St. Pete location

Louisiana-based fried chicken chain Raising Cane's is nearly ready to serve its crispy chicken tenders and beloved signature sauce to St. Pete residents.

The growing franchise is set to debut on Tuesday, August 5th at 2700 Tyrone Boulevard North, located in a new outparcel building at Tyrone Square Mall.

Festivities will kick off in the morning, with a giveaway from 8 to 9 a.m. for a chance to win free Cane’s for a year. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m. Guests can also enjoy free Raising Cane’s swag, a live DJ, and chicken tender samples.

Read More

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest to move headquarters to EDGE District in downtown St. Pete

/
Cathie Wood's ARK Invest to move headquarters to EDGE District in downtown St. Pete

ARK Invest, a leading global investment firm known for its focus on disruptive innovation, will relocate its downtown St. Pete headquarters to the EDGE District.

Tampa-based Ellison Development announced Wednesday that ARK Invest, which is currently headquartered at 200 Central Avenue, will occupy 13,000 square feet on the 11th floor of Halcyon, a new office building expected to break ground later this year at 1301 Central Avenue.

Halcyon represents the first Class A office building constructed in downtown St. Pete since the 1980s.

The 11-story, 130,000-square-foot office building is one of the main components of The Central, a 2.1-acre mixed-use development that will also contain a 168-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, 14,000 square feet of retail space, a 42-unit affordable housing community, and a newly opened 540-space parking garage.

Read More

$27 million penthouse sale at Waldorf Astoria Residences in downtown St. Pete shatters Tampa Bay condo record

/
$27 million penthouse sale at Waldorf Astoria Residences in downtown St. Pete shatters Tampa Bay condo record

A local business leader has purchased a two-story penthouse atop the planned 50-story Waldorf Astoria Residences tower in downtown St. Petersburg for $27 million.

Planned for 150 2nd Avenue South, the Waldorf Astoria Residences will be the city’s tallest building and the first five-star branded condo tower in St. Petersburg. The project will include 163 condominiums, 73,000 square feet of Class A office space, 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and a wide range of luxury amenities.

The sale of the 11,000-square-foot rooftop unit has shattered the record for the most expensive condominium ever sold in the Tampa Bay area.

The previous high in St. Pete was an $8.25 million penthouse at Saltaire, located next to the proposed Waldorf Astoria tower in downtown St. Pete, which sold in 2024. In Tampa, the record is an $11.6 million penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, sold in 2021.

Read More

A Rosie the Riveter-themed restaurant and bar to replace The Avenue in downtown St. Pete

/
A Rosie the Riveter-themed restaurant and bar to replace The Avenue in downtown St. Pete

A new restaurant and bar inspired by the cultural icon Rosie the Riveter is coming to downtown St. Pete, replacing The Avenue, which closed in February after 13 years in business.

Tampa’s Riveters, a concept celebrating female empowerment and the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, will bring its historical theme and made-from-scratch menu to 330 1st Avenue South later this year.

The 3,925-square-foot space will be transformed into a sports bar featuring World War II memorabilia, including Rosie the Riveter posters, veteran patches, and wings from crashed bomber jets mounted on the walls.

The female staff, called “Rosies,” wear red bandanas and denim tops inspired by the iconic poster, while the male staff wear military and tactical-style uniforms.

Read More

Mayor Welch unveils $1.1 billion budget focused on housing, public works, and safer neighborhoods

/
Mayor Welch unveils $1.1 billion budget focused on housing, public works, and safer neighborhoods

Mayor Ken Welch has released his recommended Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget for the City of St. Petersburg, a $967 million spending plan focused on affordable housing, infrastructure resilience, equitable development, and neighborhood health and safety.

The Capital Improvement Plan, which is funded through the city’s budget, includes an additional $202 million in funding for projects ranging from road resurfacing and wastewater treatment upgrades to municipal facility improvements.

The city’s total operating budget plus the proposed Capital Improvement Plan totals over $1.1 billion in spending for FY26.

Read More

New concierge primary care office opens in Historic Kenwood offering preventive care, easy access, and longer visits

/
New concierge primary care office opens in Historic Kenwood offering preventive care, easy access, and longer visits

A new kind of doctor’s office has opened its doors in Historic Kenwood, offering a more personalized, relationship-based approach to primary care.

The practice brings concierge medicine, a model focused on prevention, accessibility, and longer visits, to a freshly renovated space at 2552 1st Avenue North in St. Pete.

The 3,700-square-foot clinic is the second location for Griffin Concierge Medical, a membership-based primary care practice founded by Dr. Radley Griffin in South Tampa in 2008.

Dr. Griffin founded his practice after working in emergency medicine and at a large primary care group in Manhattan, where he became frustrated by the rushed, transactional nature of traditional healthcare. He envisioned a slower, more thoughtful model where doctors could truly connect with their patients.

Read More

Beau & Mo’s Italian Steakhouse in Historic Kenwood purchases neighboring property, announces new menu offerings

/
Beau & Mo’s Italian Steakhouse in Historic Kenwood purchases neighboring property, announces new menu offerings

Finding a parking spot at one of St. Pete’s most popular steakhouses just got a lot easier, thanks to a major new investment by the restaurant’s owners.

In June, the owners of Beau & Mo’s Italian Steakhouse, located at 2924 5th Avenue North in Historic Kenwood, purchased the neighboring auto shop for $1 million.

The family-owned steakhouse has faced limited parking since it opened in 2015.

The acquisition adds over 30 parking spaces for the 125-seat restaurant, which itself only has 15 on-site spaces.

Guests frequently relied on street parking or overflow parking across the street at the nearby PPG Paint Store.

For now, there are no plans to repurpose the vacant auto shop.

Read More