Beloved Community Café to bring pay-what-you-can dining and worship to the Grand Central District

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Beloved Community Café to bring pay-what-you-can dining and worship to the Grand Central District

Healing, hope, and hospitality are on the menu at a new pay-what-you-can café, where no one eats alone and everyone is welcome.

Good Samaritan Church, currently based in Pinellas Park, and Recovery Epicenter Foundation in Clearwater are transforming a retail space in St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District into Beloved Community Café, a pay-what-you-can café and worship center.

Recovery Epicenter Foundation will use the space as a membership-based recovery center.

Last month, Good Samaritan purchased the 3,150-square-foot building at 1940 Central Avenue for $1,225,000. The building was previously home to a consignment shop called Retreat.

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New kava lounge Cozy Kava opens in the Grand Central District

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New kava lounge Cozy Kava opens in the Grand Central District

A new bar has opened in St. Pete, but instead of shots and cocktails, it’s pouring shells of kava.

Derived from the ground roots of a South Pacific pepper plant, kava is known for its calming, anxiety-reducing effects—and it’s at the center of a growing scene in Pinellas County, where more than 50 kava bars have opened in the last decade.

This surge reflects a broader nationwide trend, as younger generations increasingly turn toward wellness-focused, alcohol-free social spaces.

Cozy Kava quietly opened last month at 2309 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District, formerly home to The MAR St. Pete, a performing arts incubator and studio that has since relocated to the St. Pete City Theatre.

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60-unit Bayou Court opens in south St. Pete with affordable apartments for teachers and government workers

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60-unit Bayou Court opens in south St. Pete with affordable apartments for teachers and government workers

One year ago, city leaders and a local developer broke ground on a transformational project in south St. Pete that aimed to create more housing opportunities for teachers and faculty. Today, the community has officially opened.

The new 60-unit apartment community, Bayou Court Apartments, is located near the southeast corner of Lake Maggiore at 4201 6th Street South, directly behind Lakewood Elementary School.

The project, which recently welcomed its first residents, was made possible through a public-private collaboration between the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, and Gravel Road Partners, a Washington D.C.-based workforce and affordable housing developer that acquired the property in 2022 for $1.7 million.

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Florida Holocaust Museum announces reopening date for remodeled and reimagined museum in downtown St. Pete

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Florida Holocaust Museum announces reopening date for remodeled and reimagined museum in downtown St. Pete

After more than a year of closure, The Florida Holocaust Museum has announced it will welcome visitors back starting Tuesday, September 9th following an extensive renovation.

With a collection of over 25,000 artifacts, The Florida Holocaust Museum, located at 55 5th Street South in downtown St. Pete, is one of the largest Holocaust museums in the country and one of only three nationally accredited Holocaust museums.

The renovation project includes a new entrance with enhanced security features, an open-air second-story balcony, a theater that will house its interactive Dimensions in Testimony exhibit, and a temporary installation housing elements of the Elie Wiesel Collection.

The full Elie Wiesel exhibit, which will occupy the museum’s third floor, will come in a later phase of the museum’s building projects.

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Here are the first renderings of Forbici Modern Italian coming to Sundial in downtown St. Pete

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Here are the first renderings of Forbici Modern Italian coming to Sundial in downtown St. Pete

In February, Tampa Bay restauranteur Jeff Gigante announced his popular modern Italian restaurant Forbici would take over the 12,000-square-foot Sea Salt space at Sundial in downtown St. Pete. And now we have a closer look of what the restaurant will be like.

The restaurant originally planned to move into the ground-floor space previously occupied by Locale Market but shifted its plans to the second floor space at 183 2nd Avenue North following Sea Salt’s closure on December 31st.

Forbici is part of Next Level Brands, a Tampa-based restaurant group founded by restaurateur Jeff Gigante, real estate investor Andrew Wright, and attorney Joseph Guggino.

Expected to open by year’s end, renderings reveal that the 350-seat St. Pete location will mirror the flagship Forbici in South Tampa’s Hyde Park, which opened in 2019, but with a more refined and upscale twist.

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Construction begins on 325-unit apartment community near YMCA in Grand Central District

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Construction begins on 325-unit apartment community near YMCA in Grand Central District

Construction has officially commenced on a 325-unit apartment community that will anchor a new live-work-play neighborhood in St. Pete’s Grand Central District.

As first reported by St. Pete Rising, the five-story apartment building, dubbed The Henry at Whitney Village, is part of a larger development, which will also include a 32,000-square-foot pedestrian-only retail village and a 600-space parking garage for residents and visitors.

The mixed-use project will occupy 4.5 acres on the east side of the Jim & Heather Gills YMCA at 3200 1st Avenue South.

South Carolina-based multifamily developer Greystar Real Estate Partners purchased the property from the neighboring YMCA in February for $12 million.

The 25-year-old, 55,000-square-foot YMCA will undergo a major renovation funded by proceeds from the sale of the athletic field property.

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Historically St. Pete: The oldest surviving school building in St Pete still stands 124 years later

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Historically St. Pete: The oldest surviving school building in St Pete still stands 124 years later

At St. Pete Rising, we are constantly providing comprehensive coverage on everything new and coming soon to the Sunshine City, but we think it’s also important to take a look back at our city's rich history.

Historically St. Pete, a monthly column on St. Pete Rising written by Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History Rui Farias, covers everything from the legend of underground mobster tunnels to the buildings and people that created the Sunshine City.

Follow us each month as we explore how these projects shaped St. Pete into the city we know and love today.

This month we explore the captivating history of the 124-year-old Manual Training School building — Florida’s first vocational school and the oldest surviving school building in St Pete.

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Green Turtle Brewery to replace Cycle Brewing in downtown St. Pete

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Green Turtle Brewery to replace Cycle Brewing in downtown St. Pete

A British-style brewery featuring traditional brewing methods and British fare is set to open next month in the space that Cycle Brewing, St. Pete’s first brewery, has occupied for the past 12 years.

Cycle Brewing will close its taproom sometime this month, but will continue to brew beer at its production warehouse at 2135 5th Avenue South.

Green Turtle Brewery and Public House, located at 534 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete, will serve classic styles of beer such as IPAs, lagers, and porters, with a special focus on cask ales, which are traditional British beers brewed using natural fermentation and served via hand pump.

“It's the freshest beer you can have because it undergoes secondary fermentation in the cask,” said Todd Bearden, who is opening Green Turtle Brewery with his wife, Colleen. “It's not filtered, not pasteurized, and has natural carbonation. It’s alive and breathing.”

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Cycle Brewing to close downtown taproom this month after 12 years

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Cycle Brewing to close downtown taproom this month after 12 years

Cycle Brewing, the city's oldest craft brewery and a cornerstone of St. Petersburg’s craft beer scene, will be closing its downtown taproom this month.

The cycling-themed brewery, which has served locals for the past 12 years, will not renew its lease at 534 Central Avenue, founder and brewmaster Doug Dozark announced earlier today on social media.

“The taproom will close in as early as a week or as late as the end of the month,” said Dozark.

While the tasting room will close, Cycle will continue to brew beer at its production warehouse 2135 5th Avenue South—near the Orange Belt Railway and Pinellas Trail—where it bottles its beverages.

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Seven-story Frontier building set for major transformation in downtown St. Pete

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Seven-story Frontier building set for major transformation in downtown St. Pete

After sitting underutilized for years, the windowless Frontier building at 821 1st Avenue North is finally set to see new life.

Plans have been filed with the City of St. Petersburg to redevelop the seven-story, 233,590-square-foot office and data center, which is partially leased by Frontier Communications. The proposed redevelopment includes 41,333 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 137,663 square feet of self-storage, and 54,594 square feet of office space.

Originally constructed in 1928 by the General Telephone Company of Florida, the building was expanded in 1967 and 1970. It remains a key part of St. Petersburg's internet infrastructure, housing extensive fiber optic cable, switch rooms, frame rooms, and generators as large as jet engines.

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