Intimate fragrance boutique Super Memory to bring niche and indie scents to downtown St. Pete

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Intimate fragrance boutique Super Memory to bring niche and indie scents to downtown St. Pete

A whiff of autumn air, the pages of an old book, a hint of amber and leather. Each scent tells a story.

Soon, downtown St. Pete will have a new place to explore those stories when Super Memory, an intimate fragrance boutique, debuts on Saturday, November 22nd.

The brainchild of Merryck Walker, Super Memory will open at 600 1st Avenue North, Suite 103, in a space once part of the Reflection condo sales center.

Inside the shop, visitors can sit at a four-seat fragrance bar, choose a flight of scents to test, and experience more than 60 varieties of niche and indie fragrances, many of which are unavailable anywhere else in the Tampa Bay region.

A record player spinning vinyl will add to the shop’s immersive atmosphere.

“Mostly every scent we will carry will be unisex,” she said. “But the variety ensures there’s something for everyone.”

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First look at conceptual designs for St. Petersburg Yacht Club’s future in downtown St. Pete

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First look at conceptual designs for St. Petersburg Yacht Club’s future in downtown St. Pete

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club, one of the city’s oldest and most storied institutions, is taking the next step in a multi-year effort to determine the future of its downtown clubhouse.

At a town hall meeting on September 2nd, members were shown new conceptual designs that visualize how a rebuilt club might look.

The renderings, created by West Palm Beach–based Spina O’Rourke + Partners, show a three-story building overlooking the downtown waterfront at 11 Central Avenue, where the club has resided since 1917.

The existing Spanish Mission-style building, designed by architect George W. Stewart, has undergone numerous renovations since opening in 1917, most recently in 1989.

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Side Splitters Comedy Club bringing 250-seat venue to downtown St. Pete

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Side Splitters Comedy Club bringing 250-seat venue to downtown St. Pete

Side Splitters Comedy Club, one of Tampa’s longest running comedy clubs, is expanding to downtown St. Pete with a new modern club at the Sundial shopping center.

After more than 30 years of drawing nationally-touring headliners, as well as local talent and an award-winning open mic, to its original Carrollwood location, Side Splitters has signed a lease to open a 250-seat venue on the second level of the shopping and entertainment center located at 153 2nd Avenue North.

The 5,600-square-foot space, formerly part of FarmTable Cucina, which closed at the end of 2019, will be custom-built from the ground up and is expected to debut by summer 2026.

“The Tampa club was built in 1992, and we had to work with the layout of that building. This will be built from scratch. Although it will be similar, it will take on its own personality,” Side Splitters Owner Brian Thompson said in an interview with St. Pete Rising.

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A convenience store made entirely out of felt is coming to St. Pete

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A convenience store made entirely out of felt is coming to St. Pete

A new convenience store is opening soon in St. Pete, but you won’t find any real snacks inside.

Instead, every chip bag, soda can, and even the checkout counter itself will be made entirely out of felt.

The whimsical installation by British artist Lucy Sparrow is the latest immersive experience coming to FloridaRAMA, located at 2606 Fairfield Avenue South in the Warehouse Arts District.

FloridaRAMA, which opened as Fairgrounds in 2021, centers on immersive, participatory art that celebrates Florida’s eccentric character through the work of more than 80 artists, many of them local.

The new exhibit, called Quick Shop, will open Friday, November 21st, replacing FloridaRAMA’s previous Shrimpfinity exhibit.

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23-story Gallery Haus apartment tower set to break ground near Tropicana Field in downtown St. Pete

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23-story Gallery Haus apartment tower set to break ground near Tropicana Field in downtown St. Pete

A team of Miami-based developers is preparing to bring a new wave of residential living to downtown St. Pete.

LD&D, in partnership with IGEQ and Black Salmon, has finalized plans for Gallery Haus, a 23-story, $115 million apartment tower that will rise at 155 17th Street South, directly across from Tropicana Field and along the Pinellas Trail.

The development will contain 254 apartments, more than 10,000 square feet of amenities, and 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

LD&D purchased the 0.77-acre site from Apogee Real Estate Partners in late 2023 for just over $9 million. Apogee had previously secured site plan approval for a similar tower with 204 units in 2022.

Gallery Haus is an expansion of LD&D’s “Haus” portfolio, which includes Wynwood Haus in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District and Williamsburg Haus in Brooklyn.

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Bob’s Side Piece to open in original Dead Bob’s location in west St. Pete

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Bob’s Side Piece to open in original Dead Bob’s location in west St. Pete

A pair of well-known St. Pete restaurateurs are teaming up to introduce a new neighborhood eatery that will offer old school Italian sandwiches, pizza, and more.

Bob’s Side Piece will open in early 2026 at 6716 Central Avenue, the original home of Dead Bob’s.

The new restaurant is a collaboration between Ben Scherlis, owner of the beloved local hangout Dead Bob’s, and Jim Breazeale, owner of DeLosa’s Pizzeria in John’s Pass Village on Madeira Beach.

As Scherlis prepares to reopen Dead Bob’s this Thursday at 6475 Central Avenue, he saw potential in keeping the old space alive.

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ARK Invest and Ellison Development to launch funds anchored by Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment

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ARK Invest and Ellison Development to launch funds anchored by Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment

ARK Invest and Ellison Development have announced plans to launch two private real estate funds that would invest in innovation-forward projects across the Tampa Bay region, including the proposed redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete.

According to a joint announcement, the ARK Ellison Urban Innovation Fund would target accredited investors while the ARK Ellison Community Growth Fund would allow non-accredited investors to participate.

The ARK Ellison Urban Innovation Fund will be partially structured as a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund, making it eligible to invest in projects located within federally designated Opportunity Zones such as the Historic Gas Plant District.

The fund is described as having a long-term investment horizon with periodic liquidity and a diversified pipeline of approximately $9 billion in mixed-use, innovation-focused projects throughout Tampa Bay.

The ARK Ellison Community Growth Fund, meanwhile, would focus exclusively on the 95-acre redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. The companies say participation would be available through digital platforms that utilize blockchain technology to provide transparency and record-keeping. Minimum investments are expected to start at $500.

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Several developments move forward along The Deuces corridor in south St. Pete

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Several developments move forward along The Deuces corridor in south St. Pete

After years of promises to revive 22nd Street South, the City of St. Pete is finally making progress on projects expected to bring new life back to The Deuces.

From the 1940s through the 1960s, 22nd Street South, from 2nd Avenue to 18th Avenue, was the heart of St. Pete’s Black community, filled with thriving businesses, music clubs, and restaurants.

But after I-275 cut through the area in the mid 1970s, the busy corridor slowly fell into decline.

Now, with a growing pipeline of new developments on the horizon, the Deuces is beginning to show signs of revival.

At a community meeting this week at the Enoch Davis Center, city officials gave updates on several ongoing projects.

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82-unit affordable apartment community Wimbish Court proposed for south St. Pete

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82-unit affordable apartment community Wimbish Court proposed for south St. Pete

A vacant 1.16-acre site near Bartlett Park in south St. Pete could soon become an 82-unit affordable housing community.

The $33 million development, called Wimbish Court, has been proposed by Orlando-based Archway Partners for 2025 Dr. M.L.K. Jr. Street South.

Archway is under contract to purchase the property for $1.875 million, but the project will only move forward if it secures 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), according to Paul Nudelman, Development Partner at Archway Partners.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program is a federal tax incentive created by Congress in 1986 to encourage private developers to build affordable housing.

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Historically St. Pete: The fascinating story of the Williams Mansion, one of the city’s oldest surviving landmarks

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Historically St. Pete: The fascinating story of the Williams Mansion, one of the city’s oldest surviving landmarks

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 look back at the Williams House, built in 1891 for city co-founder General John C. Williams, making it one of St. Petersburg’s oldest surviving landmarks.

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