Then and Now: The rise of the EDGE District in downtown St. Pete
/The EDGE District is home to over 1,600 residents. An additional 80,000 visitors pass through every month to patronize the neighborhood’s 130+ businesses.
In the past few years, the EDGE District has turned into a neighborhood known for its restaurants, bars, and boutiques. But go back just a decade and you’ll find it was only recently a sleepy strip of boarded up storefronts.
Downtown St. Pete’s boom years began right after the recession when a pair of luxury condo towers, Ovation and Signature Place, opened on Beach Drive in 2009. The new residents helped revive Beach Drive, which began filling out with more restaurants and shops.
Over the years, downtown’s popularity continued to rise, as did the demand for more places to eat, drink, and shop. Housing also became highly sought-after as people desired to live in the most walkable downtown in Florida.
And so, the boundaries of downtown St. Pete started to expand west down Central Avenue, downtown’s main retail corridor. Around 2012, revitalization hit the EDGE District, which is bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, 16th Street and First Avenues North and South.
The EDGE District is one of Downtown St. Pete’s most vibrant neighborhoods and is bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, 16th Street and First Avenues North and South.
Today, the EDGE District is home to over 1,500 residents, according to the EDGE District Business Association. An additional 80,000 visitors pass through every month to patronize the neighborhood’s 130+ businesses.
At St. Pete Rising, we spend most of our time looking to the future by reporting on everything new and coming soon to St. Pete. Whether it’s a new coffee shop, bar, boutique, apartment community, or office tower, if there’s a shovel in the dirt, we want you to know what's going on!
However, to truly appreciate where we are headed, it’s important to remember where we’ve been. And so, here's a brief Then and Now photo tour illustrating how one of our favorite downtown neighborhoods, the EDGE District, has evolved over the last decade.
911-923 Central Avenue
A collection of vacant storefronts is now home to Buya Ramen, Machine Shop Barber Company, Atlas Body + Home, and Pizza Box.
930 Central Avenue
A vacant grass lot was purchased in 2016 for $4.7 million by multi-family developer Bainbridge. The 218-unit 930 Central Flats wrapped up construction in 2019. Once fully leased in 2020, the apartment building was sold for $64 million.
937-957 Central Avenue
In 2012, Cafe Bohemia, Images by Anderson and Co, Fredo Ink, and vacant storefronts occupied the block. Today, it’s home to No Vacancy, Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletana & Pastaria, German Knodle, Plant Love Ice Cream, Hot Wax Glass Co, and Grassroots Kava House.
957-965 Central Avenue
A decade ago, this stretch of Central Avenue contained remnants of Culture Club and an electric and plumbing business. In 2017, the Culture Club building was completely gutted and renovated into GulfShore Bank, which became Seacoast Bank and then Flagship Bank. The electric shop also underwent a renovation and was rented to Grassroots Kava House, which bought the building in 2019 for $1.45 million.
1027-1041 Central Avenue
Vacant, dilapidated storefronts have been renovated and are now home to some of St. Pete’s most popular businesses including Ashe Couture Boutique, Matter of Fact: A Curated Men’s Shop, Skyway Media, Poppo’s Taqueria, Lida’s Jungle, Sans Market, and Sweet Stack Shack.
1033-1049 Central Avenue
Another stretch of vacant storefronts are now occupied by Italy Bottega and Independent Bar. The building currently occupied by COPA was constructed in 2013.
1106-1114 Central Avenue
What is now the Central Arcade (and future home of Sweetgreen), Enigma, and Chai Mixology was Cakewalk Artists' Co-op and Interior Motives ten years ago. In 2019, the two floors above Enigma were renovated into modern office suites.
1111-1113 Central Avenue
The 1940s buildings that were home to Cafe Adagio and Savannah’s Cafe in 2012 are now Intermezzo Coffee & Cocktails and Karma Juice Bar & Eatery.
1122-1180 Central Avenue
A decade before Bodega, there was a dress store called Malindy Elene Bridal Boutique. Built in 1926, the Monroe Block building was occupied by Creative Clay in 2012. Today, the building is home to Bacon Bitch and The Candle Pour (coming soon!).
1235 Central Avenue
The building occupied by The Double Wide Saloon in 2010 and Taps and Tequila years later became Hawkers Asian Street Food. The Asian restaurant purchased the building in 2018 for $2.7 million.
1133 Baum Avenue North
On Baum Avenue, a shuttered auto body and tinting shop is now St. Pete’s first microbrewery, Green Bench Brewing. In 2019, Green Bench debuted Webb’s City Cellar as part of a massive expansion. Green Bench brews over 372,000 gallons of beer annually.
1100 1st Avenue North
Red Mesa Mercado opened in 2015 where Simple Living, a furniture store, once operated.
The Roundabout!
Finally…the roundabout! In 2021, the EDGE District welcomed a new piece of art in the center of the roundabout at the intersection of 11th Street and Central Avenue. The sculpture is entitled “Sun on the EDGE” by NYC-based Ilan Averbuch.
