83-unit infill apartment buildings to rise in downtown St. Pete
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About a year ago, St. Pete City Council approved a package of Land Development Regulation (LDR) changes in an effort to help reduce the cost of building housing in the city. The package of code changes was just one prong in a multifaceted approach to help address housing affordability in the Sunshine City.
One of the approved code changes was the removal of mandatory parking minimums for residential units under 750 square feet in downtown St. Pete. Mandatory parking minimums are development regulations which require a certain number of vehicular parking spaces per residential unit.
There’s a growing body of evidence that mandatory parking minimums come at an immense cost to the cities that implement them.
A 2015 study even estimated that the cost of a single parking space in a structured garage increases residential rent by $225 per month.
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Red Mesa Mercado’s west St. Pete location is permanently closing less than a year after opening.
The Red Mesa team announced on social media earlier today that its Cali-Mex restaurant at 6001 Central Avenue will close August 16th.
Red Mesa Mercado’s original location in the EDGE District at 1100 1st Avenue North, along with Red Mesa Restaurant at 4912 4th Street North, will remain open.
The 150-seat restaurant opened in October 2025 in the former Two Graces and Reading Room space.
It was Red Mesa Mercado’s second location and featured a full-liquor bar, table service, and a more sit-down-focused experience than the original Mercado’s window-service model.
Red Mesa first announced plans for the west St. Pete location in late 2022, and the restaurant took about three years to open.