16-story hotel approved to replace 100-year-old storm-damaged building in downtown St. Pete
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An 11-story storm-damaged building in the heart of downtown St. Pete is one step closer to being demolished and redeveloped into a 16-story boutique hotel after receiving its first approval from the city.
St. Pete City Council, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), found the proposed plan to demolish the 100-year-old building at 300 Central Avenue and construct a 16-story tower with 74 hotel rooms and 4,000 square feet of commercial space consistent with the City’s Intown Redevelopment Plan.
The existing structure, historically known as the Smith Empire Building and called the Coronet 300 since 1966, was constructed in 1924 as a commercial building and later adapted for mixed-use residential purposes in the 1960s. The building is not listed on the Local or National Register of Historic Places.
Local entrepreneur and developer Steve Gianfilippo of Gianco Companies, who purchased the building in 2017, said the vacant structure suffered significant damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Interim repairs will be made to ensure safety while plans for the new hotel are finalized.
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A new family-owned restaurant serving pizzas, burgers, empanadas, and other Argentinian dishes is preparing to open in Pinellas Park.
Pizzardis will open at 7820 49th Street North, near England Brothers Park and the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center. The building was previously home to Pinellas Park's Fresh Produce.
Owner Victoria Fecarotta said she and her husband expect to welcome their first customers during the last week of September.
For Fecarotta, the restaurant is rooted in memories of food bringing people together in Argentina, from long Sunday lunches to Friday nights spent sharing pizza with family.
She moved to the United States in 2001 and, after years in the restaurant business and previously owning a restaurant with her husband in Chicago, is ready to open a place of her own in Pinellas County.