Contemporary Townhomes Planned for Historic Kenwood
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The downtown development boom is starting to have a ripple effect on the areas surrounding the downtown core. Neighborhoods like the Grand Central District, Warehouse Arts District, and EDGE District have all benefited from Downtown St. Pete’s increasing popularity. And as these communities continue to evolve, they’ve started to develop distinct identities and personalities of their own.
The Grand Central District, for example, is a growing, creative, and bohemian collection of 350 locally owned and operated businesses, including merchants, restaurants, bars, art galleries, professional services, and health and wellness providers. The neighborhood is located just west of Downtown St Pete with boundaries between 31st Street to 16th Street, and includes Central Avenue, 1st Avenue North and 1st Avenue South.
Many of the small businesses that would have once eyed the 600 block are instead looking west down Central Avenue due to significantly cheaper rents. While this shift is seen as a negative by many, the businesses moving into the district have reactivated buildings, and even entire blocks, that have sat underutilized or vacant for decades.
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After months of renovating a former convenience store and fine-tuning recipes, the owners of Kitty’s House of Pizza are getting ready to welcome their first customers next month in St. Pete’s Central Oak Park neighborhood.
The pizzeria at 4059 5th Avenue North will serve scratch-made pies that owners Steve Garrahan and Kurt Drake hope will give nearby residents something to crave.
Garrahan and Drake, the founders of Bright Ice Scoop Shop, first announced the concept in December 2025. Since then, they have been developing a small menu built around familiar flavors with a few unexpected ingredients.
“We want the pizzas to be distinct, but we don’t want them to be weird for the sake of being weird,” Garrahan said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.
One of the owners’ favorites is the Golden Hour, which contains a creamy pepperoncini pepper white base with mozzarella, housemade sausage, red onions, pepperoncini rings, and roasted red peppers.