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 years of planning, Craft Kafe is targeting an early October opening for a new cafe and commissary kitchen in St. Pete’s Skyway Marina District.
The homegrown eatery and bakery, known for specialty coffee and a scratch-made gluten-free menu, is putting the finishing touches on its third St. Pete cafe at 4725 34th Street South in the Marina Village shopping plaza, just south of the Marina Walk Apartments.
The 4,700-square-foot space will include a 1,000-square-foot cafe and a large production kitchen designed to supply Craft’s existing stores and support future expansion, according to the owners.
“We’ve planned this one month after opening our first store in St. Pete. Because of the pandemic, issues in logistics, and losing my home from the hurricanes, this has taken so long to open,” founder and owner Teddy Skiadiotis told St. Pete Rising during a private tour.