St. Pete Beach approves $500 million expansion of TradeWinds Island Resorts
/After St. Pete Beach commissioners delayed voting on TradeWinds' proposed expansion plans last week, the owners have finally won their approval.
Following hours of debate that started Tuesday evening and bled into Wednesday morning, in a 3-2 vote, the commissioners narrowly approved a development agreement and conditional use permit (CUP).
The approval comes with a list of conditions for the redevelopment of the 25-acre beachfront resort at 5500 Gulf Boulevard on St. Pete Beach.
Commissioners Karen Marriott, Nick Filtz, and Richard Lorenzen voted in favor of the expansion plans. Mayor Adrian Petrila and Betty Rzewnicki cast the opposing votes.
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For generations of St. Pete residents, The Chattaway has been the kind of place people do not simply visit. They return to it.
They come back for the cheeseburgers, the beer, the photos and plaques crowding the walls, and the leafy courtyard that feels tucked away from the city around it.
Some remember riding bikes there as kids. Others had first dates beneath its trees. Nearly everyone has a story.
Today, that story enters a new chapter.
The Chattaway has reopened at 358 22nd Avenue South after Cullen Mahoney, Ferg’s Sports Bar owner Mark Ferguson, and Shrimpy’s Waterfront owner John John Delladonna purchased both the restaurant and the 0.70-acre property beneath it.
Customers returning today will find the familiar restaurant, with several practical upgrades designed to make it work better day to day.