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.
Read More
A new training center near the EDGE District wants to give runners and cyclists a reason to stick around after their workouts.
Orange Belt Collective is targeting a summer 2027 opening at 1501 Burlington Avenue North, combining endurance-focused fitness spaces with a public café, a grab-and-go market, and an outdoor gathering area.
For founders Michael Rideout and Nathan Stonecipher, the idea grew out of the CRIT Championship Tour, a bicycle race they helped bring to the EDGE District in 2023.
A group ride associated with the event brought hundreds of cyclists from different clubs, bike shops, and generations to Green Bench Brewing, filling Baum Avenue with bikes.
Afterward, people hung around to talk with riders they might otherwise have never met.
For Rideout, it was a welcome departure from the usual routine, when cyclists finish a group ride and head their separate ways.