Downtown St. Pete may see its first significant office development in 12 years
/
Downtown St. Pete may get its first new office building in nearly three decades if the city accepts an offer from UPC Insurance to expand it’s headquarter’s to a lot along 1st Avenue South. The city has long discussed offering Jabil this site in an attempt to lure them into building a new corporate headquarters in Downtown St. Pete. However, when Jabil ultimately chose to rebuild and expand its existing office complex in North St. Pete, UPC took notice and began exploring plans of their own.
On July 19, 2018, the City of St. Pete received a letter from UPC Insurance stating their desire and intent to acquire the entire 800 block of 1st Avenue South for the purposes of constructing and occupying a new corporate headquarters.
UPC Insurance currently owns a 42,000 square foot building across the street at 800 2nd Avenue South, which formerly housed the Downtown St. Pete AAA office, as well as a smaller 8,000 square foot building at 724 2nd Avenue South. They also currently lease a parking lot from the city which is adjacent to their 800 2nd Avenue South building.
Read More
More than five years after it was first announced, modern Asian restaurant Kojo is finally ready to welcome diners to downtown St. Pete.
Kojo will soft open Friday, November 13th, at 5 p.m. on the third floor of Central Park, the five-story food hall at 551 Central Avenue.
Reservations for the restaurant are available through Resy.
Unlike the fast-casual food hall downstairs, Kojo will offer a full-service dining experience, seating about 115 guests in its dining room and at the kitchen counter. The restaurant specializes in modern Asian cuisine, drawing on flavors from Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan.
“Full-service restaurants are really what we have been doing as a company,” Robert Castellon, Director of Operations at Hi Hospitality Group, said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “The food hall is our first step in a different direction. We created a format where guests can build their own experience. So it feels awesome to step back into our comfort zone.”
The menu at Kojo offers plenty of options for sharing, including shrimp and pork gyoza, truffled chicken wontons, and crispy chicken wings tossed in a Sichuan soy glaze.