Done Deals: Hotel developer buys 1700 block parcels, Downtown St. Pete office lists, art studio opens

An aerial image of the 17-story first central tower in downtown St. pete | loopnet/commercial realty partners

Done Deals is a weekly column by St. Pete Rising spotlighting recent real estate market insight and significant deals happening in the Sunshine City and beyond. The following information is sourced from public records and trusted intel.

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Hotel developer buys 1700 block parcels

The acquistion includes two buildings and surface parking lots on the 1700 block | Google Earth

Clearwater-based Menna Development and Management has purchased multiple lots surrounding the Tru by Hilton property on the 1700 block of Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete.

Menna Development, which developed the Tru by Hilton hotel at 1650 Central Avenue, acquired 0.80 acres lots from Mitchell Rogers and Gail Rogers in separate transactions totaling $7.775 million.

Today, the property contains two buildings and surface parking.

The buildings, which will be demolished at some point to make way for new development, contain numerous murals that were painted during St. Pete’s annual SHINE Mural Festival. The muralists with art featured on the recently sold buildings include Jujmo, Michael Reeder, Daniel Mrgan, Sentrock, and Dasic Fernandez.

The properties outlined in red are the newly acquired parcels | google earth

Two years ago, the entire block was under contract with Trammell Crow Residential, which planned to develop a 267-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail. However, the developer decided not to pursue the project and subsequently dropped their contracts to purchase the block.

"We have definitive plans, but we are not going to build another hotel," Menna Development President Ian Larson said to St. Pete Rising.

The properties could be developed into condominiums or multifamily units through a potential joint-venture partnership.

Menna Development owns and operates several hotels throughout Florida, including the Staybridge Suites in St. Pete's Innovation District, the St. Petersburg Marriott Clearwater near the Carillon Office Park, the Comfort Inn & Suites Northeast - Gateway near the Baypoint Commerce Center.

Downtown St. Pete Class A office space lists

first central tower at 360 central avenue in downtown st. pete | loopnet/commercial realty partners

A 15,320-square-foot Class A office space in downtown St. Petersburg is on the market.

The fifth floor of the First Central Tower at 360 Central Avenue is listed for sublease with "negotiable terms."

Commercial Realty Partners President and broker Scott Clendening and Bill Strong, Vice President of Corporate Services, are listing the turnkey office space.

The floor is currently leased by Twinlab Consolidation Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Twinlab Consolidated Holdings Inc., which manufactures and markets vitamins, minerals, and bodybuilding supplements.

The company relocated its headquarters from New York to St. Petersburg in 2015, initially taking 30,600 square feet on two floors in the 17-story building.

However, Twinlab never physically occupied the building.

Dog grooming boutique to open in Grand Central District

well groomed pets will open a new dog salon at 2821 central avenue | st. pete rising

Well Groomed Pets, a premier dog grooming and wellness center, will debut its first St. Pete storefront at 2821 Central Avenue.

The 4,000-square-foot storefront in the Grand Central District was previously occupied by antique shop China Finders, which closed in 2023.

The Well Groomed Pets franchise, which has existing grooming salons in Sarasota, Palmetto, and Bradenton, provides physical, physiological, and behavioral wellness checks on dogs.

The company only uses premium hypoallergenic shampoo and conditioning products. Its stores are sanitized with 100% organic cleaners to ensure a chemically safe environment.

Well Groomed Pets’ St. Pete center will debut this fall.

Cheeky’s, a fish and chicken bar from the owners of Willa’s and Willa’s Provisions in Tampa, will open next door to Well Groomed Pets at 2823 Central Avenue in a portion of the building.

Shell Dash affordable housing project progresses

A rendering of the shell dash townhomes coming to st. pete’s campbell park neighborhood | habitat for humanity

Habitat for Humanity along with the City of St. Petersburg and Exact Shell Dash LLC have hit a construction milestone on a 10-unit townhome project in St. Pete's Campbell Park neighborhood.

Workers have now completed the first levels, framing, and stairs for the affordable Shell Dash Townhomes project at 1120 16th Street South, according to a post on LinkedIn from Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties.

General contractor DuCon Construction broke ground on the development in December 2022.

Workers have completed the first floors of the townhomes | habitat for humanity

The three-bedroom homes will have a maximum sales price of $279,000 and will be exclusively marketed to potential homeowners making less than 80% of the area median income (AMI).

Buyers must be willing to participate in Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program.

Koozie Group sells Pinellas facilities

Clearwater-based manufacturer Koozie Group, formerly known as BIC Graphic, has sold its local manufacturing facilities.

The company, a supplier of promotional products, including BIC-branded writing instruments, sold the properties at 14421 and 14423 Myerlake Circle in Largo and 3001 Tech Drive North in St. Petersburg for a combined $35.9 million.

South Florida-based IP Capital Partners purchased the buildings, which range from 44,453 to 152,496 square feet.

The buyer assumed a $21.45 million mortgage loan from United of Omaha Life Insurance Co.