Done Deals: Pulpo Kitchen & Lounge prepares for opening, West St. Pete office sells, Wawa drive-thru debuts

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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Pulpo Kitchen & Lounge moves closer to opening

Pulpo kitchen + lounge is expected to open this month | david fischer

New photos show a first look at Pulpo Kitchen & Lounge, a planned Latin-inspired eatery coming to 2147 Central Avenue.

The concept is from the team behind downtown St. Petersburg’s Brick & Mortar Kitchen + Wine Bar.

Pulpo, which translates to "octopus" in Spanish, will represent a marriage of cuisines from Central and South America, and influences from Peru and Mexico.

Owner Hope Montgomery and Jason Ruhe worked on the interior design plan with David Fischer, owner of St. Pete-based retail store Zazoo’d, and multiple local LGBTQ+ nightclubs and bars, including COCKtail.

The bathrooms, kitchen, and bars will be decked out in vibrant turquoise colors with gold accents, Spanish tiles, and brass elements | david fischer

The team expects to open later this month.

Follow Pulpo on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on the latest news and specials.

West St. Pete office center sells

The two-building pineywoods centre office park | Crexi

The Pineywoods Centre office park in St. Pete's Pasadena neighborhood has sold for $8.3 million.

Central Place LLC, linked to Derek Berset, Director at BayFirst Financial Corp. and Vice President of Comegys Insurance Agency, purchased the two-building office complex at 5999 Central Avenue.

The 1.55-acre center sits adjacent to freeFall Theatre and across from Bear Creek Park and features a 32,792-square-foot, four-story East Building built in 1977 and a 32,318-square-foot, two-story West Building built in 1979.

The four-story East Building in the pineywooods centre | crexi

Tenants in the fully leased center include New York-style breakfast restaurant Side Door Deli, and the offices of private physicians and medical groups.

The two buildings were fully renovated several years ago.

The buyer assumed a $4 million loan from Bayfirst National Bank.

Venetian Isles estate sells in record-breaking deal

The venetian isles estate at 1906 carolina avenue ne | realtor.com

A 5,516-square-foot waterfront home in St. Petersburg's Venetian Isles has sold for $7.5 million - becoming the highest sales price per square foot in the neighborhood.

The five-bedroom, six-bathroom estate at 1906 Carolina Avenue NE was built in 2023.

The home offers unique features such as a 180-bottle walk-in wine room, a fireplace in the living room and primary, a full gym, and a sauna with a cold plunge, according to the listing.

The view of the waterfront as seen from the open concept living room | realtor.com

The outdoor living space features an infinity pool, an oversized covered hot tub, and an outdoor kitchen and bar.

The property also offers a commercial-grade dock and boat lifts.

The 0.23-acre lot last sold in 2019 for $1.1 million before the home was constructed.

Jennifer Zales, Alexis Logan, and Carol Fasick with Coldwell Baker Realty represented the buyer. Sarah Howe with Compass Florida LLC was the listing agent for the property.

Florida's first drive-thru Wawa opens in Largo

wawa’s first florida drive-thru store in largo | wawa

Wawa fans can now grab the chain's signature hoagies at the first Florida drive-thru location in Largo.

The new 2,200-square-foot standalone store opened at 2530 East Bay Drive on Thursday, June 13th.

The new store, which does not include a gas station, also serves Wawa's specialty drinks, sandwiches and wraps, bowls, soups, salads, and sides like mac-n-cheese.

The Largo location is the company's third drive-thru-only store in the United States.

“Wawa has a long history of testing and innovating new store formats to provide the greatest level of convenience for our customers,” Robert Yeatts, Wawa's Senior Director of Store Operations, said in a news release. “With our new Largo store, we will continue to learn from this new format while gathering feedback from our customers and associates.”

The store is open daily from 5 a.m. to midnight.

Customers can place orders for curbside pickup or at drive-thru.

Developer files stormwater permits for condo project

a rendering of the two nine-story condo development coming to clearwater beach | BH3 MANAGEMENT & U.S. DEVELOPMENT

Civil engineering from Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. and New Jersey-based U.S. Development, a construction management firm specializing in multifamily and mixed-use projects across the East Coast, filed a stormwater application to build two 9-story waterfront condo towers on Clearwater Beach.

The dual towers would be built on a 3.2-acre waterfront property at 551 South Gulfview Boulevard.

National real estate investment group BH3 Management and U.S. Development acquired the property in a $24.75 million deal earlier this year.