Orange Belt Collective plans 10,000-square-foot hub for runners and cyclists near the EDGE District
/Orange Belt Collective, a new training and social hub for runners and cyclists, is coming soon to St. Pete | Orange Belt Collective
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 spring 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.
“I don’t recognize half the people I ride bikes with if they’re not in their full kit,” Rideout said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.
Orange Belt Collective will open at 1501 Burlington Avenue North, near St. Pete’s EDGE District | Google Maps
Orange Belt Collective grew out of the desire to change that.
“Part of the idea was having this hub, this place, to bring these different athletes together and give them a place where they can not only train, but be social as well,” Rideout said.
Rideout, a St. Pete native and co-founder of MADE Coffee, and Stonecipher, a co-founder of Green Bench Brewing and partner in St. Pete Athletic, are both recreational cyclists and runners.
Orange Belt Collective brings their hospitality experience to the sports they love.
“Hospitality is the missing ingredient that’ll bring St. Pete’s endurance community together,” Rideout said in the announcement.
The name comes from the Orange Belt Railway, which connected Sanford and St. Petersburg in 1888 and helped spur development along its route.
Orange Belt Collective co-founders Michael Rideout (left) and Nathan Stonecipher | Orange Belt Collective
Orange Belt Collective will span nearly 10,000 square feet, including an 8,400-square-foot main building with a 2,200-square-foot café and retail area, a separate 1,400-square-foot building with member amenities, including showers, lockers, bike storage, and recovery space, and a covered gathering space similar to Green Bench Brewing’s beer garden.
The owners envision running clubs gathering at the café after morning workouts and cyclists stopping for cold drinks before heading back out on the road.
The café menu will include sandwiches, smoothies, coffee, light bites, and a grab-and-go market. Beer, wine, non-alcoholic options, branded merchandise, and athletic accessories are also planned.
Beyond the café, four training areas will accommodate weightlifting, plyometrics and mobility, yoga and mat Pilates, and indoor cycling and cardio workouts.
Programming will focus on helping runners and cyclists improve, whether they are preparing for their first 5K or chasing a new personal record.
“There’s a lot we want to do here, but one of my main focuses is simple: getting people faster,” Rideout said in the announcement.
Orange Belt Collective’s 2,200-square-foot café will offer sandwiches, smoothies, coffee, light bites, and a grab-and-go market. Beer, wine, non-alcoholic options, branded merchandise, and athletic accessories are also planned | Orange Belt Collective
Some of that approach comes from personal experience. Stonecipher was surprised by how much Pilates helped his cycling, while Rideout has been exploring how weightlifting fits into his training.
Alongside group workouts, slower-paced instructional classes will teach technique and explain how exercises fit into a training routine.
Members will also be able to train independently.
An auditorium will pair cycling trainers with various cardio equipment for individual workouts, group sessions, and competitions.
The owners envision cyclists racing head-to-head on a stage while friends watch and cheer, with opportunities for runners to compete, too.
That spectator experience helped inspire their original event.
After visiting Georgia’s Athens Twilight criterium, Rideout and Stonecipher wanted to bring that energy to St. Pete. The format sends cyclists around a closed circuit repeatedly, keeping the action close to spectators.
Orange Belt Collective’s weightlifting area | Orange Belt Collective
The 2023 CRIT Championship Tour revealed to Rideout and Stonecipher the work and expense involved in producing a single day of racing. Before committing to another race, they wanted something that could sustain the community year-round.
They still hope to bring a major cycling event back to St. Pete, with Orange Belt Collective helping build the audience, relationships, and revenue to support it.
St. Pete-based Storyn Studio is handling architecture and interior design, with branding by Tampa-based Pep Rally Inc.
Plans were submitted to the city in late September and the owners hope to begin demolition and renovation in November, subject to approvals.
Orange Belt Collective’s tentative hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, with shorter hours on weekends.
Rather than launch their own clubs, the founders want existing running and cycling groups to make themselves at home.
“We already have a bunch of great run clubs and group rides in St. Pete,” Stonecipher said. “We just want to be a space that those people can feel free to use.”
Be sure to follow Orange Belt Collective on Instagram for construction and opening updates.
Orange Belt Collective’s yoga and mat Pilates area | Orange Belt Collective
