Inside the nine proposals vying to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

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Inside the nine proposals vying to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

The City of St. Pete has received eight additional submissions in response to its Request for Alternate Proposals for the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete, expanding the field to a total of nine submissions when combined with the original unsolicited proposal from Ark Ellison Horus.

The alternate proposals were submitted by a wide-ranging mix of private developers, nonprofit organizations, housing-focused entities, and community-led groups.

The nine proposals were submitted by the following teams, listed in alphabetical order:

  • Ark Ellison Horus

  • Foundation Vision Partners

  • Freedom Communities Company

  • Logical Sites Inc

  • Pinellas County Housing Authority

  • Reparations Land Trust and Development Authority

  • Tempo Novus

  • The Burg Bid LLC

  • The Tampa Bay Boom Inc.

City staff are expected to conduct a review of the submissions, a process which could take months, according to Mayor Ken Welch.

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Locally led team pitches master plan first approach for Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

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Locally led team pitches master plan first approach for Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete

A new proposal has entered the mix for the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete, with a locally led team asking the City to consider a fundamentally different approach to redevelopment.

The current review process was triggered by a January 4 public notice issued after an unsolicited submission from ARK Ellison Horus. In response, the City invited alternative redevelopment concepts for the site, with submissions due this morning.

Among those submissions is a plan from Foundation Vision Partners, led by Will Conroy of Backstreets Capital, Alex Schapira, formerly with Hines, and Anddrikk Frazier of Best Source Consulting, in partnership with global master planning firm Gensler and civil engineering firm Stantec.

Conroy’s firm has developed several condominium projects in St. Pete, including The Nolen, The Salvador, and most recently The Cade, a seven-story mid-rise overlooking Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete. Schapira and Frazier were part of the team behind the previous Rays/Hines proposal.

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Cordova Inn expansion and new rooftop bar open next month in downtown St. Pete

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Cordova Inn expansion and new rooftop bar open next month in downtown St. Pete

After nearly three years of construction next door to one of downtown St. Petersburg’s most storied boutique hotels, the Cordova Inn’s long-awaited expansion is finally nearing the finish line, with the ownership team targeting an opening next month.

“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” co-owner Tommy Del Zoppo told St. Pete Rising during a recent sit-down interview. “We’ve been laser-focused on getting this done, and we’d like to open by February 15th. At this point it’s furniture, final finishes, and waiting on a few inspections.”

The five-story addition rising at 253 2nd Avenue North beside the 105-year-old Cordova Inn is designed to more than triple the hotel’s room count, taking it from 32 rooms to 97, including three luxury suites on the top floor offering panoramic views of downtown.

The expansion will also add a new ground-floor restaurant and a fifth-floor rooftop bar, both of which will be open to the public.

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St. Pete Rising’s top stories of 2025 captured a changing city navigating growth and nostalgia

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St. Pete Rising’s top stories of 2025 captured a changing city navigating growth and nostalgia

In 2025, St. Petersburg gave us plenty to talk about and, judging by the clicks, you were paying close attention.

From splashy redevelopment proposals and high-stakes Rays drama to beloved dive bars, beachfront icons, and even a dinosaur perched above downtown, readers gravitated toward stories that captured a city changing in real time.

The most-read articles of the year were not just about shiny renderings or breaking news. They focused on the follow-up questions, the fine print, and how big ideas actually play out on the ground.

Whether tracking the future of the Tropicana Field site, examining housing policy shifts, or following the next chapter of long-standing local institutions, these stories reflected the curiosity and healthy skepticism of St. Pete Rising readers.

Below are the 10 most-read St. Pete Rising articles of 2025.

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Blizzard Bazaar debuts this Friday with 60 local vendors, snowy vibes, and a viral matcha luge

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Blizzard Bazaar debuts this Friday with 60 local vendors, snowy vibes, and a viral matcha luge

If you’ve ever wished St. Pete could magically turn into a snowy ski town for one night only, your oddly specific holiday dream is coming true.

This Friday, December 19th, Ritual Grounds Cafe is hosting the Blizzard Bazaar, a one-night winter takeover that promises to be equal parts holiday market, immersive experience, and straight-up spectacle.

From 5 to 9 p.m., the event space at 1960 5th Avenue South will transform into a nostalgic 1980s ski resort called Yeti Peak, complete with snow flurries, Christmas lights, and a few surprises lurking in the lodge.

In October, Ritual Grounds drew more than 5,000 people to its wildly popular Spooky Island Market.

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Massive 45,000-square-foot urban country club St. Pete Athletic sets an opening date in the Warehouse Arts District

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Massive 45,000-square-foot urban country club St. Pete Athletic sets an opening date in the Warehouse Arts District

After nearly three years of planning, St. Pete Athletic Paddle & Social is officially set to open its doors.

The massive 45,000-square-foot sports, dining, and social concept will soft open this Thursday for members at 680 28th Street South inside The Factory, a 90,000-square-foot arts and culture hub along the Pinellas Trail in the Warehouse Arts District.

The public will be welcomed on Friday, December 19th, with a full grand opening on Saturday, January 10th.

The club was founded by an experienced group of local entrepreneurs, including Reuben Pressman, Jarrett Sabatini of Intermezzo and Bar Mezzo, Green Bench Brewing co-owner Nathan Stonecipher, and Graham D’Amico of Major League Pickleball’s Florida Smash.

Among its investors are ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood, Neptune Flood executives Trevor Burgess and Jon Carlon, professional pickleball players Catherine Parenteau and Travis Rettenmaier, and former Women’s Tennis Association CEO Larry Scott.

In addition to 14 indoor pickleball courts, St. Pete Athletic contains two padel courts, table tennis, billiards, a restaurant, a coffee shop, three distinct bars, saunas, cold plunges, a gym, and much more.

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Aldi quietly opens new store on Park Boulevard in Seminole

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Aldi quietly opens new store on Park Boulevard in Seminole

Aldi has quietly opened its newest Pinellas County location at 12975 Park Boulevard in Seminole, bringing the fast-growing discount grocer into a redeveloped shopping center that once housed a Winn-Dixie.

A grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony will take place next Thursday, December 11th at 8:45 a.m.

The new Seminole store occupies 23,778 square feet of the former 64,000-square-foot Winn-Dixie building. The remaining 35,368 square feet of space is currently available for lease.

The building also includes the 5,000-square-foot Sign of the Dolphin gallery, a longtime retailer known for coastal décor.

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Aerial St. Pete: Construction continues on six major residential developments in St. Pete

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Aerial St. Pete: Construction continues on six major residential developments in St. Pete

This quarter’s edition of Aerial St. Pete shows the progress of six residential developments currently under construction in St. Petersburg.

With the help of AB3 Visuals, we track the progress of two downtown condo towers nearing completion, a downtown apartment tower close to topping out, a mid-rise apartment building planned for north St. Pete, an apartment community that will include a retail village, and the largest mixed-use project currently planned in the city.

St. Pete Rising looks forward to keeping you informed on St. Pete’s development scene, and we’ll continue tracking these projects as they near completion.

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42-story Art House condo tower starts welcoming its first residents in downtown St. Pete

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42-story Art House condo tower starts welcoming its first residents in downtown St. Pete

One of the newest additions to the downtown St. Pete skyline has reached a major milestone.

The 42-story Art House condo tower received its Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) last week for floors 10 through 32, allowing the first closings to begin today.

The building, located at 275 1st Avenue South, contains 244 luxury condos and is more than 85% sold. The remaining units are priced from $1.3 million to over $7 million.

The project was announced in early 2022 by Kolter Urban, the South Florida-based firm behind ONE St. Petersburg and Saltaire.

Coastal Construction broke ground on the tower in June 2022, and the tower topped out in November 2024.

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Beef O’Brady’s to replace Applebee's on 66th Street in west St. Pete

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Beef O’Brady’s to replace Applebee's on 66th Street in west St. Pete

A new Beef O’Brady’s restaurant is coming to west St. Pete.

The restaurant and sports bar will open at 2901 66th Street North, taking over the former Applebee’s building that closed abruptly in May, according to plans obtained by St. Pete Rising.

It will become St. Pete’s second Beef O’Brady’s, joining the location at 4775 34th Street South in the Skyway Marina District. The only other Pinellas County location is in Oldsmar.

The new restaurant will accommodate 182 guests indoors and 49 outdoors, for a total of 231 seats.

Built in 1972, The 5,853-square-foot building was home to various restaurant concepts in the 1990s, including Longshoreman Restaurant, The Knot Garden, and Suki’s before becoming an Applebee’s in the early 2000s.

Although Applebee’s still operates its St. Pete location at 4700 4th Street North, SEC filings show the chain’s total store count declined from 1,578 in 2021 to 1,501 in 2024.

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