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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A convenience store made entirely out of felt is coming to St. Pete

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A convenience store made entirely out of felt is coming to St. Pete

A new convenience store is opening soon in St. Pete, but you won’t find any real snacks inside.

Instead, every chip bag, soda can, and even the checkout counter itself will be made entirely out of felt.

The whimsical installation by British artist Lucy Sparrow is the latest immersive experience coming to FloridaRAMA, located at 2606 Fairfield Avenue South in the Warehouse Arts District.

FloridaRAMA, which opened as Fairgrounds in 2021, centers on immersive, participatory art that celebrates Florida’s eccentric character through the work of more than 80 artists, many of them local.

The new exhibit, called Quick Shop, will open Friday, November 21st, replacing FloridaRAMA’s previous Shrimpfinity exhibit.

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Seaside Villas in Gulfport to be redeveloped after Hurricane Helene destruction

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Seaside Villas in Gulfport to be redeveloped after Hurricane Helene destruction

A decades-old waterfront apartment community in Gulfport is preparing for a major comeback.

Seaside Villas, a 121-unit complex located at 3205 58th Street South, was destroyed last year when Hurricane Helene tore through Tampa Bay.

Now, the 3.74-acre property, located on the west end of Shore Boulevard South next to the Gulfport Recreation Center, is ready for a fresh start.

Built in 1964, Seaside Villas originally consisted of three three-story buildings just a few feet above sea level.

Last year, when Helene swept through the Gulf and into Tampa Bay, the storm’s surge overwhelmed the property, leaving it beyond repair.

“The flood damage from Hurricane Helene was very extensive and took out the electrical system in all three buildings, so we had to move everybody out,” said Eric Schifferli, CEO of Seaside Villas Florida LLC, which purchased the property in 2018 for $20 million.

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15-story Viv apartments to begin move-ins next month in the EDGE District

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15-story Viv apartments to begin move-ins next month in the EDGE District

Rising 150 feet, the highly anticipated 15-story Viv apartment community is now ready to welcome residents.

Announced in 2021 by developer Belpointe OZ, the complex is located on a 1.6-acre site at 1000 1st Avenue North in St. Pete’s EDGE District. The development features two 15-story towers with 269 market-rate apartments and a four-story parking garage offering 355 spaces.

Local general contractor JE Dunn Construction commenced construction in June 2023 and completed vertical construction in May 2024.

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Financial technology company Velera sells former PSCU headquarters in Carillon for $19 million

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Financial technology company Velera sells former PSCU headquarters in Carillon for $19 million

A financial technology company with nearly 50 years in St. Pete has sold its corporate headquarters.

Velera, formerly known as PSCU, has sold its 12.4-acre campus at 560 and 580 Carillon Parkway in the Carillon office park to Tampa-based Greenleaf Capital, the real estate arm of publicly traded HCI Group Inc.

Greenleaf Capital paid $19 million for the two-office building campus, which contain 179,779 square feet.

Anthony Saravanos, President of Greenleaf Capital, said the firm plans to make smart improvements to the property that will help secure the ideal tenant.

“We’re not looking to change uses or tear it down for multifamily,” he told St. Pete Rising. “We’re hoping to attract a full campus-type user, a corporate headquarters relocation.”

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