A 31-acre office property along McCann Lake has received preliminary approval for what would become the largest apartment community in Pinellas Park, with 552 units, including at least 221 affordable apartments.

City staff approved the preliminary site plan on September 30th for 10222 MCI Drive in the Gateway Centre Business Park.

The two-phase development would replace an office campus with nine four-story apartment buildings, two clubhouses, pickleball courts, and 847 parking spaces.

The apartment proposal relies on Florida’s Live Local Act, which allows residential development on the industrially zoned property, provided that at least 40% of the apartments, or at least 221 units, are reserved for households earning at or below 120% of the area median income for a minimum of 30 years.

The remaining 331 apartments would be leased at market rates.

Plans call for apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. All nine residential buildings would rise four stories, with a maximum height of 50 feet.

As The Chattaway’s final afternoon tea reservations filled up, pieces of its English tea room were already being packed away.

Pictures of Queen Elizabeth II came off the walls. Cups and saucers were wrapped for the move. Customers came for one last tea service before the restaurant changed hands, and many had the same question for Amanda Kitto: Where would she serve tea next?

At the time, she didn’t have an answer. Now she does.

Violet’s Cuppa Tea plans to open Sunday, November 15th at 5325 Gulfport Boulevard, offering traditional English afternoon tea in a pink building next to The Boulevard Shoppe and across from Habana Cafe.

Owner Amanda Kitto is the youngest daughter of Jillian Frers, whose family operated The Chattaway for decades before selling the south St. Pete restaurant and property in September.

The sale preserved one of the most historic and longest-running restaurants in St. Pete. But while the burgers and garden remained, the new owners converted the English-inspired tea room into additional restaurant seating and discontinued afternoon tea.

Kitto, who began working at The Chattaway at age 14, decided to continue it herself.

After years of holding services in trailers and renting venues for larger gatherings, the Chabad Jewish Center of Greater St. Petersburg has a new downtown home.

The two-story Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning at 533 4th Street North brings worship, classes, community meals, and celebrations together in a 14,000-square-foot building with a sanctuary, social hall, classrooms, library, commercial kosher kitchen, and rooftop deck.

Rabbi Alter Korf and his wife, Chaya Korf, celebrated the opening alongside hundreds of community members and supporters at a ribbon-cutting ceremony this past Sunday, October 25th. Programming began in the building in April.

“Today we don’t just mark the completion of the building but celebrate the beginning of a new era,” Rabbi Korf said during the ceremony.

The opening marks a significant change for an organization that has spent more than two decades working out of smaller spaces across St. Petersburg.

Ice & Cream Creamery is bringing small-batch ice cream, hand-spun milkshakes, and more to downtown St. Pete.

The local ice cream chain will open at 648 Central Avenue, formerly home to Brutique, which closed in July after nine years in business.

The new shop will be the eighth location for Ice & Cream Creamery, which has seven existing stores throughout Pinellas County, including two on Clearwater Beach and one each in Madeira Beach, Dunedin, St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, and Gulfport.

The creamery says its ice cream is made fresh in small batches using locally sourced ingredients, with a selection of 48 flavors.

The flavors lean toward the classics, with options like butter pecan, rocky road, cookies and cream, and mint chip, plus varieties such as red velvet cake, salted caramel peanut, coconut almond fudge, and chocolate fudge brownie.

Other options include Stellar Coffee, pistachio, dulce de leche, and Dreamsicle, which swirls vanilla ice cream with orange sherbet.

A 5.98-acre, partly vacant property in Pinellas Park is slated for redevelopment into a mixed-use project with apartments, retail and office space.

On Tuesday, October 20th, the Pinellas Park City Council approved a major Planned Unit Development (PUD) amendment for a 32-unit, four-story apartment building and an 8,000-square-foot, two-story building with a clubhouse and commercial space at 7725 78th Street North.

The property currently houses a 9,700-square-foot wedding venue and catering establishment, M & N Event Hall, which would remain. To the north and west are vacant commercial properties in unincorporated Pinellas County, formerly the Wagon Wheel Flea Market.

The Morning Sesh, a new coffee shop operating out of a 1965 vintage camper, will begin popping up around St. Pete in late winter or early spring 2027.

The 11-foot blue-and-white trailer will serve espresso drinks, matcha, chai, and dirty sodas at farmers markets, apartment complexes, and other events.

Owners Jenna and Adrian Turpin are also looking into stops at hospitals and hope to eventually organize a run club through the business.

The trailer will carry the motto “made for mornings, built for community,” and the owners hope customers will stick around to chat after picking up their drinks.

Jenna’s currently testing recipes for the menu, including a signature Morning Sesh latte featuring a housemade syrup with brown butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla bean paste, and flaky sea salt.

Other drinks in development include a coconut matcha, an orange-and-vanilla latte, and a salted caramel latte topped with vanilla cold foam. The menu will also include cold brew, chai, and hot chocolate, with oat and almond milk available at no extra charge.

Rosemary House plans to open in early 2027 at 325 1st Street South, on the ground floor of Saltaire, the 35-story condominium tower developed by Kolter Urban and completed in 2023.

The 1,500-square-foot space will feature a retail area near the front windows and a studio toward the back.

Visitors will be able to take a class, browse the shop, or stop in for a purchase without participating in a workout.

“It was really important for us to have a substantial retail component. We want you to feel good outside of the studio too,” one of the founders said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “It’s not just a really hard workout, and then you go home and you’re eating fried food.”

The shop will carry products ranging from face wash, deodorant, and sunscreen to candles, laundry detergent, and household cleaners. Supplements and hydration products will also be available.

Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated Willy’s Burgers & Booze, the St. Pete Beach watering hole is preparing for a comeback.

The open-air bar and restaurant at 645 Corey Avenue announced recently that construction is beginning following a lengthy permitting process.

A reopening date has not been announced.

“The road back has been anything but easy,” the business shared on Facebook. “We have spent the past 14 months working through the permitting process, navigating delays and obstacles, and doing everything we can to make this day possible.”

“There have been times when the process felt overwhelming, but we have never lost sight of what Willy’s means to so many people,” the post continued.

Known for its burgers, affordable drinks, and laid-back, beachy atmosphere, Willy’s has been closed since the hurricanes of late 2024.

After months of renovating a former convenience store and fine-tuning recipes, the owners of Kitty’s House of Pizza are getting ready to welcome their first customers next month in St. Pete’s Central Oak Park neighborhood.

The pizzeria at 4059 5th Avenue North will serve scratch-made pies that owners Steve Garrahan and Kurt Drake hope will give nearby residents something to crave.

Garrahan and Drake, the founders of Bright Ice Scoop Shop, first announced the concept in December 2025. Since then, they have been developing a small menu built around familiar flavors with a few unexpected ingredients.

“We want the pizzas to be distinct, but we don’t want them to be weird for the sake of being weird,” Garrahan said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

One of the owners’ favorites is the Golden Hour, which contains a creamy pepperoncini pepper white base with mozzarella, housemade sausage, red onions, pepperoncini rings, and roasted red peppers.

Three years after leaving downtown St. Pete, Acropolis Greek Taverna is returning to Central Avenue with its familiar Greek dishes, lively celebrations, and a new underground lounge.

The restaurant will open at 475 Central Avenue, the former home of Concrete Jungle, which closed in January after just over two years in business.

A grand opening is planned for mid-December.

Acropolis previously spent 12 years at 515 Central Avenue before closing in 2023 following a dispute with its landlord.

For Sam Waez, who co-founded Acropolis in 2001, the past three years have been spent looking for a way back to St. Pete.

“This is my backyard. All my people are here, all my friends,” Waez said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “I like being here.”

A new pinball bar will open in the EDGE District this winter with a lineup spanning superheroes, dinosaurs, horror movies, and a decades-old machine that helped inspire the business.

The Lucky Flipper is targeting an early December opening at 915 Central Avenue, the former home of Machine Shop Barber Company.

Owner Matthew Scott is building a 1,600-square-foot venue with 16 to 18 pinball machines, 3-6 classic arcade cabinets, and a bar focused on local and Florida-made beer.

Rather than a dark, neon-lit arcade, Scott wants the space to feel bright, approachable, and unmistakably St. Pete. The venue’s branding uses coral and teal colors and a roseate spoonbill, a bird Scott often sees near his Crescent Lake home.

Guests will pay daily admission, currently planned at $14, for unlimited play and the ability to come and go throughout the day.

Scott said he is considering discounted date nights, memberships, military discounts, and other special offers.

A new café named for one of Pinellas County’s noisiest residents is coming soon to Gulfport.

Nanday Café will open at 3107 Beach Boulevard South, the former home of GulfPerk Coffee Bar. The locally owned café will serve coffee, breakfast, and lunch, according to its website.

GulfPerk remained closed after sustaining extensive damage during Hurricane Helene in late 2024 and announced in July that it would not reopen after three years in business.

The café’s name comes from the loud-mouthed nanday parakeets frequently seen, and heard, around Pinellas County. The green birds have become something of an unofficial mascot of the area.

Native to South America, nanday parakeets first appeared outside captivity in St. Petersburg in 1969.

A new sensory play studio designed for young children will open in Pinellas Park next month.

Willow & Wonder will celebrate its grand opening Sunday, November 1st, at 6541 44th Street North, Unit 6004, near the recently opened Sprowls Horizon Sports Park.

The 1,700-square-foot studio is designed for children ages 0 to 7 and will offer a lower-stimulation alternative to traditional indoor playgrounds.

During 90-minute open-play sessions, children can move at their own pace between a play area, rotating sensory stations, and an art studio.

Each visit will include themed sensory bins and a process-art activity, and children will leave with a craft.

The woodland-themed studio will contain a collection of custom-made wood furnishings, including a play cottage, mud kitchen, dollhouse, children’s tables and chairs, and a crawler area for infants.

A vacant site across from Lealman Elementary School will become a permanently affordable townhome community for 26 local families.

Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside and local officials gathered Thursday at 4000 58th Avenue North to mark the start of infrastructure work for Lealman Heights, a two-story townhome development at the corner of 58th Avenue North and 40th Street North.

The 26 townhomes are part of a broader 57-home Habitat community in Lealman, which will also include 31 single-family homes now under construction.

“Lealman Heights represents more than the construction of new homes,” Mike Sutton, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside, said at the groundbreaking. “It represents opportunity, stability, and a brighter future for local families who have worked hard and dreamed of the chance to own a home in the community they love.”

The 26 townhomes will each span 1,500 square feet and include three bedrooms and a garage. The homes will be priced between $240,000 and $280,000, based on a buyer’s income.

High Point Engineering and G2 Design are leading the project team.

Habitat expects vertical construction to begin in summer 2027.

A beachfront property known for its pink cottage-style villas on St. Pete Beach could be replaced with a six-story, 34-room resort under plans recently presented to neighboring condominium owners.

Kevin Bowden, who owns the Miramar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach and the Cambria Hotel in Madeira Beach, is proposing to redevelop the 0.89-acre Beach Haven Villas property at 4980 Gulf Boulevard.

The property is in St. Pete Beach’s Large Resort District, which allows up to 50 hotel rooms per acre.

Bowden purchased Beach Haven Villas for approximately $6.24 million in January 2025.

The 1949-built hotel temporarily closed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton damaged several units. It has since reopened following repairs but does not meet current FEMA requirements.

Under the proposed plan, the existing 18-unit hotel, pool, and parking area would be demolished for a new 34-room boutique resort with covered parking at ground level, four floors of guest rooms, a restaurant and bar overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, and an open-air, covered rooftop lounge.

Pre-leasing is now underway at 3rd & 3rd, a 33-story apartment tower expected to welcome its first residents in mid-December in downtown St. Petersburg.

The 262-unit building is located at 235 3rd Street South across from the Publix-anchored University Village shopping center. Third Lake Partners, along with St. Pete-based developer Echelon, are developing the project.

KAST Construction broke ground on the tower about two years ago.

3rd & 3rd will include one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom residences, including three four-bedroom penthouses, along with a 330-space parking garage and approximately 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

One-bedrooms are currently priced from $2,730 to $3,075 a month, while two-bedroom residences start at $4,570 and three-bedroom units start at $8,585.

The development is already 20% reserved, according to Echelon Senior Vice President of Development Cody LeClair.

A three-story office building at the Sky Town development in St. Pete’s Skyway Marina District will be converted into a self-storage facility, Third Lake Development announced this month.

The Tampa-based firm, which specializes in multifamily and self-storage, revealed a rendering of the 87,705-square-foot Centro Storage, which is expected to include 858 units and be completed by 2028. An address for the building has not yet been assigned.

In September, Third Lake Development acquired the building for $6.2 million from Coral Gables-based Altis Cardinal, led by developer Frank Guerra, the developer behind the $800 million, 34.3-acre Sky Town on the former Ceridian office campus.

Called Centro Storage, the facility is expected to include 858 climate-controlled units and be completed in 2028.

Just in time for Halloween, a 1939 bungalow in the Central Oak Park neighborhood will become a new home for St. Petersburg’s paranormal activity.

Dr. Brandy Stark, founder of Spirits of St. Petersburg, will soft open the Museum of Haunted History at 4754 1st Avenue North on Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The museum will display haunted and historic objects, including a wedding dress associated with a spirit named Irene, antiques, dolls, and artifacts from the group’s past investigations.

It will also include a spiritual apothecary and space for psychic readings, workshops, meetings, and future overnight investigations.

Stark has been investigating paranormal activity since 1997. She has led local ghost tours, investigated hundreds of cases, and written Supernatural St. Petersburg and Paranormal Pinellas Vol. 1 & 2.

“I’ve always wanted to present the supernatural in a manner that, number one, is safe, number two, is educational, and number three, is a little bit of fun,” Stark said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

Plans have been revealed for two 44-story condominium towers at the site of the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront, in what would be one of the largest condo developments ever proposed for downtown St. Pete.

Delray Beach-based Kolter Urban recently circulated a site plan application to neighborhood and business associations outlining a $325 million redevelopment of the hotel property at 333 1st Street South.

If built as proposed, the towers would rise up to 509 feet. Only two existing or planned towers in St. Petersburg would be taller: the 515-foot Residences at 400 Central and the 539-foot Waldorf Astoria Residences planned at 150 2nd Avenue South.

The two new towers, which have been designed by 10 Design, would tie for the city’s third-tallest buildings, ahead of the 450-foot Art House and ONE St. Petersburg towers and the 408-foot Saltaire.

The proposal calls for 325 condo units, 17,988 square feet of commercial space, and a 519-space parking garage.

Kolter would also make 207 spaces in the adjacent Saltaire garage available to residents, for a total of 726 parking spaces.

Golden Corral is returning to Pinellas County with plans for its first St. Pete restaurant inside the former Hooters at Tyrone Square Mall.

The popular American all-you-eat buffet chain will open at 2250 Tyrone Boulevard, according to plans submitted to the City of St. Petersburg. An opening date has not yet been announced.

The 8,105-square-foot restaurant will take over the building where Hooters operated for 15 years, from 2006 until late 2021. At the time, the chain cited changes in shopping habits and declining mall foot traffic in announcing the closure.

The new Golden Corral will be operated by franchisee Britt Guyer, who owns Golden Corral restaurants in Winter Haven and Tampa. Guyer was not immediately available for comment.

Demolition work has begun at the former Tampa Bay Times building at 490 1st Avenue South in downtown St. Petersburg, nearly two years after a construction crane collapsed into the property during Hurricane Milton.

Crews are currently completing interior, non-structural demolition and asbestos abatement, according to City of St. Petersburg permit records.

The eight-story, 240,000-square-foot complex consists of three buildings, with the original structure built in 1924 and additions completed in 1968 and 1988.

Naples-based Stock Development purchased the former Times building in June for $18 million.

The developer plans to redevelop the site with a high-rise condominium tower that could also include ground-floor commercial space and offices.

St. Petersburg has a rule that protects our waterfront. If the city wants to lease public waterfront land for longer than a short term, voters decide. That rule is worth keeping, and a "yes" vote on Charter Amendment #2 does not weaken it.

Here is what it changes. Under the City Charter, Port leases are capped at 10 years unless voters approve more in a citywide referendum. Charter Amendment 2 would raise that cap to 25 years, the same limit Albert Whitted Airport has had since 2004, when voters raised it from five years. Giving the Port the same terms as its neighbor is sensible.

Here is what it does not change. The ballot language says the amendment "would not change the permitted use of the Port." It does not approve residential development at the site, and it does not approve any redevelopment of the Port. It changes one number, the maximum lease length. Every lease would still go through the city administration and City Council. The amendment does not hand anyone a blank check. It lets the city negotiate from a stronger position.

After more than three decades as The Melting Pot and a short run as Sesh St. Pete, the building on 4th Street North will now become home to a Brooklyn-Italian restaurant built around the food one family grew up eating.

Pelato, a Brooklyn-Italian restaurant known for shareable small plates, is planning to open at 2221 4th Street North.

Nashville-based Avenue T Hospitality Group recently purchased the 7,630-square-foot property for $4 million, according to a deed recorded October 7th.

The hospitality group, which operates Pelato locations in Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee, and Charleston, South Carolina, also obtained a $5.355 million loan from Pinnacle Bank in connection with the purchase.

An opening date has not been announced.

Noble Tavern has opened a new event space next door to its restaurant in downtown St. Pete.

Called The Sterling, the space is located at 1650 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District, on the ground floor of the Tru by Hilton hotel and beside Duckweed Urban Grocery.

The room has a separate entrance on Central Avenue and will be available for private and business events, including holiday parties, birthdays, showers, rehearsal dinners, wedding welcome events, and meetings.

It can seat about 40 guests or accommodate up to 65 for cocktail-style receptions.

The Sterling includes a buffet station, climate control, a 75-inch television with HDMI connectivity for presentations, and access to Noble Tavern’s food and bar offerings.

Event hosts can choose from family-style or buffet menus, along with beverage packages that include wine, beer, spirits, and select Noble Tavern cocktails.

At St. Pete Rising, we are constantly providing comprehensive coverage on everything new and coming soon to the Sunshine City, but we think it’s also important to take a look back at our city's rich history.

Introducing Historically St. Pete, a new monthly column on St. Pete Rising written by Rui Farias, Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History, which will cover everything from the legend of underground mobster tunnels to the buildings and people that created the Sunshine City.

Follow us each month as we explore how these projects shaped St. Pete into the city we know and love today.

This month, we explore the history of downtown St. Petersburg's Open Air Post Office, one of the first of its kind in the United States.

A new jewelry and lifestyle shop is coming to the EDGE District of downtown St. Pete.

August Mae will open at 907 Central Avenue in a 736-square-foot storefront between Fusillo Pasta and Sunshine City Paint. The space previously housed vintage shop Now and Then, which closed in 2021.

The new shop, which hopes to open by the end of the year, will specialize in water- and tarnish-proof, demi-fine jewelry made with 14-karat gold-filled and sterling-silver materials. Demi-fine jewelry uses higher-quality metals while remaining more accessible than fine jewelry.

Customers can also choose from permanent bracelets and necklaces, create their own charm jewelry, or order personalized pieces through August Mae’s in-house engraving service.

Additionally, the shop will carry a curated selection of apparel, accessories, beauty and self-care products, candles, glassware, gifts, and small home items.

“The store is actually going to be more of a lifestyle shop,” owner Cory Lawler said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “I want it to be an experience. You can come in and get custom-fitted jewelry, make jewelry, buy something for whatever you’re looking for, whatever the occasion is.”

A new Italian breakfast and coffee café is coming to the EDGE District of downtown St. Pete.

Café Bavaro will debut on Friday, October 16th, inside Bavaro’s at 945 Central Avenue.

The café will serve espresso drinks, breakfast plates, bagels, and sandwiches from 8 to 11:30 a.m., before Bavaro’s regular lunch service begins at noon.

“This has been in the works for a while, and we are excited about finally executing it,” Kaleigh DeSousa, manager of Bavaro’s St. Pete location, said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

Café Bavaro first opened at Bavaro’s Clearwater Beach location last year, giving the family a chance to build out the breakfast-and-coffee concept before bringing it to St. Pete.

The menu will include the usual espresso-based coffee drinks, from cappuccinos and flat whites to cortados, lattes, and Americanos. It will also offer specialty drinks including cannoli and tiramisu lattes, along with matcha, a limoncello refresher, and mimosas.

St. Petersburg will test a new plant-based approach to managing stormwater as part of a $7 million project coming to one of the city’s most flood-prone areas.

The city will install eight HydroPlanters, which are modular rain gardens designed to slow and filter rain runoff before it enters the city’s stormwater system.

Each rain garden is about five feet long, three feet wide, and two-and-a-half feet deep.

Filled with specially designed soil, grasses, shrubs, and small trees, the boxes will be installed in an L-shaped configuration along a city-owned grassy area near the intersection of 50th Avenue North and 7th Street North.

During heavy rain, water from the street will flow into the planters and filter through the soil and vegetation. It will then drain into the city’s stormwater system and eventually the 54th Avenue Canal.

A familiar Pinellas County doughnut shop is coming to South Pasadena.

Fray’s Donut House will open at 1200 Pasadena Avenue South, taking over the former Dunkin’ location just down the street from Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish.

The shop is expected to open in January 2027.

Serey Siev, who will co-own and operate the shop with his wife, Phiny Long, purchased the building for $925,000, according to Pinellas County property records.

The building will receive mostly cosmetic updates before reopening, including the installation of Fray’s familiar white sign with red and black lettering.

The South Pasadena location will serve more than 30 types of doughnuts, from glazed, chocolate frosted, cinnamon sugar, Boston cream, rainbow sprinkle, and old fashioned varieties to cronuts, apple fritters, and éclairs.

The shop will also serve muffins, cinnamon rolls, breakfast sandwiches, espresso drinks, and drip coffee.