Bojangles opens next week in Pinellas Park

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Bojangles opens next week in Pinellas Park

Bojangles, the beloved Southern chain known for its fried chicken, biscuits, and sweet tea, will officially open its new Pinellas Park restaurant next Tuesday, November 4, at 5:30 a.m.

The opening marks the brand’s return to the area, where it last operated four decades ago.

Located at 7930 U.S. Highway 19 North, the new 2,414-square-foot Bojangles replaces a former Burger King on an outparcel of a retail plaza anchored by Ashley Furniture, across from Walmart Supercenter.

The site features a single-lane drive-thru.

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Great Explorations Children’s Museum plans new Discovery Center with focus on STEAM education

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Great Explorations Children’s Museum plans new Discovery Center with focus on STEAM education

After nearly four decades of inspiring young minds, Great Explorations Children’s Museum is dreaming bigger.

The beloved St. Petersburg institution, located at 1925 4th Street North next to Sunken Gardens, is searching for a larger home to keep pace with its expanding programs, growing preschool, and community impact.

Founded in 1986 as The Hands-On Museum, Great Explorations has evolved into a 24,000-square-foot center for imagination and discovery.

Children can shop in a mini grocery store, role-play as doctors, build, tinker, and experiment, all while learning through play.

In 2013, Angeline Howell joined the museum as its CEO.

A year later, the museum became the first mid-sized children’s museum in the country to earn accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, an honor that few children’s museums have achieved.

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Habitat for Humanity to build 100 affordable homes on former church site in Largo

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Habitat for Humanity to build 100 affordable homes on former church site in Largo

An eight-acre property in Largo once home to the American Collegiate Academy will soon be redeveloped into an affordable housing community.

Earlier this month, Habitat for Humanity of Tampa Bay Gulfside purchased the site at 833 Wyatt Street for $4.75 million, with plans to construct 100 affordable townhomes.

The seller, American Collegiate Academy, purchased the site from the First Assembly of God of Clearwater for $2 million in 2019.

The property, which currently features 17 classrooms and a 900-seat auditorium, will be demolished to make way for the project.

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St. Pete explores permanent ferry dock at St. Pete Pier for service to downtown Tampa

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St. Pete explores permanent ferry dock at St. Pete Pier for service to downtown Tampa

The passenger ferry linking downtown St. Pete and downtown Tampa may soon have a new home on the St. Pete Pier.

As the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) prepares to relaunch the Tampa Bay Ferry, formerly known as the Cross Bay Ferry, the city is evaluating plans to construct a permanent dock near the St. Petersburg Museum of History, according to documents obtained by St. Pete Rising.

When the ferry service began in 2016, it carried passengers on a roughly 50-minute ride from North Straub Park in downtown St. Pete to the Tampa Convention Center in downtown Tampa.

In 2023, when the permit for the St. Pete dock expired, the St. Pete terminus was relocated to the Port of St. Petersburg, south of Albert Whitted Airport.

While the Port location kept the service operational, it’s been criticized by riders and city officials for being out of sight and inconvenient compared to the original downtown stop.

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Battered Twin City mobile home park near Derby Lane may be redeveloped into apartments

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Battered Twin City mobile home park near Derby Lane may be redeveloped into apartments

A flood-prone mobile home park next to Derby Lane that was devastated by last year’s hurricanes could soon be redeveloped into a new apartment community.

Illinois-based Lakeshore Management, the property owner, is seeking a land use map amendment and rezoning for the 8.94-acre Twin City Mobile Home Park at 10636 Gandy Boulevard North to permit multifamily residential development.

Located near the Gandy Bridge and sitting at zero elevation within the Coastal High Hazard Area, many of the hurricane-damaged homes were deemed uninhabitable following the storms. The Pinellas County Housing Authority and other agencies have since helped residents relocate.

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$33 million Tierra Verde Marina redevelopment revised, residents remain opposed

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$33 million Tierra Verde Marina redevelopment revised, residents remain opposed

A developer has revised its plans to redevelop a prominent seven-acre property on Tierra Verde, but many residents believe the project is still not in the city’s best interest.

Tampa-based Greenleaf Capital, the real estate division of HCI Group Inc., is seeking approval from the City of St. Petersburg to transform the Tierra Verde Marina at 100 Pinellas Bayway South into a modern boat club with expanded amenities.

The goal, according to the developer, is to revitalize the island’s waterfront entryway.

The marina currently has 64 wet slips, 314 high-and-dry racks within a 58,000-square-foot storage complex, a 24,000-square-foot shopping center, and a gas station.

The $32.7 million redevelopment calls for demolishing the retail plaza and marina facilities to make way for a larger storage facility and private boat club with a restaurant, bar, and pool.

Greenleaf Capital acquired the site in 2011 for $5 million, three years after 28 acres of Tierra Verde, including the marina, were annexed by St. Petersburg.

The company is also seeking a 15-foot height bonus to build a nine-story, 90-foot-tall storage facility.

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New affordable apartment community opens near the Skyway Marina District in south St. Pete

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New affordable apartment community opens near the Skyway Marina District in south St. Pete

Just before Labor Day weekend, local government officials and community leaders gathered in south St. Pete to cut the ribbon on the city’s newest affordable housing development.

Founders Point, a 15-unit apartment community at 2901 31st Street South near the Skyway Marina District, was developed by Pinellas Affordable Living Inc. (PAL), a Community Housing Development Organization formed by the Boley Centers.

The community, designed to provide safe and affordable housing for people with special needs, is located next to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve and just south of The Shores Apartments, a 50-unit affordable housing community developed by The Richman Group.

All 15 one-bedroom apartments are reserved for residents earning at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), specifically for households with special needs.

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St. Pete–Tampa ferry prepares for relaunch with new operator search

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St. Pete–Tampa ferry prepares for relaunch with new operator search

After a three-month pause, daily ferry service across Tampa Bay is now one step closer to returning.

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) has begun a competitive procurement process to select a private operator to relaunch and manage a year-round, more frequent ferry connection between downtown St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa.

On August 5th, PSTA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit interested operators, with submissions due by Thursday, August 28th.

The new RFP follows Hillsborough County’s recent decision to terminate its contract with the previous Cross Bay Ferry operator, HMS Ferries, after the company proposed replacing the current vessel with a slower one that would extend the one-way trip from 50 minutes to more than two hours.

When the county canceled its contract with HMS, ending the Cross Bay Ferry operations on April 30th, it left $4,863,280 of unspent Federal Transit Authority (FTA) dollars on the table, which can be used towards the purchase of two new ferry boats for the Tampa-to-St. Pete service.

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Sandalwood Beach Resort in North Redington Beach to be redeveloped into six-story condo-hotel

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Sandalwood Beach Resort in North Redington Beach to be redeveloped into six-story condo-hotel

The Sandalwood Beach Resort in North Redington Beach will be redeveloped into a six-story “condo-hotel” with larger waterfront rooms and amenities open to the public.

Earlier this year, Nored Beach Development, led by local real estate developer and hotelier Bill Karns in partnership with Century 21 broker Jeffery Beggins, purchased the resort at 17100 Gulf Boulevard for $6 million. The seller is a partner in the new development. 

“The Sandalwood was built in 1959 and was rundown. The foundation sank seven inches during last year’s hurricanes. The previous owners spent a lot of time and money to raise the structure and redo the guest rooms,” said Karns, noting the impacts of Hurricane Helene and Milton on the property. “Because of damage from the storms, the cost of renovating the existing structure doesn’t make sense.”

The three-story resort, closed since the hurricane, has 47 fully furnished units, a pool, and private beach access. Karns said the new plan calls for demolishing the building and replacing it with the same number units, although they will be larger units designed so each has a view of the beach.

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St. Pete-Clearwater Airport moves forward with redeveloping 128-acre Airco site

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St. Pete-Clearwater Airport moves forward with redeveloping 128-acre Airco site

A former golf course property spanning 128 acres next to the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is set to be redeveloped, beginning with the construction of a new taxiway that will lay the groundwork for a future aviation business park.

For the past two decades, PIE has been working toward redeveloping the county-owned property known as the Airco site. The site is the largest contiguous piece of developable land in Pinellas County. PIE is now moving forward with selecting a contractor for the first phase of the project, a new taxiway located off Ulmerton Road.

“The taxiway is the first step to redeveloping the property and providing the infrastructure for future businesses there, especially aviation companies, which we’ve seen a lot of demand for,” said PIE Public Relations Director Michelle Routh in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

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