July 03, 2025

Dank Burrito to open first Pinellas location at former Boston Market in Largo

July 03, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A vacant Boston Market in Largo is getting a flavorful new lease on life.

Dank Burrito, a fast-casual restaurant known for its 90s hip-hop aesthetic and menu of tacos, burritos, and bowls, is set to open in a 3,100-square-foot space at 4001 East Bay Drive, at the corner of East Bay and Belcher Road.

Expected to open later this year, Dank Burrito is making its Pinellas County debut with graffiti-wrapped walls, colorful signage, and a menu that pushes the boundaries of traditional burrito joints.

Guests can expect menu items such as a Jerk Chicken Burrito with pineapple-mango salsa and a Pork Belly Bowl topped with kimchi or banh mi-style vegetables, sweet Thai chili sauce, cilantro, and lime.

June 30, 2025

10-unit townhome community breaks ground in St. Pete's Central Oak Park neighborhood

June 30, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A new 10-unit townhome development is coming to St. Pete’s Central Oak Park neighborhood, located just west of the Grand Central District.

Seattle-based development firm Heron Properties has broken ground on the project, called The Junction Townhomes, located at 3601 1st Avenue North. This marks the company’s first development outside of Seattle.

The community will include four buildings situated around a landscaped central courtyard.

Heron Properties purchased the 0.42-acre property in 2022 for $770,000.

“We’ve started site work and expect to begin vertical construction in August,” said Grace Johnson, Principal at Heron Properties, in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

June 11, 2025

Poblanos Mexican Grill and Bar to replace Village Inn in Largo

June 11, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

The family-owned and operated Poblanos Mexican Grill and Bar is expanding with a new location in Largo.

The restaurant recently secured a ten-year lease at 2659 Roosevelt Boulevard in the newly constructed, 11,500-square-foot Roosevelt Crossing retail strip, located at the southeast corner of Roosevelt Boulevard and US 19, nestled between Wawa and Walmart.

Poblanos, named after the Poblano pepper native to Puebla, Mexico, will occupy a 4,600-square-foot space previously home to the Village Inn breakfast chain, which closed earlier this year.

June 11, 2025

St. Pete-Clearwater Airport to build 1,800-space parking garage amid record-breaking passenger activity

June 11, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), now serving nearly 2.5 million passengers a year and offering nonstop flights to over 60 cities, is expanding its parking capacity to meet growing demand.

The airport, located at 14700 Terminal Boulevard in north St. Pete, recently began designing a terminal expansion project expected to exceed $110 million. As part of the plan, PIE will also build its first parking garage, adding to its current surface-level parking.

Last month was the busiest May in the airport’s history, with 242,162 passengers, 13% more than May of last year. Additionally, passenger activity is currently up 11% year over year.

May 23, 2025

As hurricane season approaches, here’s how St. Pete and residents can prepare

May 23, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

It’s almost that time of year again to prepare for hurricane season, which runs from June 1st through November 30th.

The City of St. Petersburg, in partnership with Pinellas County, is taking precautionary measures ahead of the looming season by strengthening the region’s infrastructure.

The actions follow the release of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2025 Hurricane Outlook, which forecasts above-normal hurricane and tropical storm activity this season. The outlook predicts 13 to 19 named storms that could become hurricanes. Peak storm activity typically occurs between mid-August and mid-October, when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean.

May 21, 2025

St. Pete Beach’s historic Beach Theatre set to reopen this July after 13 years

May 21, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

The historic Beach Theatre on St. Pete Beach will reopen on Friday, July 18th for the first time in over a decade, bringing back the smell of fresh popcorn and the buzz of excited moviegoers.

The theatre, located at 315 Corey Avenue,firstopened in 1940 as the first venue in Pinellas County built exclusively for sound films.

The reopening follows a year of extensive renovations led by new owners and St. Pete Beach residents Ronald and Sissy Hockman and their daughter, Hannah. The family purchased the 85-year-old theatre in March 2024 for $1 million.

“I have dreamed of owning a theatre for as long as I can remember,” Hannah shared in a Facebook post.

May 21, 2025

Five-story resort with waterpark and rooftop bar rejected by St. Pete Beach officials

May 21, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A proposed resort on Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach has encountered another setback after city officials rejected the plan for a second time.

The City Commission unanimously voted last Tuesday to reject a variance, density allocation, and a conditional use permit to construct a 104-unit resort on a vacant 2.76-acre strip of land between the Sand Cove Apartments and Sun Harbor Condos.

The Windward Pass Resort, led by Jack Bodziak of Bodziak/Hayes Architects, would feature a five-story, art deco-inspired building. Amenities include a waterpark with slides and a lazy river, a main pool, a sundeck with a swim-up bar, on-site restaurants, a rooftop bar, a 12-slip boat dock offering paddleboard and kayak rentals, and a 190-space parking garage.

May 19, 2025

376-unit residential community proposed for 22-acre Empath Health campus in Largo

May 19, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A South Carolina developer is planning to transform the 21.8-acre Empath Health campus in Largo into a large-scale residential community that includes affordable housing made possible by Florida’s Live Local Act.

Greystar Real Estate Partners, currently under contract to purchase the property at 5771 Roosevelt Boulevard, has proposed a 376-unit development consisting of apartments and townhomes. Of those, 150 units will be reserved as affordable housing.

The planned community, named Bayside, will include an ample amount of green space featuring gravel paths, gardens, sports areas for families, two dog parks, playgrounds, a potential putting green, a shaded hammock area, a walking trail around a large stormwater pond.

May 13, 2025

Chicken tender chain Raising Cane's planning new restaurant in Largo

May 13, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

Louisiana-based fried chicken chain Raising Cane's is expanding its footprint in Tampa Bay with a new Largo location.

Raising Cane's plans to open a new drive-thru restaurant on an outparcel at 10500 Ulmerton Road, near the Largo Plaza shopping mall. The site was previously occupied by a Red Lobster, which closed in May 2024 after the company announced it was considering filing for bankruptcy.

Plans submitted to the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFMD) show that the existing building will be demolished and replaced with a new 2,683-square-foot Raising Cane's restaurant featuring a two-lane drive-thru and surface parking.

May 08, 2025

60-unit Bayou Court opens in south St. Pete with affordable apartments for teachers and government workers

May 08, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

One year ago, city leaders and a local developer broke ground on a transformational project in south St. Pete that aimed to create more housing opportunities for teachers and faculty. Today, the community has officially opened.

The new 60-unit apartment community, Bayou Court Apartments, is located near the southeast corner of Lake Maggiore at 4201 6th Street South, directly behind Lakewood Elementary School.

The project, which recently welcomed its first residents, was made possible through a public-private collaboration between the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, and Gravel Road Partners, a Washington D.C.-based workforce and affordable housing developer that acquired the property in 2022 for $1.7 million.