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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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St. Pete Beach wine bar Sip finds new home in downtown St. Pete

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St. Pete Beach wine bar Sip finds new home in downtown St. Pete

The coastal-casual wine bar and shop, Sip, is leaving St. Pete Beach and bringing its curated wine selection and events to downtown St. Pete.

Currently operating until the end of March at 6710 Gulf Boulevard, Sip will relocate to a 700-square-foot space on the ground floor of the 5th Ave Loft Apartments at 442 2nd Street North in downtown St. Pete.

The space was previously home to Must Wine Loft, a European-style wine and cheese destination that closed late last year.

“It’s time to leave the beach,” Sip owner Christiane Hall told St. Pete Rising.

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Cool Vibes Pub & Grub expands to St. Pete Beach with new bar and entertainment venue

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Cool Vibes Pub & Grub expands to St. Pete Beach with new bar and entertainment venue

The Cool Vibes Pub & Grub restaurant in St. Petersburg known for its divey sports bar atmosphere and elevated bar food, is expanding to the waterfront on St. Pete Beach.

The local watering hole, which will continue operating at its flagship location at 5488 58th Street North, will open a second spot dubbed Cool Vibes on the Beach at 6800 Sunset Way fronting the bright pink Gulf Winds Resort.

An exact opening date has not yet been announced.

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Local hotelier buys Old Florida hotel property on St. Pete Beach

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Local hotelier buys Old Florida hotel property on St. Pete Beach

The 18-key Beach Haven Villas hotel, located on the picturesque shores of St. Pete Beach, now has a new owner—a prominent and well-established local hotelier.

Kevin Bowden, owner of St. Pete Beach's Miramar Resort and Cambria Hotel on Madeira Beach, purchased the Art Deco-styled hotel at 4980 Gulf Boulevard from Beach Haven LLC in a roughly $6.24 million deal. Beach Haven LLC is a local small business whose President is Carolyn Thatcher.

Bowden took out a $4.65 million mortgage loan from St. Pete-based real estate specialty finance firm Directed Capital in the transaction.

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Miramar Beach Resort expansion, rooftop restaurant approved in St. Pete Beach

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Miramar Beach Resort expansion, rooftop restaurant approved in St. Pete Beach

A new 30-unit hotel tower is expected to rise at the Miramar Beach Resort, transforming the property along St. Pete Beach’s shoreline.

During a Tuesday St. Pete Beach planning board meeting, the members unanimously voted to support a conditional use approval (CUP) for the redevelopment and expansion of the resort at 4200 Gulf Boulevard.

The existing two-story, two-building resort, which has been a staple since 1953, would demolish 10 of the existing hotel units in favor of a new 76-foot hotel building at the rear of the site just behind the towering sand dunes.

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Done Deals: Bar Mezzo debuts in EDGE District, Coffee shop opens in north St. Pete, Steakhouse coming to St. Pete Beach

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Done Deals: Bar Mezzo debuts in EDGE District, Coffee shop opens in north St. Pete, Steakhouse coming to St. Pete Beach

Done Deals is a weekly column by St. Pete Rising spotlighting recent real estate market insight and significant deals happening in the Sunshine City and beyond. The following information is sourced from public records and trusted intel.

Have real estate news to share? Send us an email at hello@stpeterising.com.

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Prominent developer purchases over four acres in St. Pete Beach, plans mixed-use condo project

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Prominent developer purchases over four acres in St. Pete Beach, plans mixed-use condo project

Delray Beach-based real estate developer Kolter Urban has acquired 4.5 acres of waterfront property on St. Pete Beach, with the intention of developing a mixed-use residential project on the site.

Kolter has developed numerous condo towers in downtown St. Pete, including ONE St. Petersburg, which opened in 2019; Saltaire, which opened in 2023; and the upcoming Art House, which is on track to debut in 2025.

On Monday, Kolter paid $9.85 million for a vacant property at the east end of Corey Avenue that was previously slated to be developed into Corey Landing, a 243-unit apartment community with restaurants, shops, a park, and boat docks.

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Grove Surf and Coffee to rebuild St. Pete Beach shop after extensive damage from recent hurricanes

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Grove Surf and Coffee to rebuild St. Pete Beach shop after extensive damage from recent hurricanes

Lindsey Gottschling and her husband Peter had their eyes glued to the monitor, watching the live camera footage of water flooding their specialty coffee bar and retail shop Grove Surf + Coffee on St. Pete Beach.

“It was like watching a car accident in slow motion. You can't pull yourself away from looking - and then the camera feed cut off,” Lindsey said to St. Pete Rising, reliving the moment Hurricane Milton wreaked havoc on their cafe as it slammed into Florida's western coast last week as a Category 3 storm.

The popular St. Pete Beach business opened in 2020 at 7370 Gulf Boulevard.

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Done Deals: Demolition commences on Coquina Key Plaza, Waterfront home sale sets record, Largo Golden Corral sells

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Done Deals: Demolition commences on Coquina Key Plaza, Waterfront home sale sets record, Largo Golden Corral sells

Done Deals is a weekly column by St. Pete Rising spotlighting recent real estate market insight and significant deals happening in the Sunshine City and beyond. The following information is sourced from public records and trusted intel.

Have real estate news to share? Send us an email at hello@stpeterising.com.

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