City moves forward with affordable housing and retail development on 22nd Street South
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Mayor Ken Welch has selected Green Mills Group, a South Florida-based affordable housing developer, to redevelop a historically significant city-owned property at 951 22nd Street South.
The selection follows a Request for Proposals (RFP) process that launched in August 2024, which drew three submissions from Green Mills Group, Tall Cotton, and Alexander Goshen/Goode Van Slyke Architecture.
Under Green Mills’ proposal, the vacant 0.68-acre site would be transformed into a $20 million mixed-use development, called Heritage Grove, featuring 54 affordable apartments and 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
City Council is expected to vote on a negotiated ground lease and development agreement next Thursday, October 16th.
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A popular Venezuelan food concept known for its stuffed arepas and empanadas will soon open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in St. Pete.
Carúpano Kitchen plans to open by mid-November at 1040 4th Street North, a 1,070-square-foot space previously occupied by a catering kitchen and Urban Canning Company before that.
Andrea Osorio debuted Carúpano Kitchen at Foodie Labs, a commercial kitchen incubator in the Warehouse Arts District, in 2025 with her mother, Diann Cedeño, and wife, Lauren Haley.
The menu centers on arepas, naturally gluten-free Venezuelan corn cakes that are grilled or fried, sliced open, and filled with meats, cheeses, seafood, and vegetables.
Osorio said the new restaurant will keep Carúpano Kitchen’s core recipes while adding new, healthy options for the lunch crowd.
“There’s a lot of changes coming, but overall it’s the same menu and recipes,” Osorio said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “It’ll just be an elevated version that caters to this new location.”