A new neighborhood bar The Green Room opens next to Tchotchke in south St. Pete

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A new neighborhood bar The Green Room opens next to Tchotchke in south St. Pete

A new neighborhood bar has quietly opened in south St. Pete.

Located at 3920 6th Street South, The Green Room is a new bar from Matthew Firosz, owner of the adjacent diner Tchotchke. The diner opened last year in the former Munch’s space, which had operated for 70 years before closing.

The Green Room takes over a former Phillips Air Conditioning & Heating office, now reimagined as a laid-back, no frills hangout.

Inside, the space feels comfortable and worn in, with classic wooden wainscoting below deep green walls that are collaged with framed artwork and random knick knacks from Firosz’s personal collection.

A trio of dartboards are located in the back by the bathrooms.

At the heart of the space is a 14-seat L-shaped bar, topped with thousands of pennies and stocked with over 50 varieties of bourbon.

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Cathie Wood's ARK Invest to move headquarters to EDGE District in downtown St. Pete

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Cathie Wood's ARK Invest to move headquarters to EDGE District in downtown St. Pete

ARK Invest, a leading global investment firm known for its focus on disruptive innovation, will relocate its downtown St. Pete headquarters to the EDGE District.

Tampa-based Ellison Development announced Wednesday that ARK Invest, which is currently headquartered at 200 Central Avenue, will occupy 13,000 square feet on the 11th floor of Halcyon, a new office building expected to break ground later this year at 1301 Central Avenue.

Halcyon represents the first Class A office building constructed in downtown St. Pete since the 1980s.

The 11-story, 130,000-square-foot office building is one of the main components of The Central, a 2.1-acre mixed-use development that will also contain a 168-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, 14,000 square feet of retail space, a 42-unit affordable housing community, and a newly opened 540-space parking garage.

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$27 million penthouse sale at Waldorf Astoria Residences in downtown St. Pete shatters Tampa Bay condo record

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$27 million penthouse sale at Waldorf Astoria Residences in downtown St. Pete shatters Tampa Bay condo record

A local business leader has purchased a two-story penthouse atop the planned 50-story Waldorf Astoria Residences tower in downtown St. Petersburg for $27 million.

Planned for 150 2nd Avenue South, the Waldorf Astoria Residences will be the city’s tallest building and the first five-star branded condo tower in St. Petersburg. The project will include 163 condominiums, 73,000 square feet of Class A office space, 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and a wide range of luxury amenities.

The sale of the 11,000-square-foot rooftop unit has shattered the record for the most expensive condominium ever sold in the Tampa Bay area.

The previous high in St. Pete was an $8.25 million penthouse at Saltaire, located next to the proposed Waldorf Astoria tower in downtown St. Pete, which sold in 2024. In Tampa, the record is an $11.6 million penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, sold in 2021.

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A Rosie the Riveter-themed restaurant and bar to replace The Avenue in downtown St. Pete

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A Rosie the Riveter-themed restaurant and bar to replace The Avenue in downtown St. Pete

A new restaurant and bar inspired by the cultural icon Rosie the Riveter is coming to downtown St. Pete, replacing The Avenue, which closed in February after 13 years in business.

Tampa’s Riveters, a concept celebrating female empowerment and the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, will bring its historical theme and made-from-scratch menu to 330 1st Avenue South later this year.

The 3,925-square-foot space will be transformed into a sports bar featuring World War II memorabilia, including Rosie the Riveter posters, veteran patches, and wings from crashed bomber jets mounted on the walls.

The female staff, called “Rosies,” wear red bandanas and denim tops inspired by the iconic poster, while the male staff wear military and tactical-style uniforms.

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Two local businesses expand to Bayfront Tower in downtown St. Pete

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Two local businesses expand to Bayfront Tower in downtown St. Pete

A new storefront combining a modern barbershop and tattoo-inspired streetwear has opened in downtown St. Pete.

Broken Compass Barber Co. and Iron and Ink Clothing Co., which previously shared a space at 6160 Ulmerton Road in Clearwater, have relocated their joint shop to the ground floor of the 29-story Bayfront Tower at 1 Beach Drive SE, Suite 106, which previously housed the pet grooming salon PetWorks.

Blakemore Kearney of Vector Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord, while Alex Kamm of Axxos Commercial represented the tenants.

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20-story, $134 million apartment tower proposed for 5th Avenue North in downtown St. Pete

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20-story, $134 million apartment tower proposed for 5th Avenue North in downtown St. Pete

Seven small apartment buildings in downtown St. Pete could soon be demolished to make way for a 20-story luxury apartment tower.

St. Pete-based Stadler Development, led by John Stadler and his son Chris, has submitted plans for a $134 million tower with 370 apartments, 3,819 square feet of ground-floor retail, and a 485-space parking garage.

The 1.3-acre site is bordered by 4th Street North, 5th Avenue North, 5th Street North, and an alley. It shares a block with the Hollander Hotel and Trinity Lutheran Church, which sit on the opposite side of the alley.

Stadler is under contract to purchase the property from local investor Michael Andoniades, who owns the Hollander Hotel and several other nearby buildings.

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Lake Maggiore Apartments to remove community garden, downsize dog park for more parking

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Lake Maggiore Apartments to remove community garden, downsize dog park for more parking

When the Lake Maggiore Apartments opened last year, the south St. Pete community promoted itself as a luxury, eco-conscious development with the city’s first edible urban garden.

Now, the lush garden and much of the adjacent dog park will be demolished to make way for additional parking on the western side of the 330-unit community at 825 32nd Avenue South.

St. Pete-based development firm Stoneweg U.S. has filed plans to add nearly 100 new parking spaces in response to ongoing parking issues since the property's opening.

The development currently offers 358 parking spaces, which exceeds the City of St. Pete’s required 293 spaces.

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384-unit apartment community proposed near U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park

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384-unit apartment community proposed near U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park

Houston-based real estate developer The Hanover Company has submitted plans for a new 384-unit apartment community with affordable housing in Pinellas Park.

The project would be built on a vacant 24.31-acre site near the intersection of Gateway Centre Boulevard and US 19, within the Gateway Centre Business Park.

Because the property is zoned Light Industrial, The Hanover Company plans to move forward under the Live Local Act, which overrides certain local zoning restrictions and permits residential development on land zoned for commercial or industrial use.

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170-unit Convivial St. Petersburg hits sales milestone as demand surges for waterfront senior living

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170-unit Convivial St. Petersburg hits sales milestone as demand surges for waterfront senior living

Convivial St. Petersburg, a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC) rising along the waterfront in the Skyway Marina District, has reached a major sales milestone.

The $172.5 million project has now pre-sold nearly 40% of its planned residences, following a record-setting pace in June.

The nine-story development, located at 4595 34th Street South along Boca Ciega Bay, is being led by Convivial Life, a Florida-based not-for-profit that owns and operates senior living communities.

“This pace confirms what we’ve believed all along—there’s a powerful appetite for a boutique-style retirement community that blends purpose, connection, and vibrancy,” said Jessica Kraft, Chief Marketing Officer for Convivial Life.

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

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

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.

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