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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A 31-acre office property along McCann Lake has received preliminary approval for what would become the largest apartment community in Pinellas Park, with 552 units, including at least 221 affordable apartments.
City staff approved the preliminary site plan on September 30th for 10222 MCI Drive in the Gateway Centre Business Park.
The two-phase development would replace an office campus with nine four-story apartment buildings, two clubhouses, pickleball courts, and 847 parking spaces.
The apartment proposal relies on Florida’s Live Local Act, which allows residential development on the industrially zoned property, provided that at least 40% of the apartments, or at least 221 units, are reserved for households earning at or below 120% of the area median income for a minimum of 30 years.
The remaining 331 apartments would be leased at market rates.
Plans call for apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. All nine residential buildings would rise four stories, with a maximum height of 50 feet.