Southern Grounds to open cafe and restaurant on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

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Southern Grounds to open cafe and restaurant on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete

Southern Grounds and Co., a Jacksonville-based coffeehouse franchise focused on building community around high-quality food and drinks, is expanding to downtown St. Petersburg.

The bright, modern coffee shop will open Monday, August 18th next to The Melting Pot inside the newly built two-story building at 695 Central Avenue.

St. Pete’s coffee scene continues to grow, with each shop offering a unique experience. Southern Grounds aims to be more than just a coffeehouse, blending elements of a tapas bar and restaurant to create a co-working-style community gathering space.

The new 2,430-square-foot location features a clean white aesthetic accented by colorful, Florida-inspired murals painted by local artist Matt Kress. The open floor plan offers a mix of couch and table seating designed to encourage connection and conversation.

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Korean fried chicken restaurant bb.q Chicken to open in Pinellas County

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Korean fried chicken restaurant bb.q Chicken to open in Pinellas County

A Korean fried chicken franchise promises to transport St. Pete foodies to the streets of Seoul, bringing the global sensation of its sweet, spicy, and sticky wings to Pinellas Park.

bb.q Chicken, short for “Best of the Best Quality,” will open a new outpost at 7860 US Highway 19 North, taking over the space previously occupied by Tijuana Flats, which shuttered amid the Tex-Mex chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

The bb.q Chicken restaurant will be in the multi-tenant building located in a shopping center anchored by Ashley’s Home Furniture. This will be the brand’s first restaurant in Pinellas County and its second in the Tampa Bay area, joining a Tampa location at 3805 Northdale Boulevard that opened in 2023.

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Developer seeks approval for 168-unit apartment community on 8th Avenue Southeast in Largo

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Developer seeks approval for 168-unit apartment community on 8th Avenue Southeast in Largo

A 168-unit affordable apartment community is planned for a portion of a 15.5-acre property in Largo, adjacent to another affordable housing project already underway on the site.

Tampa-based Southport Financial Services, working with Moore Bass Consulting, is seeking site plan approval from the City of Largo to build the complex at 800 8th Avenue Southeast, on the corner of 8th Avenue SE and Donegan Road.

The project, called Largo Station, would be built on 5.7 acres on the western portion of the property next to Allora, a 240-unit apartment community being developed by global real estate firm Trammell Crow Residential (TCR). The remainder of the property is occupied by Allora’s first phase. When both phases are complete, the site will have 408 apartments.

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Home of the Week: A 1947-built Dutch West Indies-style home steps from Coffee Pot Bayou in Old Northeast

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Home of the Week: A 1947-built Dutch West Indies-style home steps from Coffee Pot Bayou in Old Northeast

A meticulously renovated 1947-built home in St. Petersburg’s Old Northeast neighborhood is St. Pete Rising’s Home of the Week.

Located at 2925 1st Street NE, the 1,304-square-foot residence is just steps from Coffee Pot Bayou and Coffee Pot Park, in a neighborhood known for its tree-lined streets and a mix of historic and modern architecture.

Blending Dutch West Indies design with modern upgrades, the home features artisan-crafted Bahama shutters, a distinctive architectural entryway, and a backyard wood-burning fireplace.

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St. Pete-Clearwater Airport moves forward with redeveloping 128-acre Airco site

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St. Pete-Clearwater Airport moves forward with redeveloping 128-acre Airco site

A former golf course property spanning 128 acres next to the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is set to be redeveloped, beginning with the construction of a new taxiway that will lay the groundwork for a future aviation business park.

For the past two decades, PIE has been working toward redeveloping the county-owned property known as the Airco site. The site is the largest contiguous piece of developable land in Pinellas County. PIE is now moving forward with selecting a contractor for the first phase of the project, a new taxiway located off Ulmerton Road.

“The taxiway is the first step to redeveloping the property and providing the infrastructure for future businesses there, especially aviation companies, which we’ve seen a lot of demand for,” said PIE Public Relations Director Michelle Routh in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

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Real estate investor purchases another property near Salt Creek in St. Pete for $6 million

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Real estate investor purchases another property near Salt Creek in St. Pete for $6 million

Clearwater-based real estate company Prometheus Partners, which has been quietly assembling acres of contiguous property just south of downtown St. Petersburg, has acquired another site.

Through its affiliate, Prometheus Franchise Restaurant Holdings LLC, the group purchased the 24,500-square-foot warehouse at 1499 Beach Drive SE for $6 million from Cato Holdings LLC.

Built in 1959, the art deco-style building sits on 1.37 acres near Salt Creek. It currently houses the Salt Creek Arts Center, a maker space offering studios and galleries for local artists, as well as moving company Swift Moves.

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Three-story apartment community proposed for southern tip of Pass-a-Grille in St. Pete Beach

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Three-story apartment community proposed for southern tip of Pass-a-Grille in St. Pete Beach

A hurricane-damaged apartment complex on the southern tip of Pass-A-Grille could soon be redeveloped into a new eight-unit residential community called Barracks by the Sea.

Located at 100 Pass-A-Grille Way in St. Pete Beach, the 0.28-acre property is owned by Barracks by the Sea LLC, who purchased the site in 2021 for $2.25 million.

The property sits directly across from the Intracoastal Waterway and currently consists of three residential buildings, two of which were originally constructed in the early 1940s as army barracks and later converted to permanent residences.

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29-story condo tower approved for 4th Street South in downtown St. Pete

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29-story condo tower approved for 4th Street South in downtown St. Pete

A Clearwater-based developer has received approval to build a new 29-story residential tower in downtown St. Petersburg.

Valor Capital plans to construct a $70 million, 165-unit condominium tower on the northeast corner of 4th Street South and 4th Avenue South, just two blocks from the Publix-anchored University Village retail plaza.

At a Development Review Commission meeting on Wednesday, commissioners unanimously approved a floor area ratio (FAR) bonus and a building height bonus for the project, known as the Roche Bobois Residences. Construction is expected to begin in 2026.

The approval follows a prior site plan approval for the project by the St. Petersburg City Council, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, in July.

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Massive redevelopment brewing on Salt Creek as plans emerge for waterfront district south of downtown St. Pete

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Massive redevelopment brewing on Salt Creek as plans emerge for waterfront district south of downtown St. Pete

A once-sleepy industrial stretch along Salt Creek in south St. Pete is on the cusp of major transformation as Clearwater-based real estate company Prometheus Partners has quietly assembled more than 10.5 acres of contiguous property just south of downtown.

Over the past few years, the group has spent over $43.7 million acquiring a portfolio of waterfront parcels in the Old Southeast neighborhood.

Now, newly filed plans suggest a redevelopment may be in motion, one that could dramatically reshape this underutilized waterfront into a lively mixed-use neighborhood.

Prometheus began acquiring land in the area in March 2024, beginning with the purchase of Progressive Marine Service Inc. at 1351 Bay Street SE for $4.8 million.

That was followed by a $10 million deal in April for 1421 Bay Street SE, the former Sailor’s Wharf yacht yard.

In July 2024, it picked up the St. Petersburg Marine Center at 101 16th Avenue South for $12.5 million.

Then in November 2024, the company added the Salt Creek Marina at 105 15th Avenue SE to its portfolio for $16.425 million.

In total, the company now controls more than 10.5 acres across several parcels on the south side of Salt Creek.

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Developer buys St. Pete property in $16.5 million deal for 304-unit affordable housing complex

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Developer buys St. Pete property in $16.5 million deal for 304-unit affordable housing complex

Houston-based The Hanover Company, a private real estate developer, has purchased a retail plaza that is expected to be redeveloped into a 304-unit affordable housing community.

The group has acquired the 8.95-acre site at 3100 22nd Avenue North in North Kenwood for $16.5 million from ZSPR PROPCO of Tampa LLC, according to a deed recorded on August 4th. The existing 71,064-square-foot retail plaza previously housed JB Factory Flooring, Studio Physique, and a MetroPCS store.

The Hanover Company also took out a $46.92 million loan from Texas-based Comica Bank.

The company’s redevelopment plans, which were filed in 2024, represented the first Live Local Act application received by the City of St. Petersburg.

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