This city sure keeps us busy! Yet again, this month was full of new projects coming soon to St Pete. However, as we move into the holidays, look for things to slow before ramping back up again for busy season in early 2020.

Along with the updates below, an Italian market and cafe was announced, a wine cocktail lounge opened, a barbershop re-opened, a brewery expanded, and an affordable housing tower topped out.

As many of you are aware, we write a column every month called Downtown Developments for Green Bench Monthly, a local community magazine. In the column, we highlight everything coming soon to Downtown St. Pete, including new restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. We also reveal new tower renderings, announce townhome projects, and much more. A few months ago, we started publishing that column right here on St. Pete Rising, in addition to Green Bench Monthly!

Want the news first? Be sure to follow us! Most of what we discuss in Downtown Developments has already been posted to either our website, newsletter, Facebook, or Instagram. With Downtown Developments, you’ll never miss the latest Downtown St. Pete news.

The Royal, a 13-unit townhome community, is coming soon to 545 4th Avenue South in Downtown St Pete. These homes are being developed by Salt Palm Development, who just finished construction on The Sabal, another DTSP townhome project. Residences at The Royal will range between 1,800 and 3,100 square feet with prices staring in the $500’s and up to $1.2 million. The project is expected to be completed in Spring 2021.

Greenstock is coming soon to 449 Central Avenue in Downtown St Pete (formerly Kalamazoo Olive Company). Customers are welcome to select one of the seven chef-inspired salads, or choose from an extensive list of over 50 ingredient options including lettuces, proteins, grains, cheeses, fruits and veggies. For those that are really “on-the-go,” they’ll roll it up in a wrap for you. Salads start at $9.

A new 7-story apartment community, temporarily dubbed 770 Apartments, has been proposed for the corner of 4th Avenue North and 8th Street in Downtown St Pete. The development will be 81 feet in height with 126-units in a U-shaped building, which will surround a third floor interior courtyard with a private pool and resident terrace. This is the latest proposal in a recent boom of downtown apartment developments in Downtown St Pete. Over 800 apartment units are currently under construction with many more on the way.

In October, City Council approved an ordinance that would allow scooters in St. Pete for a one year pilot program. Although scooters could hit the streets by late winter, there will be quite a few stipulations:

• Scooters will be banned from sidewalks and along the waterfront trail

• Scooters can be ridden within a bike lane, if there is one, and on roads with speed limits of 30 miles per hour and under

• Speeds capped at 15 miles per hour

• The scooters must be parked within designated corrals across the city

Chick'nCone, a restaurant offering a fork-free twist on chicken and waffles, is coming soon to 425 Central Avenue (formerly Lonni's Sandwiches Downtown) in Downtown St Pete. Instead of the traditional waffle, Chick'nCone takes waffle cones and fills them with chicken nuggets for a very Instagrammable on-the-go meal. The nuggets can be tossed in one of six sauces for $8. Chick'nCone is hoping to be open by the end of 2019.

Lonni’s Sandwiches will be moving one door down from their current location to 429 Central Avenue (formerly Hair on Central). Swing by for lunch and order the Sunny Bird today! Cream cheese, turkey, sunflower seeds, sprouts and homemade honey french dressing served on wild rice bread.

The SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival, which took place October 18-26th, is an annual event that invites muralists from all over the world to transform St Petersburg into a 24/7 open-air art gallery. This year’s muralists hailed from Germany, England, Jamaica, Australia, Mexico, and St. Pete, of course. If you want to check out this year’s completed murals, go to www.ShineMuralFest.com to download a map.