Century-old Playhouse Theatre to be demolished for redevelopment in the Grand Central District
/The playhouse theater as seen in april 2024 | st. pete rising
Boarded-up windows and crumbling stucco line the exterior of the former Playhouse Theatre—a once-thriving venue for the latest Hollywood movies and traveling performers.
The long-vacant, 100-year-old theater at 1850 Central Avenue may soon be demolished to make way for a new development featuring office space and retail.
The site is located next to an Interstate 275 overpass and adjacent to the Trails Crossing development, a proposed linear park featuring public art and event spaces that is being studied for the area under I-275.
Demolition and building permits, which have not been approved yet, were recently submitted by the property owner, PENNCAP, LLC, a company registered to a pair of local urologists—Dr. Reid Graves and Dr. Nicholas Laryngakis.
Dr. Graves and Dr. Laryngakis, who work for Florida Urology Partners at 830 Central Avenue, purchased the Playhouse Theatre property and the neighboring Morph Nightclub property for $2.7 million in 2021.
The newly proposed site plan shows a 11,632-square-foot two-story building with four retail spaces fronting Central Avenue on the ground floor and medical offices, likely for Florida Urology Partners, on the second floor.
A 15-space parking garage would also be located on the ground floor. An additional 21 parking spaces would be available at the former Morph Nightclub, which is not expected to be demolished.
the site plan for the redeveloped playhouse theater building and site reconfiguration | city documents
On March 5th, the Development Review Commission approved vacating an alley in between the Playhouse Theatre and the Morph Nightclub.
One condition of approval requires the owners to construct an east-to-west pedestrian walkway between the two properties. Additionally, City Council will also need to review and approve the alley vacation.
The theater, which does not have a historic designation, first opened in 1925 as the open-air Patio Theatre. It was later converted into an indoor theater and renamed the Playhouse Theatre in 1934.
In the 1950s, the Playhouse continued to show family-friendly films. However, by the late 1960s, the theater transformed into an adult venue, screening pornographic films, and it later operated as a bar in the 1990s.
Through its various iterations, much of the interior of the theater was removed or defaced of its historic value.
In 2018, the Vitale Bros. painted a black-and-white mural of Marilyn Monroe on the side of the building during the SHINE Mural Festival.
the mural of marilyn monroe created by the vitale bros. | st. pete rising
Over the years, various developers have considered the theater for potential uses, including a food court, music recording space, or offices.
The site is currently zoned as Corridor Commercial Traditional (CCT-2), which allows for mixed-use developments such as restaurants, bars, retail, office space, residential units, and boutique hotels.
While the theater is set to be redeveloped, pending permit approval, the owners are also seeking a new tenant for the adjacent 6,636-square-foot nightclub at 1833 1st Avenue South.
Jon Reno La Budde, a commercial real estate agent and Director of Retail, Food, and Beverage at Axxos, has listed the former Morph Nightclub space for lease.
The two-story building still features bars, restrooms, stages, dance areas, VIP sections, an office, green rooms, and an elevator.
