St. Pete City Council rejects plan to convert historic church to event venue
/The property was previously planned for other uses, which met similar oppositions by neighbors | loopnet
A 100-year-old historic church in St. Pete's Euclid-St. Paul community continues to face an ominous future after City Council voted last week to deny an appeal that would have allowed the property to operate as an event venue.
Over the years, the Euclid Methodist Church property at 919 10th Avenue North, which was added to the St. Petersburg Register of Historic Places in 2004, has been eyed for potential renovation; however, time and time again, the proposals have been challenged by surrounding residents fearing additional traffic and amplified noise would change the character of their quaint neighborhood.
This time was no different.
During a City Council meeting on Thursday, councilmembers cast a split 4-4 vote, rejecting an appeal that would have permitted the new property owners to transform the church into a 180-person event venue with a seven-unit bed & breakfast operation dubbed The Treehouse.
Husband-and-wife duo Noam and Irene Krasniansky were appealing a November denial from the Community Planning and Preservation Commission (CPPC), which rejected plans for an adaptive reuse of the property with a special exception for the meeting hall and minimum parking needed.
The Krasnianskys used profits from the sale of their Los Angeles home to purchase the church in 2023 for $1.1 million from Paradise Ventures, the same development group renovating and bringing new tenants to the Sundial shopping complex in downtown St. Pete.
In 2019, Paradise Ventures explored converting the church into an office with some retail and requested similar changes to the future land use map and official zoning map. Those requests were also met with opposition by numerous neighbors.
Paradise Ventures looked into other solutions but ultimately withdrew their plans and sold the property.
Nearly 100 residents have signed a petition opposing the conversion proposed by the Krasnianskys, citing potential issues with parking and noise levels from future hosted events.
“This is not a 10-, 12-, 15-story high-rise, this is a place of worship, wedding, birthdays - not a club, not raves,” said Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders, one of the officials who voted in support of the project. “I want to maintain the historic preservation of this building and give entrepreneurs an opportunity.”
The plans to convert the Euclid Methodist Church into an event venue with a bed and breakfast operation have halted | st. pete rising
To ease the parking concern, the owners secured over 100 off-site parking spaces from nearby businesses via letters of intent (LOI).
They also had a planned arrangement with Star Trolley, a private transit service, which agreed to carry guests to and from the offsite parking locations and nearby hotels.
Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz said she could not ignore a challenging petition and noted the LOIs for parking agreements are non-binding as they can expire or be terminated, which fellow councilmembers also acknowledged.
While the majority of public speakers shared the same concerns, which the council found to be legitimate, others spoke in favor of the project.
Manny Leto, Executive Director of Preserve the Burg, penned a letter of support while business owners such as couple Megan and Jason Kotsko sympathized with the Krasnianskys.
“We have undergone a similar process restoring a 100-year-old building that could be easily torn down and forgotten,” Jason said.
The Kotskos recently converted an old 1920s grocery store at 832 14th Street North into a children's bookstore, The Story Garden.
Another speaker, Remi Martin, an acquisition analyst at Backstreets Capital, also spoke in favor of the project. Martin understands the importance of retaining the city's character as Backstreets Capital is involved in multiple preservation projects.
Other proponents included Euclid-St. Paul Neighborhood Association President Anna Streufert and longtime retired preservationist Peter Belmont.
With City Council’s denial and ongoing deferred maintenance, the neglected church could become condemned.
Several residents argued that the property could be revived as a church or be razed and redeveloped into residential use, but proponents argued those are highly unlikely outcomes given the historical status of the property, among other challenging factors.
The Krasnianskys told St. Pete Rising they are currently weighing their options.
A home that’s just feet away from the church | st. pete rising
If the project were to move forward, this wouldn’t be the first time a church in St. Pete was converted into another use.
In 2018, travel insurance company Squaremouth purchased a 20,000-square-foot historic church on the 4300 block of Central Avenue for $1.4 million and converted it into their offices. Three years later, the company sold the church to go fully remote. The property is currently being renovated into residences.
Additionally, in 2021, the former Baptist American Church of the Beatitudes in Crescent Heights was converted into a single-family home.
Lastly, Pinellas Park-based Belleair Development Group is in the process of converting the former Westminster Presbyterian Church and school in St. Pete's Old Northeast neighborhood into one single-family home and two townhomes.
