February 02, 2026

Six-story resort with waterpark and rooftop bar denied again on St. Pete Beach

February 02, 2026/ Veronica Brezina

After nearly two years of plan revisions, public hearings, and formal dispute resolution, the St. Pete Beach City Commission has again rejected a proposed waterfront resort that would have brought a waterpark, rooftop bar, and 100-room hotel to a vacant stretch of Gulf Boulevard along McPherson Bayou.

At its January 27th meeting, commissioners voted to deny a settlement recommendation stemming from a Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act proceeding, effectively reaffirming the city’s earlier denial of three requests tied to the proposed Windward Pass Resort.

The project was first announced in March 2024 as a six-story, 104-key hotel planned for a 2.53-acre assemblage at 3815, 3856, 3859 and 3861 Gulf Boulevard, an irregularly shaped site bookended by the Sand Cove Apartments and Sun Harbor Condos.

January 29, 2026

After Postcard Inn closure, The Luce Hotel sets opening date on St. Pete Beach

January 29, 2026/ Veronica Brezina

After months of renovations, one of St. Pete Beach’s most popular waterfront hotels is preparing to welcome guests back under a new brand.

The Luce (pronounced “loose”), located at 6300 Gulf Boulevard, is set to open March 15th and is now accepting reservations.

The property is the former home of the Postcard Inn, a longtime beach destination that closed in 2024 after sustaining damage from back-to-back hurricanes.

Originally built in 1957, the nine-acre beachfront property has been fully renovated by The LCP Group, which purchased the site in 2022 for $83 million alongside investment partner Safanad.

Hotel management is being handled by Crescent Hotels & Resorts, and the project now operates under Marriott Tribute Portfolio.

January 28, 2026

Orlando Health completes Institute Square, a new medical campus next to Bayfront Hospital in downtown St. Pete

January 28, 2026/ Veronica Brezina

Orlando Health has completed construction on Institute Square, a new medical campus just north of its 480-bed Bayfront Hospital in downtown St. Petersburg’s Innovation District.

The development spans an entire city block bounded by 5th Avenue South, 6th Avenue South, 7th Street South, and 8th Street South.

It includes a four-story Orlando Health Medical Pavilion, a three-story Orlando Health Women’s Pavilion, and a five-story, 817-space parking garage that also houses an imaging center and a wound care center.

Hospital leaders are expected to formally mark the opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 12th.

Construction on the project began in late 2023, led by Turner Construction Company. Orlando-based construction firm Finfrock built the parking garage.

January 27, 2026

North America’s largest private homebuilder to build 53 luxury townhomes on Gandy in north St. Pete

January 27, 2026/ Veronica Brezina

The largest privately owned homebuilder in North America has acquired 10 acres in north St. Petersburg, where it plans to build a luxury townhome community.

Earlier this month, Toronto-based Mattamy Homes purchased 53 fully entitled townhome sites at 12000 Gandy Boulevard from Miami-based Key International for $12.64 million.

The property is part of the 39-acre Amara Bay Residences & Marina, a mixed-use project currently in development by Key International that will also include 418 apartments across six four-story buildings, an 8,000-square-foot waterfront restaurant, and a 37,800-square-foot public marina with 150 boat slips.

Key International purchased the entire Amara Bay site for $14.44 million in 2022.

January 22, 2026

Williams Park improvements move forward in downtown St. Pete with focus on activation and safety

January 22, 2026/ Anthony Close

Plans to reimagine Williams Park in downtown St. Pete are starting to come into focus, with city partners emphasizing that the park’s future success will depend as much on daily activity and programming as on physical improvements.

Leaders with the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership shared updates on the effort during a recent media availability at the Cordova Inn, where they were joined by Dan Biederman, a nationally recognized urban placemaking expert whose firm, Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, has been brought in to help shape how the park functions once construction is complete.

“It’s remarkable the progress St. Pete has made over the last four decades,” Biederman said, noting the level of downtown activity compared to other cities. “There’s a lot going on here at 11 o’clock at night — you don’t see that in many places.”

Williams Park, which opened in 1888, spans an entire city block in the heart of downtown, bordered by 1st Avenue North, 2nd Avenue North, 3rd Street North, and 4th Street North.

Long considered the city’s “town square,” the park has faced challenges in recent years related to perception issues, aging infrastructure, and an underutilized bandshell.

January 22, 2026

Cordova Inn expansion and new rooftop bar open next month in downtown St. Pete

January 22, 2026/ Brian Zucker

After nearly three years of construction next door to one of downtown St. Petersburg’s most storied boutique hotels, the Cordova Inn’s long-awaited expansion is finally nearing the finish line, with the ownership team targeting an opening next month.

“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” co-owner Tommy Del Zoppo told St. Pete Rising during a recent sit-down interview. “We’ve been laser-focused on getting this done, and we’d like to open by February 15th. At this point it’s furniture, final finishes, and waiting on a few inspections.”

The five-story addition rising at 253 2nd Avenue North beside the 105-year-old Cordova Inn is designed to more than triple the hotel’s room count, taking it from 32 rooms to 97, including three luxury suites on the top floor offering panoramic views of downtown.

The expansion will also add a new ground-floor restaurant and a fifth-floor rooftop bar, both of which will be open to the public.

January 21, 2026

Famous Twitch streamer Tfue buys Woody’s Waterfront restaurant on St. Pete Beach

January 21, 2026/ Veronica Brezina

Woody’s Waterfront, the restaurant and bar that served St. Pete Beach for 35 years before closing in 2024, now belongs to a social media star.

The 28-year-old Twitch streamer and Florida native Turner Tenney, better known as Tfue, one of the world’s top esports gamers, has purchased the property at 7308 Sunset Way for $2.4 million.

Like many businesses on St. Pete Beach, Woody’s Waterfront sustained severe damage from Hurricane Helene in 2024 and was forced to close.

The laid-back, old-school Florida beach bar was owned by Roxene Riles and Marlo George, whose parents purchased the parcels in 1989 for $526,100.

"We have spent many hours reviewing options and have decided it is time for someone else to build their vision," the owners wrote on social media in January 2025, when they initially listed the property and two adjacent lots overlooking Blind Pass.

January 21, 2026

Health-focused Karma Juice Bar & Eatery coming to north St. Pete

January 21, 2026/ Kyla Fields

Fresh off announcing a new Grand Central District location, Karma Juice Bar and Eatery is planning yet another café—this time in north St. Pete.

Owner Josie Barber tells St. Pete Rising that plans are underway for Karma’s newest outpost, a 2,485-square-foot space at 201 Main Street North on the ground floor of the 17-story Park & Main apartment building within Echelon City Center at Carillon.

“I’ve never really taken on a project this big before; it’s quite a large space and we’re completely building it out,” Barber says. “It’s going to be a good place for us because the demographic of people that live there is very similar to our customer base.”

Barber plans to open Park and Main’s Karma later this year.

Karma has two existing locations, including one on 4th Street North in St. Pete and another in Clearwater.

January 20, 2026

204-unit affordable housing development in west St. Pete revived by Gravel Road Partners with county funding support

January 20, 2026/ Veronica Brezina

Washington, D.C.-based affordable housing developer Gravel Road Partners is resurrecting a long-stalled project that will bring 204 apartments and ground-floor retail to west St. Pete.

On Tuesday, Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved $6.71 million in Penny for Pinellas funding for a four-story apartment building planned at 6090 Central Avenue.

The new community, known as Sixty90, will reserve 60% of its units for households earning 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and below, with the remaining 40% offered at market rates.

Gravel Road Partners is taking over the project from local real estate firms DDA Development and Backstreets Capital, which purchased the three-acre site in December 2020 for $5.6 million from local businessman Bill Edwards.

The city approved plans for the four-story complex in 2021, and County commissioners also approved $3.5 million in Penny for Pinellas funding that year. That funding was later returned after the original development team paused the project amid shifting market conditions.

“We are incredibly proud to launch our third project in Pinellas County, a milestone that reflects our deep-seated commitment to this community. This project is a powerful testament to our partnership with Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburg,” said Tyler Herbert, a partner with Gravel Road Partners, in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

January 19, 2026

Gas Plant District redevelopment teams bolster partnerships ahead of proposal deadline

January 19, 2026/ Veronica Brezina

Prominent local developers competing to lead the redevelopment of the Gas Plant District in St. Pete are expanding their teams.

On January 4th, Mayor Ken Welch opened a 30-day window inviting developers and interested parties to submit proposals, following the receipt of an unsolicited proposal in October 2025 from ARK Ellison Horus.

Since then, investor Thompson Whitney Blake of Blake Investment Partners has announced he is also submitting a proposal.

ARK Ellison Horus and Blake are currently the only developers to publicly signal their intent to submit bids for the site, although additional proposals could still be submitted before the February 3rd deadline.