February 19, 2025

Revised plan approved for apartment tower on Mirror Lake in downtown St. Pete

February 19, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A planned apartment tower on the southwest edge of downtown St. Pete’s Mirror Lake neighborhood has been approved for increased height and additional units.

The initial plan, which was approved by the Development Review Commission in January 2023, called for a 21-story 200-unit apartment tower with 10,843 square feet of retail space and a 264-space parking garage at 699 1st Avenue North.

The new proposal is for a 23-story, 218-unit apartment tower with 11,193 square feet of retail space and a 274-space parking garage.

The properties, which Gravel Road Partners purchased in March 2022 for $6.4 million, include the parcels at 685, 694, and 699 1st Avenue North and are currently occupied by two vacant office buildings, a vacant triplex, and a surface parking lot.

February 17, 2025

Children's bookstore The Story Garden to debut next month in Historic Uptown

February 17, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

Big news for little readers! A new children’s bookstore is opening its doors next month in Historic Uptown.

The Story Garden will bring a world of stories, adventure, and imagination to St. Pete on March 1st when it debuts at 832 14th Street North.

Founder and owner Megan Kotsko recently gave St. Pete Rising a tour of the store, which is largely retail with a dedicated space reserved for weekly events.

The shop will carry over 1,500 titles for babies, toddlers, early readers, middle grades, young adults, and parents.

February 07, 2025

New rooftop restaurants and retail to be built near Largo's Horizon West Bay development

February 07, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

As new transformative projects are underway in Largo, a vacant property near the city's future Horizon West Bay mixed-use development will be redeveloped into a new retail and restaurant destination.

Atlanta, Georgia-based commercial real estate and investment firm The Ardent Companies plans to develop the 11,075-square-foot building on the grassy vacant field on the corner of 4th Street Southwest and West Bay Drive. Ardent manages a commercial real estate portfolio of 5.6 million square feet with $1.5 billion in assets under management.

The company acquired the Largo property in a $1.85 million deal last year from the church directly across the street, The Liberty Worship Center Inc.

February 05, 2025

Tampa Bay's first Tokyo-style claw machine arcade debuts this weekend in Treasure Island

February 05, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

Almost everyone has been unfairly let down by a claw machine at some point in their life. They lure you in with the illusion of skill, only to betray you with a weak grip and an unfair payout system, leaving you frustrated and broke.

However, there is a new generation of claw machines that are designed to offer a completely different experience, reversing the game’s negative reputation by featuring improved claws with stronger grips, more consistent payouts, and a better prize selection.

After exploding in popularity in Tokyo in recent years, arcades dedicated to this new era of claw machines have been popping up in big cities like New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.

This Friday, the first claw machine arcade, or “clawcade”, opens in Tampa Bay.

January 30, 2025

BayCare buys Barnes & Noble property in west St. Pete, plans emergency room facility

January 30, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

A Barnes & Noble located across from the Tyrone Square Mall in west St. Pete will be converted into a freestanding emergency center.

BayCare Health System, which operates hospitals and health care centers throughout Tampa Bay, has purchased the 15,456-square-foot building at 2501 Tyrone BoulevardNorth from JWH Properties Inc. for $10 million, according to a deed recorded on January 29th.

This is the second Barnes & Noble the non-profit health care organization has purchased in Tampa Bay. In 2024, BayCare purchased a shuttered Barnes & Noble in Carrollwood for $10.5 million with plans to convert the property into an urgent care center.

Barnes & Noble representatives were not immediately available to confirm when the St. Pete store would close, nor whether the store would close permanently or move to another location.

The bookstore has been operating at this location in west St. Pete for 33 years.