January 14, 2025

Mixed-use townhome community Strum Place nearing completion in west St. Pete

January 14, 2025/ Veronica Brezina

Strum Place, an upcoming townhome community being built alongside a reimagined historic office space, is nearing completion on Central Avenue in west St. Pete.

St. Pete-based J Square Developers and Backstreets Capital are spearheading the nine-unit luxury townhome project at 6366 Central Avenue, located along the SunRunner bus rapid transit (BRT) route.

The project is named after The Strum family, one of the pioneering families of west St. Petersburg that resided in the two-story house after its completion in 1925. Alban D. “Al” Strum was a champion speedboat racer and the former Commodore of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, and his wife Shirley was a founder of St. Petersburg’s Junior League.

The Strums lived at the home for over 30 years until it was converted into a funeral home in 1958.

September 12, 2024

Local developer wins approval to convert historic Westminster Presbyterian Church property into residences

September 12, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

A local developer will restore and bring a new use to the deteriorating 98-year-old Westminster Presbyterian Church in St. Pete's Old Northeast neighborhood that has sat vacant for over a decade.

Pinellas Park-based Belleair Development Group, which has delivered multiple commercial and residential projects throughout St. Petersburg, plans to convert the former church and school at 126 11th Avenue Northeast into one single-family home and two townhomes.

The Westminster Presbyterian Church, designed in 1926 by well-known architect Archie Parrish, has been altered with expansions and different building elements over the years and is listed as a local historic landmark in the St. Petersburg Register of Historic Places.

August 12, 2024

Controversial 60-unit residential development approved for church property in west St. Pete

August 12, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

After a four-hour discussion about a new residential development proposed for the quiet Old Pasadena neighborhood in west St. Pete, St. Petersburg City Council voted to approve the contentious project.

During a Thursday meeting, the council members cast a 5-2 vote, approving the Pasadena Community Church's appeal of a prior denial to rezone the property at 6942 1st Avenue South. The rezoning will allow Indianapolis-based developer Onyx+East to build a 60-unit residential development containing 40 townhomes and 20 single-family homes on the site.

Councilmembers Copley Gerdes and Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz cast the opposing votes. Councilmember John Muhammad was absent.

July 30, 2024

Developer proposes 60-unit residential project on Pasadena Community Church property in west St. Pete

July 30, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Developer Onyx & East is seeking to rezone a property in west St. Petersburg in order to build a 60-unit development that includes 40 townhomes and 20 single-family homes.

The 5.77-acre property at 6942 1st Avenue South, currently developed with a couple buildings and a soccer field, is owned by Pasadena Community Church (PCC), which is selling the property in order to reinvest in the church’s campus.

Pasadena Community Church, founded in 1925, is part of the United Methodist denomination. The church’s main sanctuary building is located at 227 70th Street South and will remain on the site.

June 19, 2024

Construction set to begin on luxury townhomes in St. Pete's Methodist Town

June 19, 2024/ Veronica Brezina

Husband-and-wife team Max and Kaitlin Vollmer are capitalizing on St. Pete's growing residential market by bringing new townhomes to a historic neighborhood.

The Vollmers, working with local custom homebuilder Kelner Homes, are set to begin construction on a new five-unit upscale townhome community at 375 13th Street North across from Unity Park.

The planned complex, dubbed Sunset Palms Luxury Townhomes, is located in St. Pete's Methodist Town neighborhood, a community established in the late 1800s just north of the EDGE District.