Downtown St Petersburg
There are neighborhoods beyond these boundaries that are within walking distance of downtown, but here I’m defining “downtown” St Petersburg as the area between 5th Avenue North and 5th Avenue South, and from 4th Street to Tampa Bay. Unlike the city officials, I’m including both sides of the boundary streets - how can you really say that one side of the street is downtown and the other isn’t? Regardless of where you live in the Tampa Bay area, you can claim Downtown St Pete as yours, if you like - and this is the place to find out about the area and what’s going on there.
Downtown St Petersburg Condos - Market Report August 1, 2008
August 2nd, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg, Market Updates
There are currently 181 downtown St Petersburg condos listed for sale. This is about average for the year, with monthly inventory ranging from 171 to 187 units. 13 units sold during July but more relevant is the number going to contract during July, which was 6. At the rate of sales during July, that is a 2.5 year supply. The $250,000 - $500,000 range has the most choices, with 28.7% of the units.
The majority of the sold condos were new: 3 sales in 400 Beach and 4 sales at The Sage make up 54% of the sales. In resales, Bayfront Tower had 4 of the sales and Bayboro Tower had 2 of them. Condos going to contract in July had twice as many resales (4) as new sales (2); all of the resale contracts during July were under $250,000; both of the new contract were in The Sage. There were no contracts over $1,000,000 during July 2008.
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Tent City?
July 9th, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg
Yesterday the Heritage Hotel in downtown St Petersburg was tented for termites, as was the adjacent Hammerhead Grille. Seeing a house tented is not an uncommon sight, but when large buildings are tented it catches your attention. I remember back when the Vinoy Hotel was tented - that was a huge project! This morning the tents were gone, so it’s good I took the photo yesterday. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
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Heritage Hotel to become Indigo Hotel St Petersburg
June 17th, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg
The Heritage Hotel on 3rd Avenue N in downtown St. Petersburg has been purchased by the BayStar Hotel Group of Tampa. After a $3 Million renovation it’s expected to emerge as Hotel Indigo this fall.
The 1920s hotel was a Holiday Inn until Spring 2007 and has been independent sine then. Hotel Indigo is a boutique brand of InterContinental Hotels set to appeal to high-tech business travelers. Check out the site for Hotel Indigo in Sarasota to see a sample of what to expect.
The hotel will have 76 rooms and expanded baths with spa showers. a Phi Cafe in the lobby will serve breakfast, lunch and a light dinner. The adjoining restaurant is the Hammerhead Grille, open for lunch and dinner.
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Downtown St Petersburg: another view
April 4th, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg, Events, Lifestyle, Places to Eat
Downtown St Petersburg experienced as “a tourist” was the topic of a recent blog post by Shakespeare’s Sister. She and her husband spent the weekend at Inn at the Bay and enjoyed downtown St Pete. Moon Under Water and Paciugo’s gelaterie were restaurant stops, and they enjoyed the Saturday morning market, SPIFFS St Petersburg International Folk Fair and the Festival of Speeds. Check her post for impressions and photos.
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Buying a condo in downtown St Petersburg #1
March 27th, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg, Real Estate News
If you’re buying a condo in downtown St Petersburg Florida, there are several questions you should ask. Here’s #1:
What is the ratio of owner occupied units to the total number of units? There may not be a way to know the true number, but a good gauge is knowing how many of the units have a Homestead Exemption.
For 2007 Vinoy Place owners have homestead exemptions on 71% of the units; Parkshore Plaza on 44% of the units; 475, with a majority of units still unsold, has just 18%; Whitney Plaza, mostly unsold as well, has 0%.
Why should you care? Two reasons: one is lifestyle and common interests. Will most of the units be unoccupied most of the year? Will most of the units have renters who move every year? The other is the financability of your property if you want to sell or if you want to refinance. If lenders require 60% owner occupants, or charge higher interest rates and higher fees, or refuse to finance properties in the building, it definitely affect the marketability of your downtown condo, which will affect the value of it.
Don’t wait until after you’re under contract and asking for the condo documents - have your Realtor® find out for you while you’re in the looking process. Be a wise buyer (and a wise owner) - know how many units are owner occupied.
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Ovation St Petersburg is Rising to the Occasion
March 26th, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg, Ovation
JMC invited some of us today to visit the construction of Ovation luxury condominiums in St Petersburg. We were able to go up into the building, look at the views, and see what you’d see from each room. Fantastic views! This will be a 27 story structure, with only 2 condominiums per floor, which means you get both sunrises and sunsets. The top penthouses have the entire floor. Tower prices start at about $1,700,000. With only 42 tower residences and 3 city homes, Ovation offers top quality construction, great floorplans, and a prime location. At the corner of Beach Drive and 2nd Ave NE (which continues out to The Pier) you’re right in the heart of everything. Visit Ovation’s website to see a 7 minute virtual tour and also a live webcam with several views, as well as floor plans and information about JMC, who has been a quality developer in the St Pete area for the last 30 years. Please contact The Simms Team at (727) 866-0048 for buyer representation!
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Permanent Chihuly Exhibit coming to St Petersburg Florida
March 26th, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg
D
ale Chihuly signed an agreement yesterday with The Arts Center that will bring a permanent exhibit of Chihuly’s unique glass art to St Petersburg, Florida. Back in 2005 Chihuly announced an exhibit that would be part of a larger development including condominium buildings and retail, as well as The Arts Center. That project has stalled with the current economy, but The Arts Center is proceeding with an expansion nonetheless and the Chihuly collection here in St Pete will be the only museum dedicated to his work. Rick Baker, mayor of St Petersburg, was in Seattle with officials from The Arts Center for the signing of the agreement. When The Museum of Fine Arts brought a Chihuly exhibit to St Pete a few years ago, crowds were lined up along Straub Park to get in to see it. Opening of the Chihuly gallery is expected in 2010. Read more from the Tampa Tribune.
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St Petersburg Municipal Marina has slips available
March 24th, 2008 Categories: Boating, Downtown St Petersburg
St Petersburg Municipal Marina has just completed brand new Dock 5 at Demen’s Landing in downtown St Petersburg. Slip rentals are:
44 ft slips: $512.07 per month for city residents, $628.44 per month for non-city residents.
55 ft slips: $645.64 per month for city residents, $792.38 per month for non-city residents.
100 ft slips: $1,200 per month for city residents, $1,500 per month for non-city residents.
Within easy walking distance of downtown - after all, it IS downtown, there are laundry facilities, showers and lockers; electric (30 amp and 50 amp service), water & phone hook-ups; pump-out service at your slip; fuel dock; ship’s store; and more.
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Cafe Alma in downtown St Petersburg
March 23rd, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg, Things To Do
Cafe Alma is a restaurant we’ve enjoyed in downtown St Petersburg, both for lunch and for dinner. It’s on the basement level of McNulty Station. The food and service are enjoyable, and our only complaint is that sometimes it’s so noisy that you can’t hear others at your table (only at dinner has this happened). We’ve actually had people leave the group because of the noise.
Since 2002 this has been a popular restaurant that we’ve enjoyed and have recommended to our friends. Dwight and Catherine Watkins have now sold Cafe Alma and the new owners are Scott Vogel and Tony Harahan. Check out their website, which includes their menus, at www.CafeAlma.com.
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Museum of Fine Arts opens Hazel Hough wing
March 22nd, 2008 Categories: Downtown St Petersburg, Things To Do
Last night Tami and I attended a member’s only reception for the new Hazel Hough wing of the Museum of Fine Arts. Tables of catered hors d’oeuvres lined the foyer, with its high wall of glass for views of the park and waterfront. There was a gala a month ago for those wanting “The First View”, but the art wasn’t displayed then, as it was last night. I particularly enjoyed some of the pieces done by students, which were displayed on the upper level.
I’ve known Hazel Hough since she was a member of the St Petersburg International Relations Committee, which I chaired. Since then I’ve watched all the things she and husband Bill Hough have done for the community. Bill made a significant donation to the museum, and had the new wing named for Hazel. In response, Hazel donated a video sculpture Extruded Video Engine #2 by Peter Sarkisian, dedicated to Bill.
The architecture of the new wing doesn’t match the main museum and its first addition, but does provide much more space for showing collections that had to be stored away before. The community has long supported and enjoyed this museum on Beach Drive in downtown St Petersburg.
One of my favorite spots at the Museum is the gallery of Stueben glass. The museum also has the original Georgia O’Keefe’s “Poppy” - which I like so much that I had a print framed and hung on my office wall. MFA has put on some wonderful exhibits - in 2004 history was created when crowds lined Straub Park to see the Chihuly glass exhibit at the Museum. In 2002 we enjoyed a wonderful exhibit of Ansel Adams photography,
3/23/08 Addition: Nice article and photos in today’s St Petersburg Times on the new wing and exhibits. They’ve also provided an interactive tour of the Museum of Fine Arts.
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