Downtown Developments

By Brian Zucker, Owner of St. Pete

Rising

It seems like each time we take a stroll through downtown there are new restaurants and galleries opening and more apartment complexes and condo towers being built. We realize it’s difficult to keep track of everything. Luckily, we’ve done the research, so you don’t have to. Each month we will feature a few of the most exciting new downtown developments that are on the horizon for the Sunshine City.

Tampa coffee roaster and beer brewer King State is coming soon to the ground floor of the COhatch co-working building at 15 8th Street North in downtown St. Pete. In addition to a full espresso bar, King State will have sixteen beers on tap along with tea, wine, cocktails, hard seltzer, and more. They will also offer all-day breakfast, sandwiches, salads, and pizza. King State is shooting for a late spring or early summer opening.

Sundial will undergo a multi-million-dollar renovation at 153 2nd Avenue North in downtown St. Pete. Plans for the retail and dining center call for an updated courtyard with a large outdoor bar and plenty of communal green space for engaging programming and for guests to sit and enjoy food and drink. Although the iconic sundial will be gone, the plaza will still retain the Sundial name. Since purchasing the plaza last year, the new owners have not signed any new tenants to the retail center, which currently sits at around 50% occupied. However, it’s not due to lack of interest. The owners are being very selective, ensuring the tenant mix is the right fit for not only Sundial, but St. Pete as well. The owners expect to reintroduce the property by the end of the year.

A 14-story, 192-key Hilton hotel has been proposed for 256 2nd Street North in downtown St. Pete. The property is currently home to a surface parking lot and Fit2Run, a running specialty store. The hotel, which is being developed by West Palm Beachbased Kolter Urban, will be under Hilton's brand-new Tempo brand, which is billed as a “stylish and contemporary lifestyle hotel.” Tempo by Hilton hotels feature signature Wellness Rooms with in-room amenities like a Peloton, a Therabody Theragun, and Apotheke diffusers. A construction timeline for the proposed Tempo by Hilton St. Petersburg has not been announced.

Nauti Duchess is coming soon to 217 Central Avenue on the

Jannus Block in downtown St. Pete. The new restaurant and bar will feature tapas-style seafood, a raw bar, and other light eats. Three bars located through the 7,000-square-foot restaurant will serve a menu of craft cocktails with aromatics from an indoor herb garden. A historic elevator, one of the first installed in Florida, was uncovered during the buildout and will become a photo booth inside the main dining room. Nauti Duchess hopes to open in mid-April.

After being vacant for nearly 30 years, the historic Union Trust bank building at 895 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete, will finally be occupied. Although the historic bank building has been available for lease since the Icon Central apartments completed construction in 2019, no one has had the ambition to take on such a daunting project. That is, until now. The neoclassical former bank’s basement, ground floor, and mezzanine, which spans 10,000 square feet, are set to become a high-end steak and seafood restaurant. The new restaurant is expected to open by the end of the year.

St. Pete Rising is an urban development blog covering future retail, restaurants, and real estate in Downtown St. Petersburg, FL. Stay up-todate, visit StPeteRising.com.