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St. Petersburg Water Resources Department To Host Facility Open

(Image via Cosme Drinking Water Plant)

ST. PETE, FL – From St. Petersburg Water Drinking Plant: This April, three of St. Pete’s water treatment plants will open their doors to the public for open houses. Attendees can expect to learn about the process of water treatment and the work that goes into keeping the city flowing. Plant operators and leaders from Water Resources and Public Works will be in attendance to answer questions. Press will be accommodated on the April 20 tour date.

Open house dates:

Saturday, 4/6, 9 a.m. – noon

Northwest Water Reclamation Facility

7500 26th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33710

Saturday, 4/20, 9 a.m. – noon

Northeast Water Reclamation Facility

1160 62nd Ave NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33702

Press invited to attend

Saturday, 4/27, 9 a.m. – noon

Cosme Drinking Water Plant

16150 Race Track Rd, Odessa, FL 33556

Guests are encouraged to wear comfortable, closed-toe shoes. Photo ID is required for entry and children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Reasonable accommodations for ADA accessibility can be made by reaching out to Water Resources at 727-893-7261.

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Transactions & Financings: MedCore Buys $98 Million Portfolio; Walker & Dunlop’s $43 Million Financing

MedCore Partners completes $98 million portfolio acquisition in Utah, Arizona

MedCore Partners, along with SunTrust Bank and Trinity Private Equity Group, acquired a 409-unit assisted living and memory care portfolio in four markets across Arizona and Utah. The total acquisition cost was $98 million.

The communities include assisted living and memory care assets:

Caliche Senior Living in Casa Grande, Arizona (105 units) Joshua Springs Senior Living in Bullhead City, Arizona (104 units) White Cliffs Senior Living in Kingman, Arizona (103 units) Summit Senior Living in Kearns, Utah (97 units) Summit Senior Living in Kearns, Utah is part of portfolio acquisition by MedCore Properties

Immediately upon closing Watermark Retirement Communities took over the management of each of the portfolio. This transaction is the first tranche of a $130 million portfolio acquisition of five properties and 531 total units. The fifth and final property is currently under construction, and MedCore is slated to close on this community in May when construction is expected to be completed.

Advertisement Walker & Dunlop arranges $43M in financing for three communities

Walker & Dunlop’s s Kevin Giusti, Michael Davis, and Jeff Ringwald originated $42.6 million in financing for three assisted living and memory care communities across the U.S., totaling 240 units.

For the Rawlin at Riverbend, a dedicated memory care facility in Springfield, Oregon, Walker & Dunlop arranged a $13.5 million refinance through Freddie Mac. After a short period of stabilization, the loan enabled the sponsor, Onelife Investments, to recapitalize 100 percent of their equity while providing a 15-year, fixed rate loan..

The team also structured a $25.8 million Fannie Mae loan backed by The Summit at Sunland Springs, located in Mesa, Arizona which is managed by Avista Senior Living and owned by Ahlstrom Investments. Prior to the property’s full stabilization, the team secured a 10-year, fixed rate while recapitalizing the property owner’s equity.

The third property, Dutch Haven Assisted Living in Maurertown, Virginia, received $3.3 million in refinancing through Freddie Mac’s 232/223(f) program for health care properties.

Lancaster Pollard completes two financings

Lancaster Pollard completed the following transactions:

Brad Competty and Brendan Healy assisted Riverview Health with the refinance of two of its communities in Detroit: Riverview Jefferson, a 176-unit community, and Riverview Health & Rehab, a 180-unit community. Lancaster Pollard obtained two loans via the FHA Sec. 232/223(f) program to refinance the existing debt on the properties, as well as provide funds for the reimbursement of prior capital expenditures and replacement reserves.Brad Competty, Casey Moore and Doug Harper assisted a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in the Midwest refinance with a $42 million Fannie Mae loan with a 12-year term that features a fixed interest rate. Metropolis Property Group assists in $20 million sale of New York senior housing conversion

Metropolis Property Group’s A.J. Johnston represented Greenbriar Associates in the $20.25 million sale of a 170-key Residence Inn Hotel in Plainview, New York to Capitol Seniors Housing. Capitol plans to spend an additional $12 million to convert the hotel into a 111-unit senior housing community.

Gold Standard of Care sells Florida assisted living facility

Aventura, Florida-based senior housing owner-operator Gold Standard of Care sold Renaissance Gardens, a 60-unit former assisted living community in St. Petersburg, Florida, to a local hotelier. The buyer will reconvert the property into a hotel.

New Perspective Senior Living acquires Minnesota assisted living community

New Perspective Senior Living acquired New Perspective — Carlson Parkway, a senior housing facility in Minnetonka, Minnesota comprising of 87 assisted living and 35 memory care apartments. This brings Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based New Perspective’s portfolio to 22 communities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Illinois and Wisconsin.

CBRE facilitates sale of Arizona senior living community

CBRE National Seniors Housing Vice Chairman Matthew Whitlock represented the seller, an Irvine, California-based affiliate of MBK Senior Living, in the sale of The Country Club of La Cholla, a 217-unit independent and assisted living community in Tucson, Arizona. CBRE National Seniors Housing Vice Chairman Aron Will arranged acquisition financing for the buyer, Chicago-based CPF Living Communities.

CBRE arranges financing for Nebraska assisted living facility

CBRE National Seniors Housing Vice Chairman Aron Will and First Vice President Austin Sacco arranged a 10-year, $11.9 million loan on behalf of a joint venture between the Hegg Companies and Paradigm Senior Living for Esprit Whispering Ridge, a 91-unit assisted living and memory care community in Omaha, Nebraska.

Capital One arranges acquisition financing for two portfolio sales

Capital One Healthcare Managing Director Kristen Ahrens arranged a bridge on behalf for a joint venture of Bridge Investment Group Partners and Principle Senior Living Group (PSLG) toward the acquisition of a four-asset, 251-unit seniors housing portfolio in Florida and Georgia. PSLG will continue to manage the portfolio. The properties are operated under the Benton House brand.

Ahrens also arranged a bridge loan to Bridge Investment Group Partners for the acquisition of an eight-asset, 1,359-unit seniors housing portfolio from Somerby Senior Living. Somerby, an affiliate of Dominion Partners, is a leading operator of senior housing communities. The properties are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, and Somerby will continue to manage the portfolio.

Hunt Real Estate Capital completes $7 million acquisition financing package

Hunt Real Estate Capital Director Brady Johnson, Senior Managing Director Kathryn Burton Gray and Vice President Michael Jones completed a $7 million bridge loan to finance the acquisition of Hawthorne Court at Ahwatukee is a 44-unit memory care facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors Senior Managing Director Jacob Gehl, Senior Associate Amy Sitzman and Senior Associate Giancarlo Riso represented the seller, a REIT joint venture, and identified the buyer, CALCAP Advisors.

Blueprint sells California assisted living community

Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors Senior Managing Director Jacob Gehl and Senior Associate Scott Frazier facilitated the sale of Ashley Place, a 145-bed assisted living community in Lodi, California. The buyer, a joint venture between a Northern California-based operator and Atlantis Senior Living, plan to implement significant renovations to the community, including the introduction of memory care.

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930 Central Flats Opens in St. Petersburg’s Thriving Edge District

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Bainbridge Companies, a leading owner, developer and manager of luxury multifamily communities in the eastern U.S., today announced the opening of 930 Central Flats, a six-story, 218-unit, mixed-use project with underground parking, ground floor amenities and retail and 5 floors of modern style luxury apartments in St. Petersburg’s vibrant Edge District.

A grand opening event will be held on Thursday, February 21, 2019, 5pm – 7pm, at 930 Central Ave., to celebrate the new community. St. Petersburg’s Mayor Rick Kriseman will be in attendance for the evening which will include a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5:30pm followed by a cocktail hour with food from local catering company, Creative Catering and a magic show. Bainbridge executives will present a charitable donation to the area’s animal shelter Friends of Strays.

The Edge District has been revitalized in recent years by an infusion of new shops, bars and restaurants. 930 Central Flats will help meet the growing demand from renters who want to live in the middle of this bustling intown environment near the Tampa Bay waterfront. Nearby attractions include Tropicana Field (home to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays), the Chihuly Collection, the Salvador Dalí Museum, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and Al Lang Stadium (home to the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the United Soccer League).

"This area has witnessed an impressive rebirth in recent years, and 930 Central Flats is the ideal apartment community for this neighborhood," said Kevin Keane, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Bainbridge Companies. "With its mix of highly sought-after modern, luxury common-area and apartment home amenities, its striking design, and its ability to give residents a true walkable, urban lifestyle, we believe 930 Central Flats is set for profound and sustained success."

Residents can unwind in the South Beach–style pool, which is surrounded by sun decks, lounge seating and barbecue grills. The community also has a two-story fitness center with a private yoga and training room featuring virtual Fitness on Demand™. Other common-area amenities include a rooftop garden; dog spa with grooming facilities; outdoor social spaces with fireplace, resort-style furniture and community dining tables; and a one-story club/lounge with private dining and views overlooking the pool. The first floor also features space that will be leased for retail.

930 Central Flats has also partnered with The Nickel Ride, an innovative and eco-friendly transportation services that will connect 930 residents with local commerce with its unique and free transportation experiences.

930 Central Flats offers luxury studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes. The units have contemporary kitchens with grey cabinets, quartz countertops, stainless-steel sinks and appliances, and glass-top stoves. Other in-unit amenities include pendant-lighted kitchen islands, hardwood-style flooring, walk-in closets with built-in storage systems, electric outlets with USB ports, and private patios or balconies.

About The Bainbridge Companies, LLC The Bainbridge Companies is a leading owner, developer and manager of luxury multifamily apartment communities in the Eastern United States. Founded in 1997, Bainbridge is a fully integrated family of real estate companies engaged in the development, construction, management and acquisition of residential and commercial real estate. Bainbridge is headquartered in Wellington, FL, and Bethesda, MD, with regional offices in Raleigh, NC, Orlando, FL, Atlanta, GA, and New York City. Our team consists of over 600 passionate professionals across our offices and portfolio.

Media Contact: Marlena DeFalcoLinnellTaylor Marketingmarlena@linnelltaylor.com303-682-3943

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/930-central-flats-opens-in-st-petersburgs-thriving-edge-district-300795602.html

SOURCE The Bainbridge Companies, LLC

Copyright (C) 2019 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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Real estate industry: confidence is high

Premier Sotheby’s International President Budge Huskey is confident in the 2019 residential real estate market.

In some markets in the region, the power has shifted to the buyer — hello, more inventory. But from Naples to Tampa, real estate agents ooze optimism.

While some real estate professionals and brokers along the Gulf Coast welcome a market they say is returning to normalcy in 2019, there is nothing routine about the sale at 2500 Gordon Drive in Naples.

The buyer of that house, a land trust, paid $48.8 million in June for the six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion, in Naples’ tony Port Royal neighborhood, according to property records. Even more abnormal: The owners tore down the 24-year-old house in November, choosing to rebuild another mansion on the site, which includes 5 acres of Gulf of Mexico waterfront.

“There were plenty of people who wondered, ‘Why would you need to tear that down, it’s a beautiful home?’” says Premier Sotheby’s International President Budge Huskey, a longtime area real estate executive. Now based in Naples, he’s also run residential real estate brokerages in Sarasota and New Jersey. “But they [the buyers] thought the only way they could get the house they wanted was to build it there. So they basically paid $48.8 million for a vacant lot.”

While the Gordon Drive teardown is an unusual — but not a singular — occurrence, it does illustrate one side of the residential real estate market, say several real estate executives. That side is that for many market pockets, luxury sales remain on the rise — both in volume and sale price. That’s despite a potpourri of obstacles, from inventory increases to stock market volatility to interest rate uncertainty.

Issue. Residential real estate

Trend. Market could be softening in some pockets.

Challenge. Work with sellers to price properties correctly to fit market.

“(Last year) was a story of the luxury sector, with the percentage increase in sales of homes above $2 million in Naples and Sarasota far exceeding the pace of the market overall,” says Huskey “The performance of that price category was heavily influenced by new construction and, particularly, closings of newly completed condominium projects.”

A deeper look at three markets in the region — Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater; Sarasota-Bradenton; and Fort Myers-Naples — reveals several other core themes. One, the Gordon Drive project notwithstanding, is the market, after a lengthy run-up is, in some cases, flattening out. And to some, that’s OK.

“People would sometimes rather look at an accident than regular traffic, but we are moving from an abnormally strong market to a more normalized market. That’s been a pronounced shift,” says Michael Saunders & Co. President Drayton Saunders, speaking specifically on the Sarasota-Bradenton-Lakewood Ranch areas. “The market has had a lot of pent-up demand. That has leveled off.”

Sarasota-Bradenton

In the Sarasota-Bradenton region, at least going into 2019, the market took a noticeable dip. Closed sales in the two-county area fell by 14.4% in December 2018 over 2017, according to Realtor Association of Sarasota-Manatee data.

‘We expect this year to be better than 2018 for residential home buyers and sellers.’ Bryan Guentner, RE/MAX Platinum Realty of Florida, Sarasota/Osprey

Prices, for most part, also were in drop mode. The median price of a single-family home in Manatee County fell 2.7% from the highest median price in 2017, to $309,000, the association reports. The median price of a single-family home in Sarasota, meanwhile, rose 3.6%. Condo prices were down in both counties: In Sarasota it fell 12%, to $220,000, and in Manatee the median condo sales prices fell 2.6%, to $190,000.

More drops: Single-family home sales in in Manatee County decreased by 1.6% year-over-year, while condo sales fell 17.2%. And Sarasota single-family home sales fell 17.5%, while condos dropped 26.6%, the data shows.

The flip side, inventory, impacting pricing, rose 4.6% in Manatee County and16.9% in Sarasota County. A drop in sales combined with a gain in inventory is normally a recipe for a sour market. But several industry executives caution against overreacting to the most recent data.

“We have started the year with more inventory than last year,” says Saunders, citing places like east Manatee County going through a new homes mini-boom. “But it’s not out of whack with demand.”

Saunders also says the return to normalcy, in many cases, provides lower prices and a “better narrative for the buyer this year over last year.” Amy Worth, president of the Realtor Association of Sarasota-Manatee, in a statement, adds that a “rise in inventory is great for buyers who were previously unable to weigh their options.”

Huskey, who helps oversee Premier Sotheby’s International offices in Florida and North Carolina, says inventory can often be misleading, in there “are really two different inventories in every market.” On one side, he says, are homes in “quality condition and priced appropriately.” On the other side are homes where sellers are living like it’s 2015 and 2016 — when price appreciation was jumping. Like Saunders, Huskey looks at this nugget as a return to normalcy.

“There is a minor revaluation of assets occurring at this time in both the equity markets and in real estate following years of greater than normal growth,” Huskey says. “Accordingly, perhaps the greatest challenge is working with sellers to position properties properly and to adjust expectations on price.”

Like many others in real estate, Huskey, Saunders and Worth are confident in 2019. Worth cites mortgage rates that are down, drawing more people into the market, including first-time buyers. Huskey and Saunders cite the long-term draw of Florida as a great place to live with no personal income taxes — factors that can overcome a government shutdown or stock market upheaval.

And Bryan Guentner, owner of RE/MAX Platinum Realty of Florida in Osprey, in south Sarasota County, says “the halo of continued area population growth,” in the region will provide an ongoing boost for the market against obstacles.

“Sarasota Gulf Coast real estate market conditions are unique, and barring unforeseen economic circumstances, we should see nice real estate sales growth," says Guentner. "We expect this year to be better than 2018 for residential home buyers and sellers.”

NAPLES-FORT MYERS

Through 2018 and into 2019, there has been little sign of a slowdown in residential development growth in Southwest Florida.

From southern Charlotte to eastern Collier counties, entire new towns and new mega-communities address both the growing need for value-priced homes and the continuing appetite for estate properties. Thousands of residences have been approved and are awaiting construction.

Sales are up, as are prices, in Lee and Collier. Lee County saw a 7.9% gain in single-family closed sales in 2018 over 2017 at 13,388, while Collier closed sales increased by 11% at 9,771. Median sales prices in Lee County rose over the prior year by 3.1% at $251,000 and increased by 3% in Lee County at $339,000. Condo sales also gained, up 12% to 5,003 in Collier and 7% to 6,644 in Lee County, according to MLS data.

File. Randy Thibaut, president and CEO of residential land brokerage and services firm Land Solutions, says 2019 will be strong for home construction.

"We are still a very appealing destination nationally," says Ryan Benson, principal of A. Vernon Allen Builder and president of the Collier Building Industry Association. "I believe that’s the natural characteristics we have here (that) will continue to maintain overall demand."

That popularity is reflected in continued strength in new construction. In Collier County, the town of Ave Maria, for example, surpassed 200 home sales for 2018 in November, exceeding the 2,000 rooftop mark overall. Entitled for more than 9,000 homes plus 1.8 million square feet of commercial space, Barron Collier Co. continues to bring the 4,000-acre town to life on the edge of the Everglades, 19 miles east of Interstate 75.

Straddling northern Lee and southern Charlotte counties, the 18,000-acre town of Babcock Ranch surpassed 250 home sales in December, on its way to a planned 19,500 units. And in between those communities, 2018 brought announcements of the development of WildBlue, a 3,000-acre, 1,000-home community; and CenterPlace, with 1,950 residential units both near Florida Gulf Coast University.

And that’s only to name a few.

‘The good news for Southwest Florida for 2019 and 2020 is clearly we’re not going to have a bust in the single-family housing market. We are not in an overbuilt situation.’ Randy Thibault, Land Solutions

The number of permits pulled in 2018, says Randy Thibaut, president and CEO of residential land brokerage and services firm Land Solutions, suggest a strong 2019 for home construction.

“We were surprised and happy to see that we saw permits increase in 2018 for single-family and multifamily,” says Thibaut. “We had expected to see some flattening in 2018, which didn’t quite show up, but we expect in 2019 that there will be a little softening in the total permits.”

Thibaut expects 2019 will bring a conflict between the latter stages of a housing boom versus the growing need for value-priced housing. But the outlook remains bright for developers that have either established their models or shifted them toward homes in the $250,000 range.

"Inventory for single-family homes under $500,000 increased the most in 2018, which is good news for buyers who don’t necessarily require a home within walking distance of the beach," says Kathy Zorn, broker-owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Pristine in Naples. "In fact, the highest increase in inventory for 2018 was 34%, and it appeared in the under $300,000 single-family homes category."

Thibaut also sees growth in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. Builders there have joined Ave Maria and Babcock Ranch in drawing workforce families being forced out of Naples, Estero and Bonita Springs by higher prices. “The big master-planned communities are long-term plays, and the good news for Southwest Florida for 2019 and 2020 is clearly we’re not going to have a bust in the single-family housing market,” says Thibaut. “We are not in an overbuilt situation.”

Construction of luxury high-rise condominiums will also remain strong this year, Thibaut predicts.

“If you build it, they will come,” says Thibaut. “The luxury condo high-rise will continue to thrive simply because there was a decade with no new product built and pent-up demand among an age group looking to move out of single-family and into a luxury condo that offers the view and all the amenities.”

TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG

Don and Sarah Howe, of Howe Property Group in St. Petersburg have seen zero slowdown in the market. With an average sale price of $1 million, they specialize in luxury condos, town homes and single-family homes in downtown St. Pete, Old Northeast, Tierra Verde and Pinellas County’s beach communities.

“We’re very bullish on the market, by any metric,” says Don Howe. “Inventory is up year over year, as much as 15%. It’s not to the level that it had been, but it’s still on the rise, and values continue to rise.”

Don and Sarah Howe of Howe Property Group in St. Petersburg. Courtesy photo.

Coastal Properties Group International, Howe Property Group’s brokerage group, backs up that statement. The firm totaled $917 million in volume in 2018 on 1,939 transactions.

Howe says downtown St. Pete’s emergence as a walkable cultural oasis has been a big driver of condo sales. He mentions a couple from Chicago who were “exclusively” looking for a waterfront condo on the beach, yet changed their criteria when Howe showed them around the Sunshine City. “Now they’ve completely switched gears,” he says.

And with the new pier opening up later in 2019, Howe predicts downtown St. Pete will remain an easy sell. “They’re coming to St. Pete because of the hip factor,” citing sales to buyers from San Francisco, Singapore and London. “People from far and wide who otherwise would have shopped around in Sarasota or Naples.”

Socioeconomic trends also buoy sales, says Howe. “We’re a warm-weather, low-tax state. There’s just a constant influx of people — white collar, blue collar, whatever.”

The broader Tampa Bay metro area, as well, is healthy when it comes to home sales, says Mark Metheny, president of the central Florida division for Miami-based Lennar, one of the largest builders in the country and region.

‘We still appear to be behind the supply/demand curve. The Tampa Bay market is creating more jobs and households than it is building new homes and apartment. Mark Metheny, Lennar

Like other builders, Lennar has been active in south Hillsborough County. Metheny says the area has a diverse range of shoppers looking for everything from high-end waterfront homes and active-adult communities to first-purchase residences. The company is busy in the Paso market, too.

“We still appear to be behind the supply-demand curve. The Tampa Bay market is creating more jobs and households than it is building new homes and apartments,” he says. “Tampa Bay is growing and new homes are being occupied by full-time residents, so there is no ‘peak’ like we saw in 2006.”

Howe echoes that view, saying sales to flippers have been minimal. “Lending procedures have gotten very stringent, and appraisals are coming in tight,” he explains. “You’ve got to work really hard to demonstrate value; you’ve got to show comps; you can’t just throw a number out there and get away with it.”

(Mark Gordon, Brian Hartz and Andrew Warfield contributed to this story.)

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Duke Energy Giving Away 2,500 Trees To Customers For Arbor Day

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Duke Energy Florida, in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation’s Energy-Saving Trees program, is giving away 2,500 free trees to its customers to honor Florida Arbor Day on Friday, Jan. 18.

Duke Energy customers statewide can request a free tree in a one-gallon pot online by clicking here starting Friday and continuing until all trees are distributed.

The website enables a customer to insert his or her address and select the location on the property where the tree will be planted. The website will then recommend which of the available tree species is best suited for that region.

It will also specify the planting location on the customer’s property that will provide the most energy-saving benefits for the home.

The tree is then shipped directly to the customer’s home in a box with planting and care instructions.

The trees are expected to be delivered in time for National Arbor Day, April 26.

Available tree species include the eastern redbud, crape myrtle, Dahoon holly, Florida maple, red bottlebrush and pineapple pear.

Duke Energy Florida is investing $100,000 to purchase the trees and has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to distribute them. This is the third year Duke Energy has distributed trees.

"Trees help conserve energy, they are beautiful additions to any yard, and they provide much-appreciated shade in the Sunshine State," said Catherine Stempien, Duke Energy Florida president. "We help customers plant the right tree in the right place so we can continue to provide safe and reliable energy. Our ongoing Energy-Saving Trees partnership, along with our recognition as a Tree Line USA utility for 13 consecutive years, exemplifies our commitment to our customers and the environment."

For information about planning and planting vegetation around electrical facilities, visit Duke Energy’s Plan Before You Plant website.

According to the Florida Forest Service, Florida has one of the oldest Arbor Day celebrations in the nation, having held the statewide event on the third Friday in January since 1886.

Meanwhile, National Arbor Day has been observed since 1872 on the last Friday in April.

For additional information, click here.

Image via UF Extension

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

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Top commercial real estate deals for 2018 in Tampa Bay

Courtesy. A group controlled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Co-Chairman Bryan Glazer acquired The Vinoy in 2018.

A high-end resort topped the list of commercial real estate sales in the Tampa Bay area in 2018.

For the second consecutive year, the top commercial real estate sale in the Tampa Bay area in 2018 belonged to an iconic lodging property.

But the August deal for the famed Vinoy Renaissance wasn’t the only transaction of note to occur over the past 12 months.

The region also saw a pair of high-profile office deals, involving a downtown property and another in the suburban Westshore business district. Those sales echoed previous years. In both 2015 and 2016, office transactions dominated the top five list in the submarket.

Apartments, too, were a large part of the commercial real estate landscape throughout the Gulf Coast, and the Tampa Bay area was no exception. Two large-scale multifamily rental properties, one in downtown St. Petersburg and the other in the aforementioned Westshore area, rounded out the top five sales in the area.

For the fourth year in a row, as well, the Tampa Bay area’s overall dollar volume of sales remained steady as compared with 2015, 2016, 2017. In all, the top five transactions generated volume of $656 million, on par with 2017’s figure of $623.25 million and only slightly ahead of the other two years.

Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club: $180 million

SCG Hospitality LLC, a company led by Tampa Bay Buccaneers Co-Chairman Bryan Glazer, acquired the Vinoy Renaissance in downtown St. Petersburg in August.

The 362-room lodging property, which also contains a 74-slip marina, an 18-hole golf course and 60,000 square feet of meeting space, had been owned since 2007 by FelCor Lodging Trust.

RLJ Lodging Trust, which acquired FelCor in a $1 billion merger in August 2017, indicated it wanted to sell the resort because it didn’t align with the balance of its portfolio. Commercial real estate brokerage HFF represented RLJ in the transaction.

SCG is expected to complete work on an ongoing $50 million enhancement to the 93-year-old hotel, and has retained Tampa hotel consultancy The Plasencia Group to outline a capital program going forward.

Despite the sale, the 501 Fifth Ave. NE hotel will continue to be managed by Marriott International Inc.

Urban Centre I and II: $143.1 million

Starwood Capital Group finalized its purchase of the two-building Urban Centre office complex in Tampa’s Westshore business district in March.

The Miami-based investment giant acquired the two nine-story office buildings, at 4830-4890 W. Kennedy Blvd., from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.

Teachers Insurance had owned the 576,000-square-foot buildings since paying $105.5 million for them in 2005.

Commercial real estate brokerage firm JLL represented Teachers Insurance in the transaction.

The sale represented the largest office transaction in the Tampa Bay area since December 2015, when the 42-story Bank of America Plaza in downtown Tampa sold for $193.5 million.

Camden Pier District: $126.3 million

Houston-based Camden Property Trust bought the 18-story AER Apartments in downtown St. Petersburg in the largest multifamily deal along the Gulf Coast in 2018.

The deal also kicked off a wave of major St. Petersburg multifamily rental transactions, including sales of the Fusion 1560 apartments and the Reserve at Gateway.

Completed in 2017 at 330 Third St. South, the Camden Pier District contains 358 units, ground-floor retail space and an adjacent five-level parking garage.

In buying the residential tower, Camden Property officials indicated that the property would generate a 5% yield after stabilization.

Company officials also noted that the deal was completed for what it considers 10% below replacement costs.

Tampa City Center: $110 million

Banyan Street Capital and Oaktree Capital Management, of Los Angeles, closed on the acquisition of the 38-story Tampa City Center in mid-October.

The deal for the 37-year-old building brought to three the number of office towers the Miami-based Banyan Street owns in downtown Tampa, along with the Bank of America Plaza and Rivergate Tower.

The pair acquired the building from Alliance Partners HSP, of Pennsylvania, which had purchased it in 2014 for $128.1 million. As part of the deal, Alliance Partners retained he land under the 201 N. Franklin St., building, subject to a ground lease with Banyan Street.

Commercial real estate brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield represented Alliance Partners in the transaction.

The 757,425-square-foot tower is occupied by tenants such as PNC Bank, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Masonite, law firm Morgan & Morgan, General Electric subsidiary FieldCore and developer Ryan Cos. USA, among others.

Cove Apartments: $96.5 million

Gamma Real Estate of New York added the Cove Apartments, in Tampa’s Westshore district, to its portfolio in May.

The 690-unit waterfront complex, at 4003 S. Westshore Blvd., was completed in 1979 and units have since been fully renovated and updated.

Gamma acquired the property from Laramar Properties, which had owned it for four years in the wake of its own $53 million purchase.

The property contains a plethora of standard amenities, including three swimming pools, a poolside fitness center and kayak launch.

In addition to its Cove Apartments acquisition, Gamma in Florida also owns apartment complexes in Orlando and Jacksonville, according to its website.

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Florida CraftArt to present art of Buddhist monks

Tibetan Monks often work four at a time to create the sand Mandala.

ST. PETERSBURG – From May 29 through June 3, Dalai Lama sanctioned monks will create a Sand Mandala with millions of colored grains of sand at Florida CraftArt, 501 Central Ave., St. Petersburg.

The program also will feature artistic workshops and cultural events.

Eight Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India will again bring to St. Petersburg teachings of ancient ways and beliefs that create the possibility of global peace, non-violent conflict resolution, compassion and wisdom. Highlighting their trip to St. Petersburg will be the creation of a Sacred Green Tara Sand Mandala (Dol jang) in the Florida CraftArt exhibition gallery. The Green Tara, a female representation of the Buddha of Compassion, embodies fearlessness, removes obstacles, and offers protection from suffering.

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This visit is part of the monk’s nationwide 2018 Sacred Arts Tour to share and preserve the spiritually artistic expression of the Tibetan culture. The monks demonstrate and express their peaceful ways through living art, ritual, dance and chanting.

An opening ceremony will take place Tuesday, May 29, 10:15 a.m., at Florida CraftArt.

The monks will chant, play long Tibetan horns and consecrate the site of the Mandala. Immediately following, they begin the creation of the Mandala by first drawing the lines for the design on a base and then begin filling it in with colored sand. Throughout the six-day creation of the Sacred Mandala, the monks pour millions of grains of sand through a Chakpur, which is a funnel-shaped tool. This funnel is filled with colored sand and then rasped to release a fine stream of sand. At 5 p.m. Tuesday, there will be a Tai Chi demonstration and mini-participatory class.

Sand paintings are an ancient art form of Tibetan Buddhism. “Mandala” is a Sanskrit word meaning “cosmogram” or “world in harmony.” Drawn in three-dimensional forms of sand, this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor in Tibetan, signifying “Mandala of colored powders.” In general, Mandalas have an outer, inner and secret meaning. On the outer level, they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level, they represent a map of which the ordinary human mind is transformed into the enlightened mind; and on the secret level, they predict the primordial perfect balance of the subtle energies of the body and the clear light dimensions of the mind. The creation of a sandpainting is said to affect purification and healing on these three levels.

In addition to the continuation of the creation of the Sacred Mandala throughout the monk’s St. Petersburg visit, the following events will be presented:

• Daily at 10:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. – The monks will chant daily.

• Wednesday, May 30, 5:30 to 7 p.m. – There will be a reception at Florida CraftArt featuring Tibetan Culture, including the Lucky Dance and the Snow Lion Dance. Cost is $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers.

• Thursday, May 31, 5:30 p.m. – A Florida CraftArt members-only twilight dinner with the monks take place at The Don CeSar terrace on St. Pete Beach, which will be followed by a sunset ceremony and special performance and blessing of the Don on its 90th anniversary. Cost is $60 per person. RSVP is required.

• Friday, June 1, 4 p.m. – There will be a guided group meditation with Pegie Stark to compliment the teachings of the monks. People should bring a pillow on which to sit.

• Saturday, June 2, 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. – The monks will show how to paint Tibetan symbols on rock. Each participant can paint their own rock as a keepsake. Cost for each session is $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers.

• Saturday, June 2, 7 to 8 p.m. – The Unitarian Universalist Church will host a panel discussion with the monks (facilitated by a translator) as they react to our times blending basic meditation practice and elements of Lojong (training the mind). This event is free to the public.

• Sunday, June 3, noon – The monks will finalize the Mandala and at 1 p.m., they will hold the Dissolution Ceremony. During this ceremony of gratitude and blessing, the Mandala is swept up and shared with our community and will be followed by a procession to the bay, where the monks will deposit sand from the Mandala and perform a Buddhist blessing.

Tickets can be obtained online at /www.floridacraftart.org/events/tibetan-monks-sacred-sand-mandala-2018.

The Sacred Art Tour supports the Drepung Gomang Monastery which houses 2,000 monks, provides food, health care and education for monks living in exile from their home country of Tibet. Between 1959 and 1961, most of Tibet’s 6,000 monasteries were destroyed during China’s Cultural Revolution. The Dalai Lama escaped, accepted land from India, and established the Tibetan government in exile. Since 1959, Tibetans have reestablished their monasteries in India, housing tens of thousands of monks, and creating schools, hospitals, libraries and archives so they can continue their traditions and culture. Handcrafted items by Tibetan artisans will be available for purchase during the cultural tour.

As the monks have taken vows of poverty, Florida CraftArt is responsible for housing and feeding them during their visit. AARP Tampa Bay is the presenting sponsor, the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg is a patron sponsor, and the apartment complex Beacon 430 has generously donated living quarters. Barkett Realty is a contributing sponsor.

Florida CraftArt is a nonprofit organization founded in 1951 and headquartered in St. Petersburg. Its mission is to grow the statewide creative economy by engaging the community and advancing Florida’s fine craft artists and their work. Fine craft art is presented in its 2,500-square-foot retail gallery and curated exhibitions are featured in its adjacent exhibition gallery. Florida CraftArt is the only statewide organization offering artists a platform to show and sell their work.

Admission is free. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

For information, visit www.FloridaCraftArt.org or call 727-821-7391.

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Once-sleepy St. Petersburg, Fla., awakens with vibrant arts and nightlife scenes

Paul Abercrombie

Sizing up the triangular downcourt target, I wonder if my wife and teenage son realize what an only-in-Florida scene we make.

Not only are we playing shuffleboard. We’re doing so in downtown St. Petersburg, as card-carrying members of the seaside city’s historic shuffleboard club, the largest in the world. You really can’t get more Sunshine State than this.

While older folks are shoving pucks on this Friday afternoon, most players are far younger, many in their early 20s and hoisting cans of beer. The club and city, it seems, have experienced quite a revival.

Like most of our friends, when we moved to neighboring Tampa nearly three decades ago, my then-girlfriend, now-wife, Gail, and I regarded the half-hour drive across the bay to St. Pete as about as fun as a trip to the DMV. Derelict buildings seemed to outnumber retirees in a town long derided as "God’s Waiting Room."

My. How times have changed.

Today, St. Pete’s arts and nightlife scenes are palpably more vibrant and hipper than Tampa’s, as a result of the young people and entrepreneurial small businesses that have enlivened its walkable downtown. On weekends — and many weekdays – waterfront cafes, restaurants and bars are packed. Hotels grand and small have been refurbished and are newly popular. Fellow Tampans, you’ll hate me for saying this, but you know it’s true: St. Pete is cooler than Tampa.

Hankering to experience more of St. Pete than we’ve been able to on day trips and occasional overnight visits, the three of us decided to stay for a proper weekend. Besides revisiting some favorite places, we’d check out some newer spots we’d heard good things about.

We drop our bags at the city’s iconic pink confection of a hotel, the Vinoy, a Mediterranean Revival-style historic landmark near the bay. Then my wife and I walk with our 15-year-old, Ewan, several blocks southwest to Il Ritorno, a newish restaurant whose riffs on traditional Italian dishes have been getting raves from friends. As spirited as our shuffleboard game earlier in the day, it couldn’t account for how avidly we tuck into a dinner of pan-roasted branzino and rib-eye steak. A shared plate of lovely taleggio-filled agnolotti, flecked with crispy bits of fried lamb belly and charred leeks, is surprisingly light.

A post-dinner stroll along Beach Drive to our hotel takes us through a lively crowd of genial revelers old and young, dressed up and down and everything in between. The strumming of the handful of guitar-playing buskers we pass is pleasant enough, but it’s the dapper older guy seated at a table covered with several dozen wine glasses of various sizes that compels us to stop. Above the vessels, half-filled with water, his hands whirl, fingers tracing the rims, producing a spot-on musical sampling of everything from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to the "Star Wars" theme song. Awed, we linger to listen and to chat. He tells us his name (James Turner), and about the art of playing the glass harp, which he says he has done on big-time TV shows in the United States and abroad. We agree this was yet another reason to stay the night.

The next morning, we drink coffee on our hotel balcony, admiring how eclectic the town has become. In the pool below, a half-dozen aging athletes move more or less in unison to the commands of a much younger water aerobics instructor. Across the street, in the bay, an armada of toylike sailboats navigates around sleek motor-powered yachts. About a mile farther south, propeller planes take off and land from the city’s tiny bayside airport, just beyond where, a little more than a century ago, the world’s first commercial passenger flight took place — a small, wooden seaplane that went to Tampa. To the south, the landmark St. Pete Pier awaits its snazzy redevelopment. To the west, the first of a dozen-odd planned new buildings, some of which will be high-rise condos and apartments, soars above downtown St. Pete’s once-modest skyline. But I’m pleased to know the city’s quirky neighborhoods remain intact.

By the time the seniors cede the pool to young kids and their parents, we remember we have an appointment to keep. Hoofing it several blocks southwest, we meet St. Pete-born muralist Derek Donnelly in an alley off Central Avenue. It’s in these back streets that he and a few other artistically inclined teens began experimenting with cans of spray paint. A decade later, his formerly "semi-legal" public art career has gone legit. Today, he juggles commissioned painting gigs with the city-sanctioned tours he leads of St. Pete’s outdoor mural scene.

Through once-seedy downtown passageways, we stroll as if through an open-air art gallery with our amiable, tattooed docent. Derek points out examples of his own work, but seems most enthusiastic talking about murals done by the growing number of fellow hometown artists, as well as national and international ones. No two murals seem similar. And none is blessedly of the "beaches and margaritas" Florida genre Derek says some tourists expect. We pass ’60s icon Twiggy, painted by local artist Chad Mize, gazing dreamily from an alley wall, and Los Angeles graffiti artist Shark Toof’s fearsome red and black shark splashed across the backside of the State Theatre.

As if on cue, a city bus pulls up to a stop nearby. It’s wrapped with an image of the same swirly, multicolored mural that covers a wall of a three-story building in front of us.

"This mural stuff is contagious," Derek says with a laugh.

At lunch on the covered outdoor patio at nearby FarmTable Cucina, we compare photos of murals and marvel at the food. We take turns trying to describe the fried cauliflower’s flavors, which seem to outnumber its ingredients, including finger lime, golden raisins, guanciale and sea urchin aioli.

"Don’t you feel like we’re not even in the same state anymore?" Gail asks. To which we all agree.

If I hadn’t recently visited — and very much enjoyed — the city’s Morean Arts Center collection of fantastical glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly, I might stupidly have begged we skip the mile-plus-long amble up Central Avenue to the just-opened Imagine Museum, which showcases studio glass artworks. Over the hour we spend browsing the museum’s collection, I lose count of how many times we say "That’s cool" and "That’s amazing." Among our favorites are the rumpled vessels fashioned from glass threads by Toots Zynsky and the sea-creature-like sculptures of William LeQuier.

Wandering back down Central Avenue, we pass shops and restaurants old and new as if time-traveling every few paces.

Several bayside blocks from our hotel, we pop into the fittingly odd-looking Salvador Dalí Museum, packed with more of the mustachioed artist’s works than anywhere outside of Spain. Though it’s among our favorites, we’re feeling a little museumed-out, so we cut short our visit to seek out an encore performance by our glass harpist pal on the way back to our room.

Having been content to explore the compact downtown by foot, we agree with some reluctance to drive six miles west to the Reading Room for dinner. The new restaurant, which says it strives for "a modern approach at nostalgic tastes," has been gushily praised by friends and media getting gushy praise from friends and media alike.

I can’t remember a dinner conversation focused so much on what’s on our plates and in our glasses. Gail says her sgroppino cocktail, garnished with a mint leaf affixed to the rim with a tiny clothespin, is better than any she has had in the drink’s Italian hometown of Venice. We debate whether the quirky and delicious beets and berries dish would work as well for breakfast as it does for dinner. Yes, we decide. We concur at first bite that the browned butter and persimmon cake, topped with a scoop of delicately funky La Tur cheese, is among the best desserts we’ve ever tasted.

Sunday morning brings fresh balcony-side theater. Below, hotel staff scatter and hide hundreds of multicolored plastic Easter eggs in preparation for kids to hunt. A gaggle of millennials arrives at the downstairs restaurant, their laughter and casual dress signaling that they’re in search of a post-night-on-the-town brunch and Bloody Marys. Skyward, we spy an osprey that has swung by for breakfast and is flying northeast with a freshly nabbed fish in its talons. It reminds me of the places we didn’t get to on this trip: the white sugar-sand beaches and the mangrove-lined waterways that can be explored by kayak. We’ll be back; after all, they, too, are only a short drive from home.

—-

IF YOU GO:

WHERE TO STAY

– The Cordova Inn

253 Second Ave. N

727-822-7500

Refurbished, homey, 1920s-era hotel with 32 rooms, which start at around $110. Complimentary breakfast includes fresh pastries from nearby Locale Market.

– The Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club

501 Fifth Ave. NE

727-894-1000

Landmark historic waterfront hotel that appears to be made from pink meringue. Amenities include a day spa and five restaurants. Rooms start at around $200.

– Avalon Hotel

443 Fourth Ave. N

727-317-5508

Despite its South Beach-like art deco decor (plus a bunch of other styles), it’s cozy and laid-back. Guests are welcome to use the pool and other amenities of its sister Hollander Hotel next door. Rooms start at around $100.

WHERE TO EAT

– Il Ritorno

449 Central Ave.

727-897-5900

Updated takes on traditional Italian fare, served by friendly staff in spare-but-not-austere digs. Open Monday through Thursday, 5 to 9:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 5 to 10:30 p.m. Entrees start at around $19. A five-course tasting menu costs $75.

– FarmTable Cucina

179 2nd Ave. N

727-523-6297

Casual, Italian-inspired restaurant located on the second floor of Locale Market. Its expansive and comfy outdoor patio seating is ideal for dining or drinking from the restaurant’s impressive cocktail and wine lists. Open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Entrees start at around $21.

– Reading Room

6001 Central Ave.

727-343-0052

Eclectic dishes emphasizing local ingredients, many of which are grown on the restaurant’s property. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 5 p.m. till late. Small plates start at $15, entrees $27.

– Paul’s Landing

501 Fifth Ave. NE

727-824-8072

Casual and family-friendly, this newest restaurant at the Vinoy is no mere hotel brunch spot. Great bayside views aren’t wasted on a menu that includes inventive riffs on old Florida cuisine. Open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Smoked fish spread with crunchy, pickled veggies and grilled bread ($14) and grilled rock shrimp, served with avocado and pickled onion atop toasted slices of bread ($12) are especially tasty.

– Bodega

1120 Central Ave.

727-623-0942

Casual, Latin American-inspired restaurant with a deservedly cultlike local following. Open Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Popular dishes include the Lechon platter, slow-roasted mojo pork with grilled onions ($9.25), grilled tempeh with sweet and spicy slaw ($9.50) and maduros (fried sweet plantains, $4).

WHAT TO DO

– St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club

559 Mirror Lake Dr. N

727-822-2083

Founded in 1924, the oldest and largest shuffleboard club in the world has, in recent years, experienced a renaissance (and inspired a copycat club in Brooklyn). Open to nonmembers Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6 to 9 p.m. ($5 per person), and Friday, 7 to 10 p.m. (Admission is free, although a donation of $2 per person is suggested.) Alcoholic beverages aren’t sold, but visitors are free to BYOB.

– St. Pete Cultural Tours

727-212-7280

Local artist-led guided walking tours of the city’s several dozen outdoor murals. Regular tours run Saturday and Sunday mornings from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. $20 for adults, $5 for children 5 to 18 and free for younger kids. Private and group tours can be arranged for other days and times.

– Imagine Museum

1901 Central Ave.

727-300-1700

New museum showcasing contemporary American studio glass, with (so far) more than 500 artworks by more than 55 artists. Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission: $15 for adults, $10 for children 7 to 18 and free for children 6 and younger.

– The Salvador Dalí Museum

1 Dali Blvd.

727-823-3767

Home to the largest collection of artist Salvador Dalí’s works outside Europe, the bayside museum also hosts visiting exhibits of various artists, often contemporaries of Dali. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thursdays, when it’s open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission: $24 for adults, $17 for students 13 and older, $10 for children 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and younger.

INFORMATION

Abercrombie is a writer based in Tampa. His website is paulabercrombie.com; find him on Twitter: @paulabercrombie.

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The world’s iconic art museums let visitors peruse grand paintings and sculptures, walking in the shoes of some of the greatest artists that ever lived.

But what if you were that artist? Or the subject of said art? Enter, the selfie.

Immersive and interactive art has gone global, and exhibit creators not only allow, but encourage visitors to take photos, thus creating a digital footprint that draws even more people to these technicolored worlds.

Step inside a real-life Candyland or interactive dream – here are some of the most Instagram-worthy art installations around the world.

(Lauren Hill)

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St. Pete Accepting Proposals To Redevelop Tangerine Plaza

ST. PETE, FL — As the city continues to invest in South St. Petersburg, a Request for Proposal for the Tangerine Plaza development site will be formally released to the public Monday, April 30.

The city invites developers, end-users and interested parties to submit proposals to lease and develop the city-owned property at 1794 22nd St. S., located within the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area.

"I am pleased we are moving ahead with the next steps for Tangerine Plaza, and I look forward to the responses we get from this Request for Proposals," said Mayor Rick Kriseman. "I hope anyone interested in this important parcel of land will submit a proposal for our review. I want to thank my economic development and urban affairs teams for their work in getting this done."

Proposals must be delivered no later than 10 a.m. Monday, July 2, to City of St. Petersburg, Real Estate and Property Management, Municipal Services Center, One Fourth St. N. – Ninth Floor, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Proposals received after the specified time and date for any reason will not be considered.

For parties interested in responding to the RFP, a walk-through of a portion of the Tangerine Plaza premises will be held on site Wednesday, May 9, at 10 a.m.

The St. Petersburg Greenhouse is offering expanded technical assistance related to RFPs and government contracting opportunities that will include:

New training workshop – Preparing for Your RFP will be offered Tuesday, May 15 at 6 p.m. at The Greenhouse, 440 2nd Ave. N. Register online or call (727) 893-7146.

Specific, individualized and confidential one-on-one business consultation and mentorship opportunities scheduled throughout May and June with government contracting experts. The first two sessions are being offered on Wednesdays, May 23 and May 30, from 8:30 a.m. through 4 p.m. each day. Appointments can be made by calling The Greenhouse at (727) 893-7146.

The workshop, consultations and mentoring are offered in collaboration with Greenhouse partners: the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Pinellas County and Pinellas County SCORE.

Additional dates for technical assistance will be offered.

More details about these resources and assistance can be found The Greenhouse website and through Greenhouse social media channels.

Additional Greenhouse programming, technical assistance and liaison services are immediately accessible.

Additional information is included in the Request For Proposal document which can be obtained by visiting the city’s website and following the appropriate link under "Requests for Proposals / Solicitations."

Background On Tangerine Plaza Site

In 2017, city officials began considering redevelopment and re-use options for

Tangerine Plaza after a second major grocery store closed and the signature shopping plaza was conveyed to the city. After implementing a pilot designed to shuttle residents to alternative grocery stores, convening several community conversations and completing a market analysis, the city is ready to take the next steps to find a sustainable business for the 47,000-square-foot space.

Image via city of St. Petersburg

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Johnston, Walter Eugene

ST. PETERSBURG, FL March 28, 2018 Born in Winston-Salem, NC, the first child of Bessie Martin and Walter Eugene Johnston, Jr., the Hon. Walter Eugene Johnston III , "Gene" passed away in St. Petersburg, FL, on March 28, 2018, with his beloved wife, Karen holding his hand. Gene enjoyed 82 rich and varied years pursuing life the only way he knew, "full blast, all the way" as he said of himself. He attended local Winston-Salem schools, graduating from Georgia Military Academy, and entered Duke University. Invited to leave Duke for his memorable fireworks displays, he joined the Army at 18 and married Augusta Gibson. They had four children: Mary Kathryn Jordan, Walter Eugene Johnston IV, James Martin Johnston, and Robert Norris Johnston. Following his honorable Army discharge, Gene entered Wake Forest University and completed both an undergraduate business degree and a law degree in just five years, while working full time. Gene became a CPA, moved to Greensboro and pursued careers in law, business, real estate, and politics. Among his business interests were Fisher-Harrison Printing Company, Pace Communications (formerly part of Fisher-Harrison), and the Alderman Company in High Point. His first real estate venture was the Kings Arms, Greensboro’s first luxury apartment complex. Ultimately he consolidated his real estate holdings in Johnston Properties. In 1980, Gene was elected to the United States Congress. He considered being part of the "Reagan Revolution" a tremendous honor and privilege. He met his wife, Karen, while serving in Congress. Art, music and history were passions of Gene’s. As an underwriter at Lloyd’s of London, he and Karen spent considerable time in England, where his appreciation for the 18th century artist William Hogarth led to his early patronage of The Foundling Museum in London. Among his other endeavors, Gene was a founder of Hope Harbor in Greensboro, a home for men recovering from addictions. He served on Gov. Jim Martin’s Budget Advisory Commission, and as Chairman of the Triad Airport Authority, he brought the airport to the attention of FedEx chairman Fred Smith, through their friendship as members of the Young Presidents Organization. Gene always retained great affection for his childhood church, Centenary United Methodist Church, and made significant contributions to the Christmas music program in honor of his parents. In 1983, Gene married Karen Lang Stevens in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, an event punctuated with the frequent ringing of bells summoning Congressional members to vote. More recently, they have enjoyed the majority of their time in St. Petersburg, FL, Karen’s hometown and home to the Salvador Dali Museum, where Karen is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees. He was a member of the Greensboro Country Club, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, and the East India Club in London. Gene was a man of intelligence, integrity, generosity, and innate kindness toward everyone he knew. His faith sustained him through his many health challenges in recent years. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Karen; his four children and their spouses; eight precious grandchildren; and his sister Norris Johnston Goss and family. Following a private family burial, Gene’s memorial service will be held at Centenary United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, NC at 12 Noon on Friday, April 27th. A reception will follow at the Old Town Club. Memorial gifts may be sent to The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1AZ, UK; The Salvador Dali Museum, 1 Dali Blvd., St. Petersburg, FL 33701; or Centenary United Methodist Church, 646 West Fifth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Online condolences may be made through www.salemfh.com.

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Florida law allows driverless vehicles. Does the law go too far?

Elected officials and community leaders go for a demonstration ride using autonomous vehicle technology in downtown Tampa. [OCTAVIO JONES | Times]

To many, driverless cars still seem a far-off concept, one their grandkids might experience. But state Sen. Jeff Brandes has spent the better half of the past decade making them a reality in Florida.

The St. Petersburg Republican pushed to make the state a leader in autonomous vehicles, starting with legislation in 2012 that made it legal for self-driving cars to operate on Florida’s roads. Bills that followed removed the need for a human to be in the car at all.

That’s right: a driverless car could pull up beside you without anyone in it.

"We’re one of the most forward-thinking states in the country as it relates to the future of mobility and transportation," Brandes said.

But opponents say the rush to lure companies and developers could come at a high risk.

A fatal crash in Arizona last month has exposed the limitations of this technology. Uber halted autonomous vehicle testing when one of its vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian March 16 in Tempe.

Critics wonder if Florida has gone too far, too fast in allowing driverless technology.

"You have this technology that is being unleashed on the world prior to it really being ready," Clearwater lawyer Joshua Chilson said. "It’s obviously not advanced to the point where it’s capable of responding to real-life scenarios, like the one that happened in Tempe."

• • •

Thanks to Brandes and other lawmakers, the state has laid an aggressive groundwork to make Florida attractive to the companies building and testing autonomous vehicle technology.

And 2018 is already shaping up to be a big year for autonomous vehicles in Florida.

In February, a Starsky Robotics truck completed a 7-mile drive on a closed portion of Route 833 in Hendry County without a human in the vehicle. Later that month, Ford started testing self-driving cars in Miami-Dade County. Some are even delivering pizza.

And later this year, self-driving taxis will come to the Villages, Florida’s largest retirement community.

"The technology is here and we’re seeing it play out in real time," Brandes said. "The business community, transit planners, real estate developers, they’re all changing their thinking because of how forward- thinking Florida’s been."

But the Florida Justice Association, a trial lawyer advocacy group, and others oppose allowing driverless vehicles to operate on public roads before the technology is perfected.

"Our school zones should not be their beta test laboratory," said association president Dale Swope. "That’s what test facilities are for."

The association has also lobbied for the state to include strong accountability language in future legislation, making it clear who is responsible when a driverless car is in a crash. Swope also proposed that owners of the vehicles should be held liable.

"When an autonomous vehicle kills someone, like it recently did in Arizona, trying to determine who was at fault is going to be very expensive and very difficult," Swope said. "It becomes infeasible."

Swope said regulation won’t thwart development. Instead, he pointed to the invention of the automobile and the regulations that followed in the early 20th century as an example.

"It didn’t kill the development of automobiles to have reasonable regulations of headlights, taillights and other expectations," Swope said.

• • •

Autonomous vehicle leaders like Stefan Seltz-Axmacher, co-founder of Starsky Robotics, said Florida’s minimal regulation and openness to real-life testing and operation is exactly what draws companies to the Sunshine State.

The industry was very West Coast-centric, Seltz-Axmacher said, when he started nearly three years ago. Most of the autonomous vehicle teams were in the San Francisco Bay area. Some reached as far east as Arizona or Nevada. But now Seltz-Axmacher sees other states, like Florida, drawing in companies and developers with progressive laws.

"Sen. Brandes put Florida in a leadership position because of the laws he passed fairly early on that are nonobtrusive and easy to work with," Seltz-Axmacher said. "The laws are fairly clear without too many restrictions."

It’s different in other states. Nevada required companies to put their vehicles through 15,000 miles of testing before allowing them on its roads. California mandates that companies register with the state and log accident reports with a central agency. Michigan requires automakers to have $10 million of self-insurance.

But Florida’s regulatory climate allows companies like Starsky Robotics to test in real-world situations — on real roads — without a state permit.

Florida hasn’t been as dramatic with its legislation as other states, said University of South Carolina law professor Bryant Walker Smith, who studies autonomous vehicles. Instead of passing one bill on the subject, Brandes and other lawmakers have taken a more subtle approach, passing key autonomous vehicle provisions as part of an omnibus bill.

"It hasn’t been quite as flashy as other states, but it’s been a pretty concerted effort to begin addressing this topic," Smith said. "Florida’s bills have not been particularly detailed but have been, I think, pretty far-reaching."

Contact Caitlin Johnston at cjohnston@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8779. Follow @cljohnst.

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St Pete Unfiltered Documentary examines St. Petersburg, Florida Sewage Cover-up – South Florida Business Journal

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The documentary St Pete Unfiltered examines the city of St. Petersburg’s chronic and continued dumping and spilling of raw and partially treated wastewater into Tampa Bay, its surrounding surface waters, and the Florida Aquifer. The film makes its world premiere at the Gasparilla International Film Festival at the AMC Centro Ybor March 24, 2018 at 1p.m.

"Most shocking to me is the city’s negligence and the fact that citizens either aren’t aware of the dumps or they believe that they have been resolved," says executive producer Caroline Smith. "Not only does the city continue spilling wastewater, our beaches regularly fail routine water tests and this administration focuses its energy and its resources perpetuating a cover up."

In April 2015 St. Petersburg shuttered one of its four water reclamation facilities, decreasing sewage treatment capacity by 25%. Over the next two years, a series of rain events caused the city to illegally and willfully dump 200-million gallons of raw sewage into Tampa Bay. In addition, the city continued pumping over 800-million gallons of partially treated sewage into the bay, the aquifer, and the area’s surrounding surface waters.

"For a city that claims to be the greenest in the state, St. Petersburg has a problem actually living up to that moniker," says producer and writer Brandon D. Shuler. "St. Pete has a greenwashing habit where they like to brush over the real issues that they are polluting our environment and threatening our drinking waters with its weak solutions. The current administration is covering up the threats they are exposing their citizens to."

Under a self-defined consent order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, St. Petersburg has adopted the use of underground injection wells to pump its partially treated waste water into the Florida Aquifer. Following the idea that all waters are connected through the significant nexus, the use of injection wells merely gets waste pollution out of sight and mind while threating the integrity of the region’s drinking waters.

St Pete Unfiltered exposes the city’s perpetration of the worst sewage spill in Florida’s history. The documentary premieres March 24, 2018 at 1p.m. at the AMC Centro Ybor. A press conference will be hosted after the film.

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For interviews, please contact:

Brandon D. Shuler 832.603.3787 www.stpeteunfiltered.com

For trailers: Teaser trailer: https://vimeo.com/254616947 Teaser trailer: https://vimeo.com/259796484

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/st-pete-unfiltered-documentary-examines-st-petersburg-florida-sewage-cover-up-300615351.html

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Thousands race over iconic Suncoast bridge

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The race, the first ever to be held across the Skyway Bridge since its opening in 1987, started at 6 a.m. on the south side of the bridge

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (WWSB) – Thousand of participants raced 6.2 miles across the Iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge Sunday morning during the inaugural Sunshine Skyway 10K.

The race, the first ever to be held across the Skyway Bridge since its opening in 1987, started at 6 a.m. on the south side of the bridge. Runners then traveled up 430 feet the top of the bridge before reaching the finish line at the Skyway’s north rest stop.

All five branches of the Armed forces were represented during the race, with all proceeds from the event going to the Armed Forces Families Foundation.

For 6 hours Sunday morning, the race closed the northbound lanes of the skyway as organizers prepared for the race.

Copyright 2018 WWSB. All Rights Reserved.

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Bruce Ayres wins St Pete NOOD

St. Petersburg, FL (February 18, 2018) – After two days of racing on Tampa Bay, light weather persisted today to close the 2018 Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design Regatta with a day ashore. Team Monsoon, led by skipper Bruce Ayres, of Newport Beach, Calif., was named Overall Winner as the top team from the Melges 24 fleet, deemed the weekend’s most competitive class.

Ayres, 61, has been sailing for more than 20 years and thinks of his team as a second family. With about five years of sailing together, he credits their success to an efficient “in-sync program.” This strategy came in handy over the weekend, when the crew had to hold onto their lead during Day 2 despite it being “a little tougher” than the first day with rig tune issues, shifty conditions and a competitive fleet.

“We know each other and we joke around, but we’re serious and we take care of business on and off the water,” Ayres said. “We’re always focused. We take it one race at a time.”

Echoing the idea of “work hard, play hard,” tactician Mike Buckley touted the team’s ability to shift gears between competing and enjoying themselves: “We have a pretty intense team, but we always leave it on the water and that’s the key. We joke around a lot when we’re back on land. We probably laugh more than any other team here.”

This was the team’s first Helly Hansen St. Petersburg NOOD. In addition to Helly Hansen team gear courtesy of Sailing World, the crew earned a berth in the championship regatta, hosted by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands Oct. 21 to 26.

While many of Pamela Rose’s competitors have raced sailboats most of their lives, the J/70 class winner took home her first major regatta win this weekend — and qualified for the class world championship — only two years after taking up the sport. A self-proclaimed “serious boater,” Rose said she didn’t expect to enjoy sailing so much when she bought Rosebud looking for a new challenge three years ago.

After taking sixth place last year at the Helly Hansen St. Petersburg NOOD, Rose gathered a crew of top-notch talent – Morgan Reeser, Charlie Smythe, and Willem Van Waay – to help accelerate her success this year.

“The goal for me was to win a qualifying seat [for Worlds],” Rose said. “I’ve been working really hard. I was thrilled to have this amazing team — they are very experienced, very calm. I call them the dream team.”

Rose said she will plan her summer schedule around training, including an entry into the Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD in July, to get a test run in the same venue that the 2018 J/70 World Championships will be held in September.

Also competing in the J/70 class were five local teens specially selected to participate as the Helly Hansen Junior Crew, who finished the weekend ranked 28th of 39 boats.

Several local-area skippers took home first-place prizes at the regatta: Diane Fowler of St. Petersburg on Sonar SPYC Sonar; Michael Zonnenberg of St. Petersburg on Lightning Bad Larry; George Cussins of Apollo Beach on J/105 Fire & Ice in the PHRF 2 division; and Raymond Mannix of Largo on J/29 Semper Fi in the PHRF 3 division.

Racing was held February 16 to 18.

The Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design Regatta Series continues its 30th anniversary season March 16-18 in San Diego, Calif.

2018 NOOD Schedule

Source: Evily Giannopoulos PerosFinding a better way at Sailing Leadership Forum

The Sailing Leadership Forum has attracted leaders in the sport to meet and learn from one-another amid a full schedule

Harry Price Triumphs at Warren Jones Dazzling Day in Antigua for Superyachts Invites Sent for 2018 Race to Mackinac Partnership to Develop Cup Team Extreme Conditions for Ice Racing Growing Sailing in China: Dongfeng Race Team Groundhog Edition of Speed Reading Volvo Ocean Race: Follow the Guangzhou In Port Race Clipper Race: A Windless ZoneHonorees Recognized at US Sailing Awards

The US Sailing Award winners for 2017 were recognized for their contributions to the sport of sailing in the United

World on Water Global Sailing News – February 2, 2018

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Pinellas Plans For Country’s 1st Underwater Veterans Memorial

DUNEDIN, FL — To appreciate this veterans memorial, visitors will need a face mask and fins. Pinellas County has unveiled plans for the country’s first underwater veterans memorial.

The display will feature 24 life-size concrete statues of American military heroes permanently attached to a limestone base 40 feet beneath the surface of the water

Dr. Heywood Matthews, professor emeritus of St. Petersburg College and a longtime diving enthusiast, proposed the memorial as an enhancement to Veterans Reef, located 10 miles off Dunedin Beach in the Gulf of Mexico. The reef, including sunken barges and a submerged bomber plane, was created in 2000. Since then, said Matthews, it has become one of Florida’s most popular fishing reefs.

The memorial Matthews proposes will be geared specifically to sports divers. Located a quarter of a mile north of Veterans Reef, the memorial, called A Circle of Heroes, will feature statues of military heroes such as Gen. George Patton and Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The statues will be situated in a circle spanning 200 feet on the ocean floor. In the middle of the circle will be a concrete monument representing all five branches of the military.

"We took some borings and found a limestone base where we can secure the statues and make sure they don’t sink," said Matthews.

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Pinellas County has contributed $12,000 for the first four statues. However, Matthews’ nephew, U.S. Rep. Dave Jolly, R-Florida, will fund the bulk of the memorial through his nonprofit group, Brighter Future Florida.

Jolly estimates it will cost about $500,000 but said it will more than pay for itself in the amount of tourism it will attract.

"We estimate it will have an annual economic impact of more than $7 million through the creation of new jobs and the dive tourism it will bring in," Jolly said.

Matthews said they hope to have the first 12 statues in place by the end of the summer.

"It will attract some fish but we deliberately aren’t making this a fish habitat," said Matthews. "It’s for divers to go down, observe the statues and remember the veterans who sacrificed so much for our freedom."

Video via Heywood Matthews

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StormFitters Offers the Best Replacement Windows in Spring Hill and Sarasota

St. Petersburg, FL — (ReleaseWire) — 01/22/2018 –StormFitters is no doubt one of the leading companies in Florida when it comes to installing best quality windows and doors. The company offers the best products and outstanding services in-house to the customers regarding window and door installation. The main intention of the company is to make sure that one gets the best value for money in terms of window replacement or new window installation. The company’s varied range of replacement windows in Spring Hill and Sarasota are sure to increase the energy efficiency, value, and security of the home or the commercial property.

StormFitters has been serving the customers of Florida for more than 30 years now and is one of the most preferred companies for window and door products. The company not only focuses on best quality products but also on warranty, serviceability, local representation, price, experience and also on best value.

Apart from specializing in replacement doors and windows, StormFitters also specializes in offering storm shutters in Sarasota and Tampa Florida. All these products are from well-known brands, and thus one can expect them to last for a longer time and work efficiently.

For those who are residing in Florida or the surrounding areas must get storm shutters and hurricane doors, hurricane windows as this place is very much prone to cyclone and hurricanes. Therefore, besides investing on flood insurance, one must also invest on the specially made shutters, windows and doors that can help in preventing the storm from causing damage to the home.

StormFitters has the best products and services in Florida and ensures that all customers get the best value with doors, windows, and other storm protection products. Also, the experts here ensure that doors and windows are installed correctly and chosen rightly so that they can increase the energy efficiency, security and value of the property.

Call 727-544-0575 for more information on the product and services of StormFitters.

About StormFitters StormFitters is a leading door and window supplier across West Central Florida for more than three decades. The company specializes in storm shutters and replacement doors and windows.

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The Best Resources For Discovering The Latest Petersburg FL News

When it comes to finding out about the latest Petersburg FL news, there are many great resources that a person can turn to. Perhaps the most popular sources of news from the city are local newspapers like The Tampa Bay Times. That particular newspaper also has a website that is updated throughout the day with the latest goings-on in the area.

Another popular source of Petersburg news is local radio stations. The hosts of these stations regularly talk about events relevant to the lives of those living in the district. Such stations also feature local weather and traffic updates almost every hour throughout the day. This information can be particularly important for those commuting to work or planning a short vacation in the city.

One of the newest resources available to those looking for local news is online blogs. Indeed, there are now thousands of people blogging about their daily lives in Florida. These blogs often feature detailed write-up of upcoming events, as well as high-quality photographs and important information about local amenities, such as schools, hospitals, grocery stores, public parks and more.

The web’s largest video sharing website, YouTube, is another good source for the latest news. Thousands of new videos are uploaded to the site every minute, so it is almost guaranteed that if anything major happens in Petersburg, it won’t be long before you find out it about it on YouTube.

If you happen to live in the Tampa Bay area, you can start reporting local news to help others. There are dozens of free blog hosting providers and thanks to the latest one-click-install CMSs, it should take you less than five minutes to get a blog set up. You can then start reporting on events in your neighborhood.

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