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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 11, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- The new owner of the historic YMCA downtown is searching for just the right color for the building he plans to turn into 15 condominiums. So he did a test last week, buying quarts of half a dozen shades and painting blocks of them on the north side of the building at 116 Fifth St. S and one on the front.
Once they were on the Y, Gary Bennett didn't like any of them.
So the 1927 Mediterranean Revival gem, now pale pink, will not be off-white, salmon, beige, brick, pink beige or coral. More swaths go up today or Thursday. He wants to keep the building from blending in with its surroundings (the St. Petersburg Times) but not make it garish.
Personally, Bennett prefers a medium tone of terra cotta for the Y, a shade that is more brown than red. Architect John A. Bodiziak Jr., who is working with Bennett on the project, prefers an off-white, Bennett said.
Bennett lives in Cortez, in Manatee County, and has been in commercial real estate development. He bought the Y in October for $675,000 and plans condominiums in the $400,000 price range. He estimates the project will take 12 to 18 months. He is anxious to paint the exterior sooner than later so potential buyers will see what their building will look like. But painting won't begin until the right color is found. New windows will be installed, and the colors in which the windows are available could help determine the exterior wall color.
Interior cleanout is under way, and Bennett hopes to get his permit this week to tear out some of the interior walls that were added over the years and chopped up the interior.
ST. PETERSBURG -- The owner of the Ponce de Leon Hotel says he will reopen Perch Restaurant and Ten Beach Drive, the piano bar, next week.
Savni Bakrac said the restaurants had been closed since Nov. 30. He had been leasing the space to Robert P. Gordon.
The restaurants were put into bankruptcy reorganization this year, and the case remains open. Bakrac said he did not know why the restaurants closed. Efforts to reach Gordon were not successful.
Bakrac planned to reopen the two on Tuesday. They will keep their names.
Two kids consignment shops opened recently in St. Petersburg and Gulfport. Karen Schluchter and Victoria Proelloch are partners in Karen's Kids in St. Petersburg and Victoria's Kids in Gulfport.
Victoria's Kids, at 5132 Gulfport Blvd. S, carries sizes up to 6X in a variety of children's garments. Karen's Kids, at 3015 16th St. N in St. Petersburg, specializes in clothes for twins, triplets and quadruplets and goes up to sizes for teens.
ST. PETERSBURG -- Simpson's Accounting and Tax Services Inc. has moved to 2961 First Ave. N. The company, founded by Irving and Helen Simpson in 1947, began inside the Empire Building, on Third Street N at Central Avenue. Then the family ran the business out of their home on Seventh Avenue N for more than 30 years.
Clients include some of St. Petersburg's oldest businesses, such as the Chattaway and Coney Island Sandwich Shop.
"There were lots of memories in that old house," said Jerry Simpson, the son of the founder, who now co-owns the firm with his wife, Adelle. "Mother would go over client taxes right on the front porch, and I remember lots of barbecues with St. Louis Cardinals in our front yard. My dad befriended them when they stayed at the Bainbridge Hotel, next to his office on Central Avenue." The Cardinals were in St. Petersburg for spring training for many years.
After Helen Simpson died in 2001, the family decided to sell the house.