REDINGTON BEACH - A new luxury development aimed at affluent buyers will be built at 16300 Gulf Blvd., taking the last piece of commercial property.
Gulf Atlantic Luxury Communities LLC is building the eight-unit complex where prices will range from $1.49-million to $1.65-million for three bedrooms, 31/2 baths and two-car garages, according to Debbie Newman of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc. Joel Cantor, managing director of Gulf Atlantic, said the units will be comparable to condominiums in Longboat Key or Naples.
The complex, to be called Vizcaya, replaces the Saxony Motel. It is described as "ultra-luxury." Each unit will have its own private poolside cabana and built-in stainless steel grilling kitchen on the terrace.
Bennigan's to return to Crossroads
ST. PETERSBURG - Bennigan's Grill & Tavern will return to Crossroads Shopping Center, opening early next year.
The restaurant will be built where the vacant AMC theater now stands. Demolition on the theater should begin in a few weeks.
The west St. Petersburg shopping area is undergoing a renovation, and the Bennigan's that was there was torn down to make way for a new Home Depot. Home Depot also is claiming space where Montgomery Wards stood. Crews already are installing landscaping and marking off parking spaces.
Toys "R" Us, Office Depot, iParty, Ross Dress for Less and Circuit City remain open. The shopping center is at Tyrone Boulevard, 22nd Avenue N and 66th Street.
Home Depot is redeveloping Crossroads with the Sembler Co. of St. Petersburg. Steve Althoff, vice president of operations for Sembler, said leases are either signed or about to be signed for the available space at Crossroads. Signature is building a branch there.
Gallery may come to Pier
ST. PETERSBURG - Efforts to turn the third floor of the Pier into an art gallery continue although one proposal under consideration was scrapped earlier this month.
That floor has been vacant since Great Explorations museum closed its operation there late last year. Great Explorations since has re-opened at the renovated Sunken Gardens on Fourth Street N.
Pier manager Don Paul said he had been working with members of the Downtown Arts Association to open the floor as an art gallery.
Long-range plans call for the third floor to be incorporated as an education space for the Pier aquarium, which is on the second floor. That won't happen for three or four more years, Paul said. In the meantime, he'd like to have art on display there.
Carol Gray, president of the Downtown Arts Association, said her group would like the same thing and hopes to get something going by September or October.
