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Another retail renovation at Tyrone

Wedged between Tyrone Boulevard and 66th Street N, Tyrone Corners will get a new look and new tenants.

ST. PETERSBURG - A third shopping center in the Tyrone area is under renovation that will upgrade appearances, bring in new retailers and continue improvements that have been ongoing in the area since 2002.

Tyrone Corners is among several shopping centers located in the west St. Petersburg intersection of Tyrone Boulevard, 66th Street N and 22nd Avenue. Now it is only Jo-Ann's Fabrics and Crafts at 2500 66th St. N. The rest of the retail space is vacant and being renovated to include a HomeGoods store, the first in St. Petersburg. It tentatively is scheduled to open Nov. 20. Other tenants will include Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread and Boaters' World.

"I'm happy to see it cleaned up and brightened up," said Tim Killian, president of the Jungle Terrace Neighborhood Association, which has 360 members. He said the association board met with architects and liked what was planned. Jungle Terrace has 2,450 homes in the Tyrone area.

Killian said members were happy with the other shopping center renovations as well.

"I think that it has worked out good for the Tyrone area," said Killian.

Crossroads Shopping Center is finishing a complete renovation that was started by the building of a new Home Depot where an empty Montgomery Ward's store stood. The center includes new retailers in renovated spaces, newly built stores, more landscaping, restaurants and a bank.

The giant in the area, Tyrone Square Mall, is getting a makeover to remove its concrete facade that faces Tyrone Boulevard. The makeover will include a new entrance, landscaping, three new retailers and two sit-down restaurants. Restaurants will offer outdoor seating, and the parking lot facing Tyrone will be more heavily landscaped.

Once the renovation of Crossroads began, the owners of Tyrone Corners approached the city about redoing their center, said John R. Hixenbaugh, St. Petersburg's zoning officer.

Developers Diversified Realty of Ohio owns the center, Hixenbaugh said. Efforts to reach a spokesperson there were unsuccessful.

Tyrone Corners was built in 1974, and longtime tenants included Service Merchandise and Pier 1 Imports. Service Merchandise left the center, and Jo-Ann Fabrics took its place, moving there in July of 2003. Pier 1 moved across the intersection to a new space in Crossroads in May of 2004.

Before Jo-Ann's arrived, Tyrone Corners looked a bit worn. Trees were removed from the shopping center because most of them were in bad shape, Hixenbaugh said. New ones will be planted when the center is complete.

Hixenbaugh said the city wanted Tyrone Corners to look better.

"All of the buildings and signs will match. Stores will face Tyrone where now there is the ugly side with the loading dock," Hixenbaugh said. Stores also will face 66th Street N.

HomeGoods is part of the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores family.

"It is our first time in St. Petersburg," said Robyn Arvedon, spokeswoman for the chain whose office is in Boston. "We opened in Clearwater in the spring."

The store will be 25,000 square feet in size and offer expanded lines of the type of home decor found at T.J. Maxx stores.

"We will have merchandise for every room in the home," Arvedon said. "It is a giant superstore for home decor."

HomeGoods is an off-price retailer as are T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. Arvedon said prices will be 20 percent to 60 percent lower than department or specialty stores.

Hixenbaugh said he would love to see the center that holds Bed Bath & Beyond, which sits across from Crossroads, be the next renovated.

Information from Times files was used in this report.