Key player in Miami’s trendy Wynwood development turns eye toward St. Pete

March 24, 2021
Emily L. Mahoney, Tampa Bay Times

Anyone who’s visited Miami recently likely knows of Wynwood, a former manufacturing warehouse district that was transformed into a hipster mecca known for its colorful murals and trendy shops and restaurants — including an ultra-popular taco joint that was once visited by former President Barack Obama.

Joe Furst, who oversaw financing, development and leasing initiatives in Wynwood for the development company that had a major hand in the area’s makeover, has recently set his sights on St. Pete. About a year and a half ago, he bought about nine acres of land for redevelopment along 22nd Street S, from 1st to 6th avenues, within the bounds of the Warehouse Arts District.

Read the full story from Tampa Bay Times HERE.

A 179-car drive-in movie theater is coming soon to St. Pete

March 9, 2021
Stephanie Stott, St. Pete Rising

If watching your favorite film with St. Pete as your backdrop sounds like a dream come true, you’re in luck. A 179-car drive-in theater courtesy of Rooftop Cinema Club is coming soon to 2100 3rd Ave South in the Warehouse Arts District of St. Pete.

While the pandemic made movie-going nearly obsolete, drive-ins are, by nature, social-distancing friendly. Add online ticket ordering and contactless concessions, and you have a recipe for a safe, entertaining night—all in the glow of a 64 ft. cinema screen.

Read the full story from St. Pete Rising HERE.

Equitable development a focus as 22nd Street South blossoms

March 8, 2021
Margie Manning, Catalyst

The 22nd Street South corridor in St. Petersburg stands poised for a renaissance, with several real estate and economic development projects planned or underway.

Civic leaders and private investors are working to turn this booming moment for the south St. Petersburg corridor into a movement for equitable development.

“Development projects have long possessed the promise of elevating communities, but in St. Petersburg that promise has gone unfulfilled in a number of African American neighborhoods and districts,” said Ernest Hooper, vice president of communications at United Way Suncoast and a former Tampa Bay Times columnist. Hooper moderated a March 4 panel discussion on equitable development sponsored by the Urban Land Institute Tampa Bay.

Read the full story from Catalyst HERE.

Transitioning to Transit-Oriented Development Gives Way To Equitable Planning

March 9, 2021
Christina Mendoza, Forward Pinellas

Have you ever been to a city where you can easily travel without an automobile? Where transitioning from walking, or perhaps biking, to transit is seamless, efficient, and enjoyable? Where a connected transportation network allows you to easily get to work, restaurants, retail and recreation? Thoughtful city design helps to create this environment, and at the heart of this design is often the incorporation of Transit-Oriented Development.

Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, is a type of development that typically includes a mix of land use types, such as residential, commercial, and office uses, with pedestrian amenities and within a half-mile of public transportation. Around the world, TOD has developed into a planning, community development, design, and funding method that supports livable, walkable environments.

Within Pinellas County, Forward Pinellas is committed to working with our partners to encourage TOD by identifying the locations best suited for premium transit service. These priority investment corridors are designated as multimodal corridors on the Land Use Strategy Map featured in The Countywide Plan for Pinellas County, as well as the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan, known as Advantage Pinellas.

Read the full story from Forward Pinellas HERE.

New chair of Forward Pinellas combines passion for St. Pete with a regional focus

November 24th, 2020
Margie Manning, St. Pete Catalyst

St. Petersburg City Council member Darden Rice has been elected the 2021 chair of Forward Pinellas, a countywide land use and transportation planning agency.

Rice will lead a 13-member board that could ultimately weigh in on key parts of StPete2050,  a community-generated vision for where the city is going and what it can become over the next 30 years.

When St. Petersburg shines, so does the rest of the Tampa Bay area, Rice said in an interview with the St. Pete Catalyst.

“I’m a regionalist at heart. I completely believe that what you do to help one area achieve a better connectedness to our transportation grid, the better it is for all of us,” Rice said. “As our smaller cities work on their own transportation projects, we’re also looking at the big picture at how all these connect together in a better way.”

Read the full story from St. Pete Catalyst HERE.

Developer wants 22nd Street South to be bridge, not a moat

September 5th, 2020
Margie Manning, St. Pete Catalyst

The large parcels of vacant land along 22nd Street South between 1st Avenue South and 6th Avenue South currently act like a moat, separating the Grand Central District, Deuces Live and the Warehouse Arts District.

Developer Joe Furst, founder and managing principal of Place Projects, wants to turn that area into a bridge, connecting what he believes are some of the most interesting parts of the city.

Furst described his proposal to change the zoning of the five-block area, and the coalition he is building around the concept, at a meeting of the Florida Economic Club this week.

“You have the most compelling vibrant center in the Grand Central District, which to me has the most interesting businesses along Central Avenue today. You have the historically interesting cultural center of the Deuces and Black St. Pete to the south. You have the Warehouse Arts District to the west,” Furst said. “Yet there’s this underlying stretch of industrial zoning that is acting as a moat separating all these neighborhoods, that really should be a bridge.”

Read the full story from St. Pete Catalyst HERE.

Artists, neighbors speak out on 22nd Street South zoning plan

August 22, 2020
Margie Manning, St. Pete Catalyst

A plan to revitalize part of 22nd Street South in St. Petersburg is being greeted with cautious optimism by business and civic leaders.

The plan would change the zoning of the industrial area to allow for office, retail and housing uses. Artists, neighborhood association leaders and business owners said it looks promising, but they also want more details and opportunities for community input.

The proposal, from developer Joe Furst, founder and managing principal of Place Projects, would create a new zoning category, industrial mixed-use, or I-MIX, along 22nd Street South from 1st Avenue South to 6th Avenue South. Furst, who owns about seven acres in the area, has said he wants a community conversation on the plan. An online stakeholder workshop on Aug. 17 was the first of what Furst said would be several chances for comments.

Read the full story from St. Pete Catalyst HERE.

August 17th: I-MIX Revitalization Corridor Workshop

August 18, 2020

On Monday, August 17th, participants from throughout the I-MIX Revitalization Corridor held a workshop led by GAI Community Solutions Group, professional urban planners. Throughout the workshop, the group discussed ways to create a vibrant, mixed-use, walkable corridor to connect Grand Central, Warehouse Arts, the Deuces Live Main Street, and the future Bus Rapid Transit station at 22nd Street and 1st Avenue South. Nearly 100 individuals from throughout the city logged in via Zoom to listen to the discussion, submit questions, and help drive the community discussion.

I-MIX Revitalization Corridor: Stakeholder Workshop – August 17th, 6pm-8pm

August 14, 2020
Margie Manning, St. Pete Catalyst

A plan to revitalize part of 22nd Street South in St. Petersburg is being greeted with cautious optimism by business and civic leaders.

The plan would change the zoning of the industrial area to allow for office, retail and housing uses. Artists, neighborhood association leaders and business owners said it looks promising, but they also want more details and opportunities for community input.

The proposal, from developer Joe Furst, founder and managing principal of Place Projects, would create a new zoning category, industrial mixed-use, or I-MIX, along 22nd Street South from 1st Avenue South to 6th Avenue South. Furst, who owns about seven acres in the area, has said he wants a community conversation on the plan. An online stakeholder workshop on Aug. 17 was the first of what Furst said would be several chances for comments.

Read the full story from St. Pete Catalyst HERE.

Developer addresses criticism to 22nd Street South rezoning proposal

July 29, 2020
Margie Manning, St. Pete Catalyst

The developer who has proposed rezoning part of the 22nd Street South corridor in St. Petersburg says he’s confident he’s on the right side of change for the area.

Joe Furst, founder and managing principal of Place Projects, said his plans are aligned with the vision of existing business owners in the area to create a more vibrant, walkable and economically viable community along 22nd Street South between 1st Avenue South and 6th Avenue South.

Read the full story from St. Pete Catalyst HERE.

Developer envisions a new look for St. Pete’s 22nd Street South

July 21, 2020
Margie Manning, St. Pete Catalyst

Some four years after developer Joe Furst started thinking about opportunities in the 22nd Street South corridor in south St. Petersburg, he’s asking for public input on a plan to revitalize the area.

Furst, founder and managing principal of Place Projects, is working with local community groups on an initiative to rezone the area, creating the potential for new uses, including offices and residential uses, on what is now mostly vacant land along 22nd Street between 1st Avenue and 6th Avenue South.

He wants to open up a community conversation on the proposal, which is still nearly a year away from any potential vote in the St. Petersburg City Council.

Read the full story in St. Pete Catalyst HERE.

Proposed zoning changes in the Warehouse Arts District could spur redevelopment

July 15, 2020
St. Pete Rising

A community-centric development group, Place Projects, which is led by Managing Director Joe Furst, has assembled nine acres along 22nd Street South and is launching a campaign proposing a new zoning classification for the corridor called “Industrial Mixed-Use” or “I-MIX.”

The intention of I-MIX zoning would be to encourage the preservation of industrial uses by requiring a certain percentage of light-industrial floor area, while also allowing for the development of other uses too – such as residential or office space. This type of mixed-use zoning would better target what Furst calls “new-age industrial” users, meaning spaces that could cater to artisans, makers, breweries, and other local businesses. These users are already prevalent in the district, however they are often burdened by the current zoning.

Read the full story in St. Pete Rising HERE.