Great things are happening in our area: Business is definitely growing strong

Wow! Did you see the nice write-up in The Gabber the other day about all the new businesses that have opened in our area recently? Things are happening in the Skyway Marina District. Good things! Congratulations to Keri Melshenker and everyone involved. For years residents on South St. Petersburg have been working steadily to bring new attention to the area, and it's paying off. There's Gator Jim's Tackle (in the picture), a new apartment complex, a new restaurant at Maximo Marina, a new Wawa coming, Dr. Elinor Miranda's new pediatrics practice, and more. Proud to be part of this growing community.

Apartment-restaurant complex developers seeing a great future for our community

Late last year, you may remember, we had an item about a new development project coming to South St. Petersburg. It's to be a mixed-use development on 34th Street just north of the Ceridian complex and the St. Petersburg College Allstate Center. It is to include one- and two-bedroom apartments, shops, and restaurants. Phillips Development & Realty in Tampa has been working with our friend Keri Melshenker at the Skyway Marina District to bring about the complex. Word comes now that the purchase of the property from Home Depot has been completed ($4.2 million) and construction is supposed to begin in five to nine months. “The Skyway Marina District is screaming for retail, luxury living and involvement from the St. Petersburg art scene,” said Donald Phillips, managing director of the development company, according to Business Observer. Mayor Rick Kriseman is all for the project and has been championing the prosperity of the Skyway Marina District for years.

Apartment, shopping, and restaurant project coming for 34th Street near SPC Allstate

South St. Petersburg is on the move. Phillips Development & Realty is filing site plans today for a mixed-use project on 34th Street just north of the Ceridian complex and the St. Petersburg College Allstate Center. It is to include one- and two-bedroom apartments, shops, and restaurants. The people at Phillips have been working with Keri Melshenker, executive director of the Skyway Marina District. This is just one part of work the city has been doing to ramp up business development in our community. To Phillips, we say welcome. To Keri Melshenker and the Skyway Marina District, we say bravo! Here's a story in the Tampa Bay Business Journal with all the details.

We're gonna be in pictures! Watch the premiere of the Skyway Sizzle Reel

Okay, so maybe it's not exactly like the Hollywood premiere you see in the picture. Still and all, it promises to be exciting. After all, the star of the show is right here -- the place that we live. We're talking about the Skyway Sizzle Reel. Word comes from Keri Melshenker, executive director of the Skyway Marina District, that there will be a showing of the short video at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1 in the Desoto Room at the St. Petersburg College's Allstate Center.

As far as what's in the video, you'll have to wait and see but you could make some pretty good guesses. There's lots to love about the outdoors where we live, and not just the beaches. So we'd expect to see lots of pretty shots. South St. Petersburg is a vibrant business district, so we'd expect to see shots that reflect that, too. The bridge, of course, and the marinas, naturally. We;d doubt that there are any speaking parts, though we're  sure the pictures are going to say a lot. A picture is worth ... and all that.

Keri has been working with the city for quite awhile to get this video made. If you have any questions, you can email her at keri@skywaymarina.com or call her at 727-866-2696 As for us, we're just humming that old 1934 Rudy Vallee hit "You Ought To Be In Pictures." Can't help it. Go ahead. Listen below. Then it'll go round and round in your head, too.

Bike Wayfinding Pilot Study could lead to a brand new bike path in South St. Petersburg

The Gabber, Gulfport

You may remember the big bike ride project back in July. The Skyway Marina District teamed up with ShiftStPete, a non-profit group of activists pushing for bicyclist and pedestrian infrastructure, to produce the event. About 50 people participated and there was a nice write-up in The Gabber. The bike ride was generally considered a great success.

Well, an email from Keri Melshenker, executive director of the district, showed up in the inbox yesterday afternoon announcing that the district is part of the new St. Petersburg Bike Wayfinding Pilot Study designed to gather people's ideas about where a bike path around the community should go, what kinds of signage would be helpful, and so forth.

Keri said the Skyway Marina District's Improvement Team had offered some ideas, including Wayfinding signs to Eckerd College, the beaches, and various parks, such as Fort Desoto, Maximo Park, Clam Bayou, and Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. There also were thoughts about solving lighting, fencing, trash, sediment deposition, and drainage issues for a Lakewood Trail Connector, and crosswalk safety issues for various places.

So, there's this online survey you can take to offer your ideas. If you click on the link, you'll be taken to the survey. Be aware, though, you'll be asked for your email address. If you put it in, you'll be able to log in and fill out the survey. You can also return to add to your answers. You also can log in anonymously but if you do you won't be able to return. There's a built-in control to limit repeated access to the survey unless you put in your email address.

The map above shows the proposed route for the bike trail. The map comes with the survey. Click on it to get a better look at it before you take the survey. 

This is a great opportunity to contribute your ideas about a bike path for South St. Petersburg so we urge you to participate. And thank you to Keri and the Skyway Marina District for pursuing this worthwhile endeavor.