Not much activity is showing on the Grand Bohemian Hotel and Condos site in downtown St. Petersburg at the corner of 1st Ave N and 2nd St N, but closing on the land is scheduled for mid-August (obviously, they can't start construction before they own the land). Announcements of the groundbreaking should be coming soon. Kessler's Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando is a hub of activity. In addition to the guests at the hotel, locals crowd the public spaces during the after-work hours. It's a center for art, music, conversation and meetings.I can hardly wait for the Grand Bohemian Hotel and Condos to open in St. Petersburg, since it's just a block from my office. Hotel and condo combinations - not condo-hotels, but condos that are built in conjunction with a hotel so that they have the amenit... 07/05/2007

Market Update on Mirabella on Central - St Petersburg, FloridaMirabella is currently taking reservations and expects to go to contract in October 2007. Expected completion of the building is expected in 2009. Among the pre-construction condominiums in St. Petersburg, Florida is the Mirabella on Central. With just 49 condos, it has amenities on three levels, an attractive Mediterranean style building, and luxury amenities in the many floor plans available. Prices start in the mid $300,000s for spacious 1 bedroom units with over 1,400 sq ft. The luxurious two story 4,294 sq ft penthouses start at $1,500,000. They have a great website which shows the lifestyle as well as each of the floor plans. Centrally located, Mirabella on Central is just 10 blocks from the waterfront.Mirabella on Cen... 07/02/2007

Are you chasing the market? House for sale in St Petersburg, your realtor did a ton of marketing and advertising, but nobody even wants to look at it? 3 month after you signed the listing you reduced the price, still no showing, no phone calls You reduce the price even more. Finally a few people tour the house, still no offer. There is so much for sale in our St Petersburg Tampa bay, Pinellas county area. Sellers are in a bigger competition than I have ever seen before. You have to ask yourself Are you chasing the market? I strongly believe that it is very important to have a competitive price for your house. The day you sign the listing agreement. The real estate market in St Petrsburg Tampabay has changed a lot. So how much should you ask for your home? Very simple, have your realtor ... 06/30/2007

Jul. 4 • Fourth of July @ the Pier. The Pier, 800 2nd Ave. N.E. Noon to 9 p.m. Fantastic family event featuring face painting, Fritzy Brothers One Man Circus Entertainers, music by the Cool Daddies and Rhythm Method plus interactive music video The Dance Heads. Free, nominal charges for some activities. www.stpetepier.com or 727-821-6443.   Jul. 4 • The City of St. Petersburg July 4th Celebration.North Straub Park, Bayshore Dr. & 5th Ave. N.E. 4 p.m. Family activities, food concessions and fun throughout the day. WFUS broadcasts patriotic music to accompany the fireworks display scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. (or between 8:30 and 10 p.m. as weather mandates). Tune to WFUS 103.5 FM for the latest update on weather and fireworks information. No rain date. Free. 727-893-7441.   Jul. 4 • Four... 06/24/2007

The Science Center I had a wonderful time.Until I started my  website http://www.todayinstpete.comI had no idea that St Petersburg has so many different things to offer.Last night was my first time at the Science Center of Pinellas.It was very interesting,I was pleasantly surprised..The event was  "Jupiter watch"Get more information and look at their calendar http://www.sciencecenterofpinellas.com/ PS.Learn from my mistakes, no high heels for an outside event !!! 06/24/2007

Be The Change by Teresa Hall -- June 20, 2007 At 5:00 a.m. on Saturday June 16th the alarm went off.  Stumbling out of bed completely disoriented, it was nearly comical how different it is when it is the alarm clock style 5:00 a.m. instead of the night of music followed by sunrise style.  A life of music tends to be the “still awake at that hour” rather than the “its time to get up” style of weekend.  But this was different.  This was giving back to Mother Nature and well worth the painful alarm clock on a Saturday morning to Be The Change.  Thanks to unwavering dedication in generating community awareness and encouraging involvement through any means possible, Kurt Zuelsdorf, owner of Kayak Nature Adventures in Gulfport, IS the change that our local habitat desperately needs.  His prog... 06/21/2007

Overvue CondosCertus Development, LLC is transforming a building into condominiums, ranging from the $200,000s to the $600,000s. Located at 939 Beach Dr NE in St Petersburg, it's only a few blocks from downtown, on the edge of The Old Northeast neighborhood, and overlooking some of St Pete's wonderful parks along Tampa Bay. You can walk to restaurants, shops, the movies, art museums, art-music-food festivals, and lots of parks. When I first knew this building, a few years ago, it was an Assisted Living facility and we were moving my mother there. After a trial in that "cruiseship without the boat" she decided to stay and was lucky to get a unit on the top floor, in a corner with a fantastic view of the water and downtown. We kept telling her how expensive this would be as a condo. While... 06/16/2007

This weekend provides an opportunity to increase awareness and knowledge about living a more sustainable Green lifestyle.  The Pinellas Living Green Expo will be held in downtown St. Petersburg on Saturday June 16th (9-5) & Sunday June 17th (10-4).  The FREE event will be held at the Coliseum, located at 535 4th Ave North.The event will host several vendors showcasing concepts, products, and services to the community.  Look for demonstrations on how to design homes, cities, and transportation systems to be more economically and ecologically sound.  Also new this year is a film and seminar venue.  A few of the films are being provided by Eckerd College and have not been readily available for viewing in this area before (hats off to my alma mater).Also happening this weekend is the Clam B... 06/13/2007

Saturday, June 9, 2007 is the Opening Exhibit of Purses and Passion at The Studio@ 620. a unique fundraiser for the YWCA. The exhibition of 100 photos of women and their purses has some stunning color photos.Equally exciting is the process - professional photographers teamed with YWCA girls and taught them to interview, record and photograph! The exhibit has photos from both groups - and you'd be hard pressed to tell some of them apart, After a bruncheon on Sunday there will be a quick tour of the photographs again, and then they will move to The Arts Center on Central Avenue where they will be exhibited until Labor Day. 06/09/2007

From our homes to our community - let's learn about living Green         Next weekend at the Coliseum / Sunshine Center in St Petersburg they are holding the 2nd Annual Pinellas Living Green Expo. Pinellas Living Green inc.is a non-profit organization created "to promote sustainability-oriented products and behaviors in Pinellas County" The idea is educate local "residents on ways to lead more healthy and sustainable lives with less impact on the environment." Often you find there are ways to Save Money and Save the Environment - a true - win-win for Pinellas County!This event is FREE and runs from 9am-5pm June 16th and from 10am-4pm on Sunday June 17th. There will even be FREE parking for the event. They have planned lots of FREE fun filled family activities and are even having a FREE ... 06/08/2007

Each Year, alarming numbers of discarded pets are euthanized. With euthanization rates of 73% in Pinellas and 83% in Hillsborough, these two counties lead the state and the nation in poor adoption and high kill rates.(1) Pet Pal Rescue was founded in the 1980’s as a non-profit organization to rescue dogs and cats targeted for euthanization from animal shelters. The sad fact is that, during their weekly visits to shelters, they are able to rescue only a fraction of the animals in need. It is heartbreaking to discover that the animals they cannot rescue are almost always euthanized. Pet Pal Rescue invests hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on rehabilitating the animals they rescue. Most are either sick, injured or require specialized training. Unfortunately, the adoption fee doe... 06/04/2007

The Cloisters condominiums, downtown St Petersburg, FloridaMarket Update for May 2007   The Cloisters was the first of the "new" condos along Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg, and was completed in 2000. There are 3 units per floor, with a common lobby foyer. These are beneath the Penthouse level. On the ground floor is Market Express, with quick prepared foods and some basics to walk home with. Enjoy the early morning freshness with a wonderful cup of expresso at one of their sidewalk tables. There are currently two Cloisters condos for sale, one with 1,842 sq ft at $749,500 and the other with 2,694 sq ft for $879,000. Both are on the third floor. So far in 2007 there have been two closed sales in The Cloisters, both 1,842 sq ft - one sold at $650,000 and the other at $660,240.Sha... 06/02/2007

The Florencia luxury condominiums St Petersburg FloridaMarket Report for May 2007The Florencia is a luxury condo building completed by JMC in 2001 with 50 condominium units and 2 retail condominiums on the ground floor. Few units come on the market here.There are currently two Florencia condominiums for sale, one with 2,630 sq ft for $1,299,000 and another with 3,000 sq ft for $1,975,000. A third unit will be coming on the market in June, with 2,700 sq ft for $1,100,000. There are three floor plans in the building, and this is a rare time when one of each floor plan will be on the market for sale. There have been no units sold so far in 2007. The newer Hampton Inn is across the street from the Florencia, and the St Petersburg Yacht Club is diagonally across the street. BayWalk is just a... 06/02/2007

400 BeachLuxury Condominium in downtown St Petersburg, Florida  This condo is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2008. Trim work and painting is currently being done on the retail shops and city homes surrounding the tower building. There are three 400 Beach condominium units available for purchase at this time: 3,534 sq ft on the 12th floor for $1,779,000; 3,293 sq ft on the 20th floor for $1,950,014 and 4,300 sq ft on the 26th floor for $2,475,000.  Construction is still partially blocking the roads around the building: 4th Ave N, 5th Ave N, and Beach Drive. Straub Park, just across Beach Drive from the 400 Beach condominium, is the scene for art shows, music festivals, and general strolling. The Vinoy Basin is seeing activity with the rebuilding of the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel ... 06/02/2007

Vinoy Place luxury condominiumsdowntown St Petersburg, Florida  Vinoy Place consists of four towers and several luxurious townhomes facing the Vinoy Basin and Tampa Bay in downtown St. Petersburg, adjacent to the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel. There are currently 6 condominium units for sale in Vinoy Place. They range from $799,900 for 1,793 sq ft to $2,799,000 for a 4,326 sq ft townhouse. Prices range from $346 to $693 per sq ft.One Vinoy Place condo is under contract, which is listed at $1,250,000.Two Vinoy Place condos have sold in 2007, one with 2,023 sq ft for $760,000 and the other with 3,630 sq ft for $1,825,000.Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.        06/02/2007

Parkshore Plaza - St Petersburg, Florida Parkshore Plaza is a great highrise (30 stories) luxury condominium in downtown St Petersburg on Beach Drive NE. It was finished mid-summer 2006.  At the end of May 2007 there were 17 condos active on the market, one 1,422 sq ft townhouse at $569,000 and 16 condos in the tower, ranging from $799,000 for 2,384 sq ft to $3,500,000 for 5,600 sq ft. Prices per sq ft range from $335 to $684.  One condo went to contract in May 2007 and one sold in May 2007 - the same unit. Unit #601 with 2,384 sq ft sold for $745,000. So far in 2007 there have been 5 closed condo sales in Parkshore Plaza, ranging from $539,000 for a 1,686 sq ft cityhome to $2,376,500 for 4,890 sq ft. That sale was actually a closing based on a preconstruction contract from the first ha... 06/02/2007

Can you believe that 2 new towers are proposed for downtown St. Petersburg?  We already have an over-abundance of available condos in new projects!  This new development claims to have available over 500 condos, 230 hotel rooms and retail.  Hopefully, as the project won't be complete until 2010, our market will be on the up-swing!  (have to stay optomistic at all times!)  05/30/2007

Condos under $350,000 in the Tampabay St. Pete area. I was showing property in St Pete beach, Treasure Island and Seminole yesterday. We looked at the Bridge Hampton Bay in St Pete Beach,($340,000) the Treasure Cay units on Paradise Island in Treasure Island ($325,000) and  Sunketch (which I personally like because of the garage space)on Isle of Capri also in Treasure Island ($290,000) My clients liked some features in each unit or complex but they felt they were not getting enough for their money. I all the units we saw were about 20 years old or older, 2 bedrooms 2 bath around 1000 square feet other than the  Sunketch  no garages. But all of them allowed small pets which was the most important thing for my clients. Long story short, to make them understand they the need to move off th... 05/29/2007

In over 8 years of experience with real estate cleaning and property management, it is the simplest maintenance that is often overlooked or postponed until costly repairs are necessary. The usual suspect is generally the tub and/or shower. Small cracks that appear in the tile grout over time never seem all that alarming or important but what Mr. or Ms. Homeowner doesn’t realize is that expensive damage is happening behind those innocent little cracks, that loose escution plate or tub spout and the unappealing caulk that never comes clean no matter how much bleach is used. With even minor grout cracks, the wall board behind the tile becomes soft from continually absorbing water and expands creating slight bulges in the wall tiles that will result in the tiles falling from the wall entire... 05/29/2007

check out the website www.TodayinStPete.com it is a calenad of events in St Pete, Treasure island, Madeira etc.. everything south of Ulmerton road please feel free to submit events we will be happy to post them for you It is a great website for locals as well as tourists and people that just moved or want to move to our area hope you injoy it Anne Hensel Broker South Beaches Real Estate Professionals 05/29/2007