In 2025, the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership collaborated with developer Kolter Urban to widen the sidewalk near the Art House condominium tower. 

This phase is part of a larger effort to make a block between 2nd and 3rd Street more walkable, according to the Downtown Partnership’s CEO Jason Mathis. In a public-private partnership, the organization is helping create a “larger plaza area” for small business, restaurant and bar owners to utilize. 

“This is a particularly important block in our downtown,” he explained. “It’s often called the first block because it’s got a lot of historic structures on it. It’s also, in a lot of ways, the center of our nightlife culture.” 

The area is adjacent to the Jannus Live entertainment venue. 

“If you go there on a Friday night at 11 p.m., it’s not always the safest location,” Mathis continued. “The way that it’s structured, the sidewalk is up against the buildings and the service area for a lot of the bars and restaurants is pushed out to the streets. There’s just not a lot of room to maneuver through there.” 

He explained that the project comes at a cost. The widening of the sidewalks would remove parking spaces.

Rendering: Kimley-Horn

“Restaurants and small businesses usually do not want to get rid of parking,” Mathis said. “But in this case and just on this block, we think it makes a lot of sense. There’s been a lot of construction that has happened on that block.” 

“For a long time, there hasn’t been full parking anyway,” he continued. “People have found ways to park at other locations and owners are not dependent on that parking to be successful.” 

Rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft have reduced the amount of parking spaces needed, Mathis added. 

The second phase would focus on the north side of the street on the block. Mathis and his team are planning on completing some landscaping work between the sidewalk and street. This would help allow “the plaza area to be closer to the restaurants.”  

A third phase is being developed to complete the south side of the street near the 200 Central officer tower. Mathis hopes to turn this section into a valet drop off area, loading zone or an extended plaza. 

He explained that restaurants such as The Naked Farmer and Craft Kafe are located at 200 Central. These businesses “might also benefit from having a larger service area.” 

Mathis and his team are currently raising private funds for the effort. Business owners have collected $250,000. Additionally, the Downtown Partnership is exploring funding options from the City of St. Petersburg. There may be Intown Community Redevelopment Area dollars available, Mathis said. 

Rendering: Kimley-Horn

“Right now, I think there is still some question about whether we can just do this privately or whether we would rely on the City to do this construction project,” he added. “Hopefully by the end of the year, the north side of the street will have an improved pedestrian experience and a little bit nicer dining area for the bars and restaurants.” 

Ryan Griffin is the owner of the Mandarin Hide cocktail bar on Central Avenue. He has been a proponent of the project. 

Griffin explained the effort is “essentially a pilot program of what the rest of downtown could be.” He believes that it can foster a conversation about reinventing the area. 

Furthermore, the walkability enhancements could have an impact on events such as the First Friday block party. 

“I think that would help all of the local businesses,” Griffin said. “More importantly, I think it would draw people from outside of St. Pete to come down and visit St. Pete.” 

Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern and The Galley co-owner Pete Boland believes that businesses have “outgrown” the infrastructure on the block.

“The crowds are so big on Fridays and Saturdays that it’s kind of created a difficult problem here,” he said. “We just can’t get to the tables and my server was getting accosted and groped all the time.” 

With wider sidewalks, this could help Boland and his team better control customers and keep staff safe. 

“There was a shooting that happened in 2023 in front of Mary Margaret’s,” Boland added. “These were people that were walking through my patio that were not patrons.” 

When asked whether he believes the parking cost benefit is worth it, Boland said, “absolutely.” 

“Most of those spaces that have been available over the last few years, and haven’t been taken up by dumpsters and construction vehicles, have been used by employees and staff,” he explained. “I don’t think it’s going to affect our patrons’ ability to get to us, especially as our area becomes more desirable.”