As the song goes, “You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares, so go downtown.”
Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater are often described as little big cities, incorporating elements of major metropolises while retaining a local feel. Each has a downtown area filled with its own unique version of life in the Greater Tampa Bay area, with enough variation to provide something for everybody. Look around — life in the urban cores is alive and well.
Downtown St. Petersburg Districts:
- Waterfront Arts — This features the Dalí Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and St. Petersburg Museum of History and American Stage Theatre Company. Also known for nightlife, galleries and parks.
- Central Arts — Cuisine-based district made up of the 300 to 700 blocks of Central Avenue. Attractions include the Morean Arts Center, as well as many boutiques, coffee shops, breweries and more.
- EDGE — Historic District known for many locally owned, independent businesses with a vintage, antique vibe.
- Grand Central — This district is quaint and charming with a small-town feel. It has historic neighborhoods, studios and galleries.
- Warehouse Arts — An old industrial area now revitalized and fresh. Art studios and breweries are common.
- Pier — One of St. Pete’s renovated landmark projects. Features art exhibits, marketplace and restaurants at the very end with amazing views of the bay.
- Innovation — Incubates STEM fields with a smart growth mentality. More than 30 organizations participate in this initiative.
- MLK Business — Known for supporting local businesses. Missions include advocacy work including development projects and beautification efforts such as street clean-ups.
St. Petersburg’s downtown area, featuring many iconic districts and famous landmarks, paints a vibrant picture of life right beside the blue waters of Tampa Bay. This picturesque, progressive city is home to a tight-knit community that embodies both small-town approachability and bustling urban activity.
Residing in downtown St. Pete comes in many forms. Numerous high-rise apartments, condos and townhomes are scattered throughout the downtown area, providing an incredible variety of options all in one place. Take a pick at the variety of urban apartments, which just begin with the amenity-rich Wayland Apartments, luxurious Residences at 400 Central, the warm and inviting Cottonwood Bayview Apartments, the resort-style lofts at Vantage St. Pete, the sleek and stylish Hermitage Apartment Homes and so much more. Many new housing developments are planned for the city as well, downtown and beyond.
These residences are never too far from any of the city’s more than 100 retail shops, 73 restaurants, 12 bars and breweries or 24 famous museums and galleries. Nightlife in St. Petersburg is classy, yet laid back, and several restaurants here proudly rank among the state’s best. Arts and culture dominate in St. Pete. Murals adorn walls, architecture and art installations delight visitors to the pier, and museums are never hard to find.
St. Pete is a fun place to live, full of opportunity for professionals and businesses to thrive in and is constantly rising to meet the demands of a growing community. There is a sense of camaraderie and unity in this progressive city that newcomers are drawn to.
“It’s such a funky, funky place. We own that,” said JP DuBuque, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation. “When we get somebody here, as our mayor likes to say, ‘Once we get you here, we got ya. You’re not going to leave.’”
Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, offers a similar perspective.
“St. Pete has a unique blend of cultures that help define who we are as a city,” Mathis said. “There’s a sense of arts and creativity and energy that helps make the downtown district.”
He cites the collection of art and museums as examples of this multiculturalism.
Getting down to business, companies large and small, innovative and established thrive in St. Petersburg. Business incubators, co-working spaces and districts devoted to supporting communities of entrepreneurs create a strong mix of professionals.
Supplying a steady stream of young talent, the St. Petersburg College campus is less than a mile from the main downtown area and educates many of the 180,000 higher education students in GTB. USF has a campus near St. Pete’s Innovation District, where young professionals join forces with established companies and government entities to make groundbreaking discoveries.
In short: “There is incredible demand for businesses who want to be in St. Pete,” Jason Mathis said.
St. Pete is highly compact and walkable. While transportation is still vehicle-focused, the layout encourages movement on foot or by pedal. Look out for electric scooters, too.
