A $937M Bridge, a $407M Stadium, and St. Pete's Biggest Office Deal in Years

The Howard Frankland Bridge just opened its trail and express lanes after years of construction. USF dropped new stadium renderings and opened premium ticket sales with the first game less than 500 days away. St. Pete's tallest office tower just sold. And a Michelin-connected chef quietly opened a new restaurant on 3rd Street South.

8 stories. Let's get into it.

🌉 You Can Ride a Bike Across Tampa Bay Now

What happened: On May 27, FDOT opened new express lanes and a nearly 7-mile shared-use trail on the rebuilt Howard Frankland Bridge.

The details: This is the final major milestone of a $937 million project. The trail is 12 feet wide and fully separated from traffic. It connects Tampa near Cypress Point Park to 4th Street North in St. Pete. There are four shaded rest stops with views of Old Tampa Bay along the way. The express lanes sit in the median and are currently toll-free during testing. When tolls go live, trips will cost 50 cents. Four general-use lanes run alongside two express lanes in each direction. Southbound express lanes opened within days of the northbound.

Why it matters: Tampa Bay has talked about connecting the two cities by foot and bike for a long time. Now it is real. This is the biggest infrastructure win in the bay in years. More lanes means better flow. A dedicated trail means a new way to experience the region.

My take: The first morning that trail opened, people were already out on bikes and on foot crossing Tampa Bay on a separated path away from 70 mph traffic. That is not a small thing. Infrastructure like this changes how people think about where to live, work, and invest. Watch the 4th Street corridor in St. Pete and the Reo Street connector in Tampa over the next year. Development tends to follow trails.

🏟️ USF's New Stadium Is Taking Shape — And the Suites Are Already Gone

What happened: USF Athletics released new video renderings of its on-campus football stadium this week and opened premium ticket sales for the 2027 inaugural season.

The details: The stadium costs $407 million and will seat 35,000 fans. It sits on the east side of the Tampa campus. The first game is set for September 5, 2027 against Louisville. Renderings show club seats, suites, two types of box seating, and what USF calls the longest rooftop bar in Florida running the full length of the South Tower. All 28 luxury suites are already sold out. General seating goes on sale this fall. Season tickets start as low as $25 per game. Rising next to the stadium is a 150,000-square-foot athlete center with a weight room, sports medicine clinic, a barbershop, and a DJ recording studio. Crews broke ground in November 2024 and the iron skeleton is already visible on campus.

Why it matters: USF has played home games at Raymond James Stadium for 30 years. Moving to a true on-campus home changes the student experience, the game-day culture, and the program's identity. The luxury suites selling out before tickets even went public tells you the appetite is real.

My take: This is not just a sports story. A 35,000-seat stadium activating the northeast corner of the Tampa campus will pull investment toward that whole corridor. Student housing, food and beverage, and retail follow stadium infrastructure. The Bucs sell out Raymond James every week and that area around Dale Mabry keeps developing because of it. Watch what happens around Fletcher and Bruce B. Downs over the next few years. USF's program is also quietly eyeing Power 4 conference relevance. A stadium at this level makes that conversation more serious.

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🏗️ Ybor's Tallest Residential Building Just Topped Out at Gasworx

What happened: KETTLER's Olivette at Gasworx in Ybor City reached its full height of 10 stories in April, making it the tallest residential building in the district so far.

The details: Olivette will have 376 apartments and more than 29,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Moss Construction is the general contractor. Two outdoor courtyards sit on the seventh floor. Next door, a 28,000-square-foot marketplace inside a historic warehouse is planned for 2027. The Stevedore, Gasworx's 390-unit second building, opened April 1 and is already leasing. At full buildout, Gasworx plans to deliver about 5,000 homes, 500,000 square feet of office space, and 120,000 square feet of retail.

Why it matters: Gasworx is no longer just a plan on paper. Two residential buildings are now open or leasing. A third just topped out. An office tower is on the way. Retail is moving in. Ybor is becoming a real neighborhood again.

My take: Look at how KETTLER named these buildings. Olivette is the steamship that carried immigrants from Havana to Tampa. The Stevedore honors the dockworkers who built Tampa's early port economy. The Luisa is named for the only female lector ever recorded in Ybor's cigar factories. These are not just names. They are a statement about what kind of place this wants to be. Developers who build with that kind of intention tend to attract residents who stay. Duckweed Urban Grocery is already committed to coming in. The foundation of a real district is taking shape.

🏢 St. Pete's Tallest Office Tower Just Changed Hands

What happened: Feldman Equities and its partners bought 200 Central Avenue, the 28-story office tower anchoring downtown St. Pete's business district.

The details: The building is 308,000 square feet and home to Raymond James, ARK Invest, Merrill Lynch, Dynasty Financial Partners, Trenam Law, and Industrious. The purchase price was not disclosed. The previous owner bought it for $65.75 million in 2017. Feldman and its partners plan to put more than $20 million into upgrades including new HVAC, elevators, mechanical systems, and common areas. Ground-floor tenants include Craft Kafe, Taverna Costale, and Naked Farmer.

Why it matters: Feldman already owns the First Central Tower and Morgan Stanley Tower in St. Pete. Adding 200 Central makes them the dominant office landlord in the entire downtown. Committing $20 million to upgrades is a clear bet that St. Pete's office market has real long-term demand.

My take: Office is struggling in most cities. Not here. Florida markets have held up better than almost anywhere in the country since the pandemic. When a firm that already owns multiple buildings in a market goes back and buys the crown jewel, that is a signal worth paying attention to. Feldman is also co-developing the Waldorf Astoria Residences a few blocks away. They are building a serious long-term position in this city. That kind of conviction from an operator who knows the market well tends to bring other investors along.

🚢 The Port Is Full — And Building a Fourth Cruise Terminal

What happened: Port Tampa Bay is moving forward with plans for a fourth cruise terminal after running out of room at all three existing terminals.

The details: The port handled a record 1.66 million cruise passengers in 2025. It expects 1.8 million in 2026, with 394 cruise ship calls this year. In March alone, the port logged 51 ship calls, its highest monthly total ever. Port leadership confirmed it has already turned away cruise lines because there is simply no space. The fourth terminal would go north of the current three, on the north end of the channel. Design work is expected to wrap within the next year. When built, the terminal could add 200 ship calls per year, more than 1 million additional passengers, and over $100 million in new annual economic activity.

Why it matters: Tampa Bay is growing faster than its own infrastructure can keep up with. The cruise industry is one of the strongest drivers of hospitality, retail, and commercial real estate demand in any waterfront city. A fourth terminal is not a nice-to-have. It is a necessity.

My take: The Channelside area is in the middle of one of the biggest transformations in the city. Pendry Tampa opens this year. Water Street's entertainment district announcement dropped in December. Now add a fourth cruise terminal that projects 1 million new annual visitors. The real estate question is which parcels around the north end of the channel move first. That corridor is worth watching closely right now.

🍣 A Michelin-Connected Chef Just Opened a Restaurant in St. Pete

What happened: Mei, a new fine dining restaurant from the team behind Michelin-starred Kosen in Tampa, opened last week at 320 3rd Street South in downtown St. Pete.

The details: Executive Chef Alex Chamberlain leads the kitchen. He was previously Chef de Cuisine at Kosen. The restaurant is backed by Orlando restaurateurs Jimmy and Johnny Tung, who founded Bento Asian Kitchen and operate multiple Michelin-starred concepts. Mei blends French cooking technique with Nordic ingredients and Japanese flavors. It sits on the ground floor of the Camden Pier District Apartments, in the former Bento space that closed earlier this year after eight years. Chamberlain named the restaurant after his sister.

Why it matters: A Michelin-caliber team chose downtown St. Pete for their next personal project. Not Tampa. Not Miami. That is a meaningful vote for where this city is heading as a serious food destination.

My take: Mei opened with almost no announcement. No press release. No big fanfare. That is usually how the most serious restaurants operate. The chefs let the food do the talking. St. Pete keeps attracting this level of operator, and it matters beyond the food itself. High-caliber restaurants pull in residential tenants, hotel guests, and retail investment. They raise the floor of the whole block. Mei is worth following.

👓 A Dallas Firm Spent $18.5M on Central Avenue — Warby Parker Is Moving In

What happened: Warby Parker will open its first St. Pete store at 1124 Central Avenue in the EDGE District, inside a building owned by Dallas-based investment firm 90Ten.

The details: The store takes over the former Bacon Bitch space. 90Ten has spent $18.5 million buying multiple properties along Central Avenue since December 2025. The firm's strategy is simple: hold existing tenants, improve the blocks, and bet on walkable Central Avenue long-term. The managing partner called Central one of the best retail streets in the country. Warby Parker is already hiring. No opening date has been set.

Why it matters: Outside capital is consolidating one of Florida's strongest retail corridors. When institutional money starts buying up blocks in a neighborhood, the floor for that entire street tends to rise.

My take: Warby Parker picks their sites carefully. They go where the demographics support it. Their decision to open in the EDGE District is a vote for the neighborhood. Combine that with 90Ten's $18.5 million position across multiple blocks and you have a corridor with serious momentum behind it. The EDGE District already had the bones. The Moxy Hotel, AC Hotel, Bodega, Enigma, Sweetgreen. Now an outside firm is locking up the real estate. That is the next chapter.

❌ Red Mesa Cantina Closes After 16 Years Downtown

What happened: Red Mesa Cantina permanently closed on June 2 after 16 years as one of downtown St. Pete's most recognized restaurants.

The details: The restaurant was at 128 3rd Street South. It was known for tacos, margaritas, a large tequila selection, and rooftop events. The closure also ends Red Mesa Event Spaces upstairs, which hosted weddings and corporate events for years. When Red Mesa opened in 2010, the old inverted pyramid Pier was still open, Central Avenue had vacant storefronts, and BayWalk was struggling. It ran through all of it.

Why it matters: Sixteen years in a downtown that completely rebuilt itself around you is a real run. That space now sits in the middle of one of the most active development corridors in Florida.

My take: This is not a failure story. It is a legacy story. Red Mesa opened when downtown St. Pete was still working its way back. It survived a recession and a pandemic and watched the city grow up around it. The real question now is what comes next at 128 3rd Street South. That location is genuinely valuable in today's market. The event space infrastructure is already in place above it. Whoever signs that lease steps into a ready-made platform in the heart of everything.

THE CLOSE

A $937 million bridge just connected two cities with a bike path. A $407 million stadium is rising on campus. St. Pete's tallest office tower has a new owner and $20 million headed toward it. And the Port is already turning away ships.

Tampa Bay is not slowing down. It is getting more serious. The infrastructure is catching up, the institutions are making long bets, and the culture keeps leveling up. We are out here documenting all of it in real time.

See you next week.

— Real Tampa Bay

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