New district markers now welcome residents and visitors to the Grand Central District, a neighborhood that has steadily grown into one of the Sunshine City’s most active, walkable neighborhoods.

One of the metal sculptures now stands at the intersection of Central Avenue and 16th Street in front of the Arte apartment complex.

Created by international artist Volkan Alkanoglu, the towering piece resembles a bird’s plumage.

A second structure, designed to resemble a palm tree, was installed next to the Vantage St. Pete apartments at 1st Avenue North and 16th Street.

“These were designed to reflect the artistic vibes and progressive feel that define the Grand Central District,” District Director Chris Arnold said during a Tuesday ribbon cutting.

The installations mark the culmination of a five-year effort by the Grand Central District Association, which reviewed more than 100 submissions from artists across the country before selecting the final designs.

BankUnited, a regional bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, is opening a new branch at 900 Central Avenue, on the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North in downtown St. Pete. The bank will occupy 2,700 square feet on the first floor of the building.

Built in 1918 as the Western Hotel, and renamed the St. Petersburg Hotel two years later, the three-story brick structure is the EDGE District's oldest building.

Over more than a century, the building has housed a post office sub-station, a drug store, a grocer, and a string of other businesses. The first-floor space BankUnited will occupy was most recently home to an Anytime Fitness location, which closed in late 2022.

St. Petersburg City Council denied an appeal last Thursday challenging a previously approved 619-unit apartment development known as Alton Skyway in the Skyway Marina District, allowing the project to move forward.

The appeal failed in a 6-1 vote, with Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders casting the lone vote supporting the appeal. Councilmember Brandi Gabbard was absent.

The project, proposed by developer Kolter Multifamily, will be constructed on a 17.25-acre property at 3200 34th Street South, replacing a former St. Petersburg College public safety training property with eight five-story apartment buildings.

The first phase of development will include 342 apartments across four buildings on the southern portion of the site, while phase two will add the remaining 277 units in four additional buildings on the northern portion of the property.

The community will contain one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 618 to 1,322 square feet.

At full buildout, the development will have 883 parking spaces, exceeding the minimum requirement of 775 spaces.

Plans also set aside a one-acre outparcel on the southwest corner of the property for a future 5,000-square-foot commercial building, though no retail space is currently included in the approved site plan.

The City of St. Pete has officially approved a major zoning change along the SunRunner corridor, clearing the way for taller buildings, denser development, and a shift toward more walkable neighborhoods.

On Thursday, City Council unanimously approved the SunRunner Bus Rapid Transit Overlay, marking the final step in adopting the new regulations.

At its core, the new overlay changes what can be built along Central Avenue west of 19th Street and nearby streets served by the SunRunner, the city’s 10-mile bus rapid transit line connecting downtown to the beaches.

The overlay creates a transit-oriented development district, giving property owners the option to follow a new set of rules designed to support transit use, increase development intensity, and allow a wider mix of uses than what is permitted under existing zoning.

Unlike a traditional rezoning, the overlay is optional, meaning developers can choose whether to use the new standards or stick with the underlying zoning already in place.

The overlay introduces one of the most closely watched changes: the elimination of minimum parking requirements.