Real Estate Views from St Pete

Movies in the Park in downtown St Petersburg are the fare for May. As part of the St Petersburg Parks 100th anniversary celebration there will be a free movie every Thursday evening in North Straub Park, along Beach Drive NE just north of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Live Florida folk music will start at 7 pm and the movies will start at dark. You can bring a blanket or you can rent a chair for $5. You can bring your own picnic or you can buy food there in the park or you can get a Meal To Go from any of the surrounding restaurants. What a great place to enjoy a movie - look out over the yacht basin and Tampa Bay, see the lights of the downtown luxury condos as they come on, and hopefully enjoy a balmy breeze.

North Straub Park is right across from our ALVA International, Inc. real estate ofice - one more event just steps from our door.

Stop&Shop Market has the best Cuban sandwiches in downtown St Petersburg. It's at the edge of downtown, at the corner of Fifth Avenue N and 1st St N (432 1st St North) and is very unpretentious. Yet - people line up for their hot pressed Cubans - I like mine "Original", thanks. They make lots of other sandwiches to order, so if you're going in to pick it up at lunchtime, you should call ahead (727) 822-0276. Then take it back to your office, your condo, your hotel, or even better - take it to one of the parks and enjoy the Florida weather and lifestyle.

There are no tables inside or outside Stop&Shop Market so it's Take Out only.

Downtown St Petersburg has lots of waterfront parks, so enjoy your lunch, peoplewatch and boatwatch, maybe get a walk in for a little exercise, and enjoy your Stop&Shop Cuban.  Prices are reasonable - I can send Rob to get my Cuban and buy one for each of us for less money than many places charge for just one Cuban.

The Hangar restaurant opening in downtown St Petersburg is this weekend April 10 and 11 at the Galbraith Terminal of the Albert Whitted Airport. Sunday evening at The Hangar from 7 - 10 pm there will be complimentary hors d'oeuvres, cash bar and free parking. A $10 donation is requested for the Albert Whitted Airport Preservation Society. The Hangar, the third downtown restaurant venture by Steve Westphal, joins Parkshore Grill and 400 Beach Seafood and Tap House. 

Albert Whitted Airport was named 2009 Florida general aviation airport of the year. Approx8imately 185 aircraft are based there and there are about 80,000 general aviation operations annually. The 10,000 sq ft terminal building was completed in 2007 and the Galbraith Terminal was named after local philanthropists, John and Rosemary Galbraith, who have been great supporters of the city for many years, perticularly to the airport project and the marine science center at Eckerd College. The Hangar Restaurant is on the second floor of the Galbraith Terminal at 540 1st Street S in downtown St Petersburg.

Sunday, April 11 will be Family Day from 4-7 pm with complimentary snacks, non-alcoholic beverages and free parking. Donations are welcome.

The Hanger Restaurant in downtown St Petersburg officially opens on Monday, April 12th at 8:00 am.

An Eleazer book signing in downtown St Petersburg Florida is scheduled for Saturday, May 1st, from 10 a.m. til 1 p.m. at The Simms Team real estate office, ALVA International, Inc. in downtown St Pete at 238 Beach Drive NE, St Petersburg, just across from the Museum of Fine Arts.

Bill Eleazer is a St Pete resident and was a professor at Stetson Law School for many years. His legal acumen as well as his Georgia upbringing are evident in this crime thriller, Savannah Law.

Enjoy the legal strategy when a law student is pitted against a notorious national criminal attorney; watch the foibles at a dysfunctional faculty meeting; feel the warmth of the local Cheers bar.

Eleazer builds plot suspense, inside and outside the courtroom, as well as memorable characters and has us hoping that this will be the first of a series of crime thrillers with continuity.

Bring your copy of Savannah Law to the Eleazer book signing in downtown St Petersburg or buy a copy at the book signing, but do come and meet the author, William Eleazer at ALVA International on May 1st.

Kahwa Coffee in downtown St Petersburg Florida continues to be a favorite neighborhood place - so popular, in fact, that they've opened a second place 7 blocks away, also in downtown St Pete.

Just recently Kahwa Espresso Bar at 475 2nd Street North in downtown St Pete celebrated their second anniversary - and to thank their customers, gave away coffees for the whole day: coffees, lattes, espressos, etc. I was there that morning, sitting at the counter, and enjoyed watching the reactions of the surprised customers. I splurged with a croissant that morning, wanting to give them some revenue. Thank you, Kahwa!

Mornings bring a mix of people having coffee there - business meetings, arts discussions, people on their way to work, people there to read the newspaper or check their email on the free wifi. Outside seating, too, so there are children and dogs among the familiar faces.

Recently Kahwa opened the Kahwa Cafe at 204 2nd Ave South, which also offers a lunch menu with fresh sandwiches and salads.Both shops are environmentally conscious, promoting the use of ceramic cups, and using recycled paper cups and products. Any plastics used are biodegradable.

Downtown St Petersburg has lots of choices for coffee, from Starbucks to NOLA, with its chicory coffee and beignets. Marketplace Express is in the building next to ours, and Vinoy Club members can enjoy free coffee at the Vinoy - and with all the choices, I still like Kahwa.Keep us with them on their Kahwa Coffee Roasting blog.

Come to downtown St Petersburg to enjoy some coffee ... and if you want to live in downtown St Pete, call The Simms Team at ALVA International, Inc., a real estate broker on Beach Drive in downtown St Pete.

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The Tampa Bay Blues Fest St Petersburg will be held in downtown St Pete April 9-11 in the waterfront Vinoy Park. For the last 15 years people have been coming from all over the world to hear great blue played here between the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel and Tampa Bay.

The Blue Fest St Petersburg this year features names such as Jimmie Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, J.J. Grey & Mofro, Bettye Lavette, Little Ed and the Blues Imperials, Magic Slim, Joe Lewis Walker and Shemekia Copeland.A 3 day ticket is $80.  After hours shows continue at NOVA 535 in  St Petersburg and go on until 2 am.

Throughout the festival grounds, you will enjoy tasty food, including seafood, barbeque, Cuban cuisine, and other culinary treats. Festival vendors also include arts & crafts. Premium beer and wine are also available. Enjoy the great waterfront location while you listen to great blues music.

And if you decide that you want to live here in St Petersburg, contact The SIMMS Team at ALVA International, Inc., a boutique real estate company in downtown St. Petersburg Florida.

Yes, Chihuly is coming to downtown St Petersburg and the opening of the Chihuly Exhibit at 400 Beach Drive is scheduled for the Fourth of July. The Chihuly Gallery will be at the corner of Beach Drive and 4th Avenue North, taking the vacant corner space as well as the space previously occupied by Davis Anthony Home & Garden, which has moved to another location in the same building, just around the corner on 4th Avenue N.

The Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, also on Beach Drive in downtown St Petersburg, a few years ago had crowds lined up along the waterfront park, waiting to get in. They passed along umbrellas to keep the sun off.

Downtown St Petersburg and Beach Drive in particular are becoming the Place To Be.  The "art district" which overlooks Tampa Bay will be anchored on the north by Chihuly Collection and on the south by the new Salvador Dali Museum, scheduled to open 1/11/11. In between are waterfront parks, shops, and a variety of restaurants, most of which have outdoor seating.

Come to visit Beach Drive and downtown St Pete - or even better, come and buy a place to live in this wonderfully walkable downtown.