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Places This Week: Iconic restaurant for sale; Apogee closes on site
A weekly roundup of local real estate deals.
Munch’s is listed for sale
Munch’s, a popular South St. Petersburg restaurant, is now up for sale. Located at 3920 6th St. S. in Coquina Key, the restaurant and several surrounding properties are on the market for $2.7 million.
Dean and Clariece Munch opened the establishment in 1952 as a sundries store.
Carmen Taylor (seen here with owner Larry Munch) has been a server at Munch’s for 14 years. 2018 photo by Bill DeYoung.
Munch’s has been in the same spot, serving breakfast and lunch, for 70 years.
Their son, Larry, took over ownership in 1994 and hopes the family business remains a restaurant. In 2011, Munch’s was featured on an episode of TV’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
Lisa Ulrich, a commercial and investment specialist for Barkett Realty, is working with the owners on selling the property.
Apogee closes on a property for its 23-story tower
Apogee Real Estate Partners has purchased the site at 155 17th St. S. for its planned 23-story apartment development.
St. Pete 18th Street Warehouse LLC sold the property near Tropicana Field to Apogee in a $2.85 million deal.
The purchase comes after the St. Pete’s Development Review Commission unanimously approved the project in May.
An elevation from the south of Apogee’s planned 23-story tower. Image: Apogee/City of St. Petersburg documents
The site is on the northwest corner of 17th Street South, providing a direct connection to the Pinellas Trail, and is across from the Mill Creek project. The original proposal was to construct it with 24 stories.
St. Petersburg-based Apogee Real Estate Partners, which is led by John Stadler and John Barkett, intend to demolish the existing 32,000-square-foot warehouse.
“We saw the site several years ago. With [John] Barkett working on the Trails Crossing project, we see the trail as a huge asset connecting into the Warehouse Arts District and Tropicana Field,” Stadler previously told the St. Pete Catalyst.
The proposed $49 million tower would have 204 dwelling units, 6,000 square feet of commercial space and a 300-space parking garage. The garage will also serve the retail users.
The first five floors will be designed in an industrial style with a brick facade, and the building will also have a butterfly-styled roof to align with the architecture within the district.
“You have all this cool activity in the Warehouse Arts District, then you have this gap and then you get into the Edge District. It’s this divide that this project is going to connect it all,” Barkett previously said.
Apogee Real Estate Partners IV LLC also took out a $2.28 million mortgage loan from Climate First Bank, according to public records.
St. Petersburg gym sells
The shuttered Deep Blue Fitness gym has been scooped up by an investment firm.
The closed 2,940-square-foot gym at 1123 1st Ave. N. is across from the Red Mesa Mercado restaurant in the Edge District. The Deep Blue gym opened in 2017 and offered group classes, personal training and recovery yoga.
The Deep Blue Fitness gym in the Edge District. Google Maps.
The 1123 Property Holdings Inc. sold the property to St. Pete 1123 Owner LLC in a $1.7 million deal. The buying entity is linked to Virginia-based Kettler, one of the largest multifamily development, investment and property management companies serving regions in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.
Kettler is the same group that’s partnered with Ybor developer Darryl Shaw on his vision for Gas Worx, a 50-acre master-planned development in Ybor that includes 5,000 homes, 500,000 square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail.
Seafood restaurant’s parking lot sells
The parking lot of Frenchy’s Stone Crab and Seafood Market in Dunedin has sold for $1.5 million.
Frenchy’s Stone Crab and Seafood Market in Dunedin. Google Maps.
The 2494 Bayshore Blvd LLC sold the surface parking lot to 565 Causeway Blvd LLC.
The buyer is Pam Ball, who is connected to Frenchy’s Stone Crab and Seafood Market, according to public records. Frenchy’s staff said they don’t have any knowledge about the sale and are not planning to expand at the site.
William Kochenour III with Santek Management represented the buyer.
Largo Winn-Dixie gets new owner
The freestanding Winn-Dixie at 2460 E. Bay Dr. has a new owner.
Be Investment One LLC, controlled by local doctor Vijay Patel, sold to Mickle William Jr. The 41,745-square-foot grocery store sold for $4.3 million.
