Katz Capital Management LLC has bought an office building in west St. Petersburg that formerly belonged to Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Pineywoods Florida VI LLC, a fund associated with Katz Capital, paid $4.5 million for the property at 5999 Central Ave., according to a deed recorded Oct. 5 in Pinellas County. Pineywoods has a $3 million mortgage with Valley Bank for the property, county records show. Neither Katz Capital, a private equity real estate firm in Tampa, nor Anchor Insurance returned calls for comment on the purchase. Anchor stopped writing new business earlier this year and sold its policies to Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance. The four-story, 33,170-square-foot office building acquired by Katz Capital is one-half of the Wittner Center. The other building in the complex, at 5959 Central Ave., is still owned by Anchor, according to Pinellas property records.
Florida Tiger Bay Clubs will kick off their election 2020 series Friday, (Oct. 9) at noon with a virtual panel discussion on Amendment 3, which would establish a top-two open primary system for primary elections for state legislators, governor and cabinet. Confirmed panelists are former congressman Jason Altmire, state senator and Republican party chairman Joe Gruters, Democratic party chairman Terri Rizzo and Glen Burhans, Jr. of voting advocacy group All Voters Vote. To watch the free event, click here.
With a 3.8 percent positivity rate in Wednesday's overnight Covid-19 data and a 4 percent positivity rate Thursday, St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman speculated in a tweet that the city may be seeing the "beginning of the impact of less restrictions, school, etc." While the city's rolling two-week average remains at 3.1 percent, the mayor urged residents not to become complacent. "We will remain focused here in St. Pete," he wrote. "If we want to see the numbers go down to where they were, we need to be vigilant in wearing our masks and maintaining distance, especially when indoors."
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority has announced the return of limited service of the 300x route beginning Monday, Oct. 12. The service was temporarily suspended on March 29 due to Covid-19. The 300x route transports passengers from the Ulmerton Park & Ride to the Marion Transit Center in Downtown Tampa. It will operate on a limited schedule Monday through Friday. Trips will depart the Ulmerton Park & Ride at 6:10 a.m., 7:10a.m., 3:17 p.m. and 4:17 p.m. Trips will depart the Marion Transit Center at 7:42 a.m., 8:42 a.m., 4:42 p.m. and 5:42 p.m.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Elijah "Ed" Armstrong to the the Southwest Florida Water Management District governing board. Armstrong lives in Dunedin and is an attorney with Hill Ward Henderson. He previously was at Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns and has served as a trustee at Pasco Hernando State College. DeSantis also named John Mitten of Brooksville to the SWFMWD board. Mitten is is the franchise owner of Chick-fil-A in Spring Hill and a Hernando County commissioner. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate. SWFMWD is one of five regional agencies directed by Florida state law to protect and preserve water resources.
HCI Group (NYSE: HCI), a Tampa-based insuretech company, has named Gitanjali Clark and Bob Lopes to its board observer program. The company launched the program in 2018 to train selected individuals in public company board operations, governance and law, among other things, and prepare them to serve on public company boards. Clark is a litigation attorney at Dias & Associates in Tampa, where she represents long-term care facilities, nursing home administrators and nurses in civil litigation. Lopes is chief human resources officer for Randstad North America, a global leader in the HR services industry.
The Ruby Tuesday restaurant at Tyrone Square is one of 185 stores in the chain that will close permanently. The restaurant has not been open since early in the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring. Ruby Tuesday, a casual dining chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday, citing the impact of Covid-19 on its business, and saying it plans to use the filing to strengthen its business by reducing liabilities and repositioning the company to emerge a stronger organization. A bankruptcy judge will decide if the company can reject unexpired leases and abandon any remaining personal property at the closed restaurants. Other local stores that will close permanently are in Tampa Commons at 201 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. and at 1824 N. Westshore Blvd. About 236 Ruby Tuesday restaurants around the county will continue to operate.
Limited restaurant operations will continue to have an impact on the staff at P.F. Chang's China Bistro locations in Clearwater, Tampa and Brandon. The company sent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications to local government leaders in each community, saying workers have seen their hours cut by more than 50 percent because of Covid-19-related circumstances. "The reduction of hours, and whom is effected [sic] remains unclear, but we anticipate that this will affect up to 75 employees who have bene employed for more than six months and previously worked an average of more than 20 hours per week," the company said in separate WARN notices sent to the state. P.F. Chang's listed 76 employees in Clearwater, 90 in Tampa and 103 in Brandon.
The St. Pete Catalyst is dedicated to helping residents get involved in the community through our Impact Connector. Own a restaurant, grocery store or catering company? Donate excess food to a local charity or food scraps for compost through the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger. Interested in giving to those in need? Reach St. Pete is current collecting items such as shorts, shirts and children's clothing supplies and diapers. Want to help support youth athletics? Sign up as a coach with Girls on the Run. If your organization is looking for volunteers, click here to submit your opportunity and we'll share it on our platform.
The Cheesecake Factory is staffing up for a December opening at Westfield Countryside in Clearwater. The restaurant is looking to hire about 270 staff members to fill positions such as line cooks, prep cook, bartenders, cashiers, servers, dishwashers, bussers and hosts. Apply online at http://cakecareers.com/clearwater The opening date for the public is Dec. 8.The Cheesecake Factory has been named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for seven consecutive years. Westfield Countryside is at U.S. Highway 19 and Highway 580 in Clearwater.
St. Petersburg College has received a $100,000 grant from Jobs for the Future, Inc. to provide unemployed and underemployed residents a scholarship to earn a Google IT Support Professional Certificate. In as little as three months, students can complete the self-paced program fully online, which prepares them for entry-level roles as an IT Support Specialist. Upon, completion, students will be connected with employer-partners who participate in the Google IT Hiring Consortium. To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must be 18 or older and complete an application. Scholarship opportunities are limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, contact Dan Fumano at fumano.dan@spcollege.edu.
A drive-thru and walk-up Covid-19 testing site opened at the Tropicana Field parking lot 2 in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Testing will be available Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lot 2 is located on the west side of the stadium off 16th Street South. The drive-thru testing remains free and residents do not need symptoms to be tested. Testing will be administered on a first-come first-served basis. Walk-up testing will be available. Masks are still required and there remains a limit of four people per car. Pinellas County and partner agencies shifted the community testing operations from the Mahaffey site to the Tropicana Field parking lot in anticipation of the Grand Prix.
