St Pete Catalyst • 6th June 2025

Florida Funders partners with venture capital growth company

Florida Funders, one of Florida’s leading venture capital firms, has announced a partnership with venture capital growth company, Dragonfly Operating Partners. 
A venture capital firm finds investors for startup businesses and often provides operational guidance; the collaboration has brought DragonflyOP’s services to many of Florida Funders’ early stage portfolio companies. 
Currently, Florida Funders is invested in more than 100 businesses in a diverse range of sub-categories in the tech indus...

St Pete Catalyst • 5th June 2025

Sunrise St. Pete disaster recovery action plan unveiled

In a public virtual hearing Tuesday, the City of St. Petersburg discussed its draft action plan for Sunrise St. Pete, a disaster recovery initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 
$159.8 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds from HUD have been allocated to the City. 
The funds will be used towards recovery projects for those affected by Hurricanes Idalia (2023) and Helene (2024), to help specifically with housing, infrastruct...

St Pete Catalyst • 4th June 2025

Developer Bonugli invests in another site on Central

St. Petersburg real estate investor Rossi Bonugli is working on a new retail development on Central Avenue. He’s hoping the investment helps give the area new life. 
According to a city permit, a 6,079 sq. ft. building is planned. It will have five units and approximately nine parking spots, Bonugli told the Catalyst. Each unit will be roughly 1,300 sq. ft.
He purchased the 2730 Central lot in 2014, for $285,000.
“This section of Central Avenue known as the Grand Central District has long been n...

St Pete Catalyst • 4th June 2025

Panelists consider the future of the Gas Plant District

A panel discussion about the Gas Plant District’s future took place Tuesday evening at the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg’s Center for Health Equity. 
A diverse selection of panelists spoke about the future of the troubled 86 acres, home to Tropicana Field and its sprawling asphalt parking lots since the early 1990s, and what could or should take the place of the now-dead revitalization project proposed by the Tampa Bay Rays organization and its development partner Hines. 
Panelists inc...

St Pete Catalyst • 3rd June 2025

CFE initiative to improve financial stability for residents 

The City of St Petersburg announced a collaboration with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE) this week, resulting in a $100,000 grant. 
This grant, provided by the Fund, will be used to create strategies and programs that can help improve financial stability for residents. 
CFE Fund’s investment in the St. Pete community is a part of its CityStart initiative. 
Through the initiative, the Fund partners with city or county governments across the country to identify financial empowermen...

St Pete Catalyst • 2nd June 2025

Pinellas Job Corps terminated in government shutdown

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced Friday that it will “pause operations” at Jobs Corps centers around the country, “initiating an orderly transition for students, staff, and local communities.”
This includes Pinellas County Job Corps, located in St. Petersburg. 
The government-funded Job Corps program provides potentially life-changing opportunities to low-income young people between the ages of 16 and 24, by helping them complete a high school level education and preparing t...

St Pete Catalyst • 31st May 2025

New Eckerd, FWC complex will help decipher manatee mortality

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is building a new marine mammal complex at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. According to Jonathan Veach, FWC Information Specialist, the facility will feature two adjacent buildings: A pathobiology lab for manatee and dolphin necropsies and an administrative center.
A necropsy is a non-human post-mortem examination.
The City of St. Petersburg has yet to receive detailed plans outlining the project, but a permit application has been sub...

St Pete Catalyst • 30th May 2025

‘Rebuilding’ nonprofit continues post and pre-hurricane work

Hurricane season is not something to take lightly. Just last year, with Hurricanes Helene and Milton, approximately 41,000 homes were affected in Pinellas County alone. 
The nonprofit Rebuilding Together Greater Florida (formerly Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay) helps with disaster recovery by restoring damaged homes. Its work includes repairing roofs and installing new dry wall and flooring. 
All of Rebuilding Together Greater Florida’s services are free. Government funding and private donations...

St Pete Catalyst • 30th May 2025

Council OKs plan to upgrade Woodlawn Park

Physical activity is on the rise in St. Pete, with a particular interest in pickleball. 
While the City has tried to make pickleball courts more accessible, some of its courts are becoming overcrowded, upsetting nearby residents and players, according to Mike Jefferis, Director of Parks & Recreation of St. Pete.  
This has made the Parks & Rec team reevaluate spaces that could be utilized better. One of which is Woodlawn Park. 
Currently used by students of Woodlawn Elementary School, the park’s...

St Pete Catalyst • 29th May 2025

Beaches Chamber’s leadership program starts next week

For more than a decade, the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce has hosted annual Leadership Institutes to help educate, connect and inspire leaders in the community.
The program of talks and seminars is designed to give students an inside look into various different industries and help them build invaluable leadership skills through interactive activities. 
The 2025 kickoff is June 5, with the first seminar planned for June 27.
This year’s program will feature speakers in the sports, governme...