That’s a common enough phrase, isn’t it? You hear a lot of cities described as ‘a great place to live and work’. And, while I believe that it’s very true in St. Petersburg, I’m actually using the phrase here in more of a macro sense. I’m talking about specific buildings that have been designed as both residences and places of business.
This is not a new concept. To be sure, in the early days of this country’s history, it was probably more common than not for a person to live and work in the same place. Perhaps a storefront facing the main street of the town and a living space behind or above the storefront. St. Petersburg, in its boom years, had a lot of dual purpose buildings. Dr. ML King, Jr. Street, which used to be known as 9th Street North, which was originally known as Euclid Boulevard, had a lot of great two story houses where the business owner used the downstairs for their shop or perhaps their office, and the upstairs as their residence. Some of those buildings still survive today.
But now there’s a new breed of combination building – the work/live condominium. There are a few of them around, but one of them, 1010 Central Avenue, is the subject of my post today. And why not? There is a Charles Rutenberg Realty satellite office located in this building, and I work out of that office.
As you can see, this is a very new, modern structure, and it’s got great storefronts facing Central Avenue. Many of the storefronts have stairs that connect them to a condo living space upstairs, so that, if one were so inclined, one could live above and work below and never have to leave. There’s a club house, a swimming pool, and a fitness center, all housed within the central courtyard space of the building.
If you’re interested in buying or renting either storefront or living space, or both, feel free to contact me and I’ll let you know what’s available! My contact information can always be found near the top of the right hand sidebar on this page… (To see a full sized view of this photograph, please click on the picture.)
