The First Block of Downtown St. Pete has always been a center for nightlife in the downtown core. It’s the epicenter of downtown’s wildly popular monthly First Friday event, providing a little something for everyone at bars such as Mandarin Hide, Five Bucks Drinkery, and Pelican Pub. But many people who visit the First Block often gaze across Central Avenue and see unactivated space.

On the south side of the First Block lies 200 Central, a 26-story, 295,000 square foot Class A office tower that is home to companies like iQor, Merrill Lynch, and Trenam Law, among others. The building is also the tallest office tower in St. Pete and Pinellas County.

While the ground floor was originally envisioned as retail or restaurant space, it has been used as office space for decades. Until recently, the majority of the office tower’s Central Avenue frontage was home to a Raymond James & Associates office.

However this will soon change with the introduction of a high-end Italian restaurant being developed by Nocturnal Hospitality Group and a celebrity chef from Bravo’s “Top Chef” TV show.

Narrated by Brian Zucker