Developers behind Tampa’s Armature Works, operating as Ping Pong Partners, won unanimous conditional approval from the St. Pete Beach City Commission to rebuild Blind Pass Marina in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Attorney Brian Aungst Jr. represented the group at the meeting, commissioners Jon Maldonado and Lisa Robinson voiced support, and nearby resident Steve Bono raised concerns about noise and traffic; the project now needs sign-off from the Pinellas County Water and Navigation Authority.
The site once hosted the Hippie Shack and Sea Hags Bar and Grill but suffered heavy damage during the 2024 hurricanes and has stood vacant since. “It was substantially damaged,” Brian Aungst Jr., an attorney representing Ping Pong Partners, said at the recent St. Pete Beach Commission meeting. “It is an eyesore.” The developers argue replacing the wreckage will restore a visible stretch of waterfront that’s dragged down the neighborhood.
Ping Pong Partners told the commission they want the marina to be a flagship project in their portfolio and a place they’d take their own families. “They want this to be a place where they can take their own families. They are very, very concerned about being good neighbors,” Aungst said. That pledge framed much of the discussion, with developers promising careful management and design choices that lean toward placemaking rather than pure commercial push.
The conditional approvals cover an outdoor restaurant with live music and a redesigned dock footprint that reduces boat slips from 106 to 70, including 32 liveaboard spots. The new dock will be about five feet shorter and nearly 20 feet narrower than the existing structure, and the developers say slip sizes will increase. “What we are proposing also increases the size of the slips, which is going to increase the quality of the boats and the tenants,” Aungst said, arguing fewer, larger slips means better neighbors on the water.
City commissioners welcomed the prospect of reinvestment and cited the developers’ success with Armature Works in Tampa as a selling point for the proposal. “I am familiar with the Armature Works,” District 4 Commissioner Jon Maldonado said. “Great stuff is going on with that, and I commend you for bringing in a high-value partner.” District 2 Commissioner Lisa Robinson added, “I’m glad to see this area being developed or looking at being developed,” Robinson said. “It has been needing some revitalization for a while now.”
Not everyone is ready to celebrate; residents who live near the marina voiced caution about noise and traffic as the venue shifts toward more public activity. Steve Bono, a resident who lives near the marina, said local businesses across the water have shown how to balance commerce with quiet hours. “We want to be sure that the noise, being an outdoor venue, is managed,” Bono said. “Sea Dog [Brewing Company] has been a neighbor of ours across the water. They shut down at 10 p.m. We’ve got good neighbors there, and we just hope that we can continue that with these gentlemen.”
Developers responded with concrete mitigation promises, saying live music would end by 10 p.m. nightly, outdoor speakers would be pointed away from nearby condominiums and homes, and that they were open to a formal traffic study. Those commitments were presented as part of a broader push to be constructive partners in the neighborhood rather than a disruptive presence. “We’re looking forward to being a substantial and significant improvement over what’s there and even over what was there in the past, and being good neighbors and good property owners while also redeveloping and revitalizing a blighted eyesore,” Aungst said.
With local approvals in hand, the project now moves to the Pinellas County Water and Navigation Authority for final permits related to the dock and waterway use. If that agency signs off, the redevelopment could trigger phased construction plans and fresh economic activity on this stretch of St. Pete Beach. For residents and officials alike the coming months will test whether the plans truly strike the balance between revitalization and neighborhood livability.
