Urban Land Magazine
By: Mary Shanklin
March 23rd, 2020

A few years ago, some former New Yorkers decided to enliven a worn-out pocket of downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, sandwiched between a baseball stadium and the police department.

Eastman Equity’s strategies took a less traditional path in helping transform a 20-block area now known as the EDGE District:

• Eastman reversed the time-honored pattern of launching a project with residential and then following with shops and restaurants.
• Rather than demolishing derelict haunts, Eastman renovated the buildings it acquired. The company delivered crafted square footage in place of more common white-wall shells.
• Instead of courting name-brand tenants, the group curated a mix of local tenants, including a coffee shop, an Instagram-friendly craft store, and a popular local barbershop.
• In order to generate more foot… (read the remainder of the article here)