'Renaissance' underway with new businesses on Cleveland Street in Clearwater

Downtown Clearwater "renaissance"

As Christmas music played in the background Wednesday morning, employees at The District Bistro prepped for customers. Fox 13's Kailey Tracy reports.

CLEARWATER, Fla - As Christmas music played in the background Wednesday morning, employees at The District Bistro prepped for customers. 

"The main idea was to actually have something that we are comfortable eating with American cuisine and also add the no-seed, oil-free option," Kevin Tatlici, co-owner of The District Bistro, said.

The Tatlicis, a husband-and-wife duo, are the newest neighbors on the 400 block of Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater. The restaurant is the last piece to fill the 20,000 square feet of space on the street’s north side that Valor Real Estate Development has been trying to fill since 2013.

"We're happy to complete that last piece of the puzzle and hopefully to see as the new projects continue to grow and all this construction's getting ready to boom around us that the next few years are only going to keep increasing," Summer Tatlicis, co-owner of The District Bistro, said.

Clearwater Assistant City Manager Alfred Battle says filling the block is a step in the right direction for Clearwater.

"The hope is that the momentum continues to spread and as that occurs that excitement builds and other investment opportunities and development opportunities will hopefully continue to manifest itself," Battle said.

Dig deeper:

Cleveland Street is just steps away from construction along Osceola Avenue dubbed the renaissance of downtown Clearwater. The ground-breaking of the 10-story Ballad Hotel is Thursday. It features retail space, an underground parking garage and a rooftop bar overlooking the BayCare Sound and Coachman Park. It should be done in a little under two years.

"The Coachman Park and BayCare Sound, the hotel and apartment projects will continue to set the stage for what we believe downtown can look like, can be, and create the experience that we're looking for in terms of a great urban environment for people to come and visit," Battle said.

A high-rise apartment with 400 units, retail space and an underground parking garage is planned for down the street on the former city hall site. It should open by April of 2028.

Construction on a nearly 400-spot public parking garage at Pierce Street and Osceola Avenue starts soon and will be done in about a year.

"It's definitely not dead down here. We're seeing month-over-month growth and we're seeing more people. We're seeing a lot of families with kids walking around which you wouldn't be able to see in the past two years, but especially after the Coachman Park was opened up and the Sound Amphitheater," Kevin Tatlici said.

What's next:

Valor Real Estate Development and the City of Clearwater say they’re working together and with the Church of Scientology, which owns and operates several properties in downtown, to revitalize downtown Clearwater. Battle says the Church has started renovating some of its buildings.

Crews will also make improvements to Osceola Avenue from Court to Drew Streets, like underground utility upgrades, new 10-foot sidewalks, improved drainage, on street parking and more. Crews are also building the new City Hall on South Myrtle Avenue that’s set to open between August and September of 2026.