$4 million renovation planned for St. Petersburg’s Manhattan Casino
Tampa Bay TimesGo to https://www.tampabay.com/news/st-petersburg/2025/06/24/manhattan-casino-st-petersburg-renovation-reopen/ – Rebecca Liebson
A landmark of Black history in St. Petersburg is one step closer to being revived. The City of St. Petersburg filed plans this month to begin work on a $4.8 million renovation of the Manhattan Casino. Commissioned in 1925 by the Black entrepreneur Elder Jordan, the building at 642 22nd St. S served as a hub for entertainment and culture within The Deuces, St. Petersburg’s historically Black business district. It hosted world-renowned performers like James Brown, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington before eventually closing in 1968.
Starting in 2011, the city partnered with a series of local groups to try and breathe life back into the property, but none of those ventures worked out. The last partner, Urban Collective, accused the city of failing to maintainGo to https://www.tampabay.com/news/st-petersburg/2022/11/18/st-petersburgs-manhattan-casino-bad-business-or-sabotage-by-city/ the building. It shuttered again in 2022.
Now, the city plans to operate the property on its own. It will serve as an event rental space. Samantha Bequer, a public information officer for the city wrote in an email. The project will be led by general contractor Ajax Building Company. Construction is expected to begin later this year with reopening scheduled for next spring.
The first floor will include an entry foyer with a bar, 2,232 square feet of event space, a conference room, a green room and a catering kitchen. The second floor will have an additional 4,152 square feet of event space.