Downtown Largo's hottest destination is ... City Hall?
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The front entrance of Largo City Hall at Horizon West Bay. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
Downtown Largo's hot new development isn't a buzzy restaurant, nor is it a brewery or concert venue.
- It's Horizon West Bay, a five-story, 87,000-square-foot government complex anchored by City Hall.
Why it matters: The $85 million project replaces the city's aging, flood-vulnerable headquarters off Highland Avenue — but the ambitions for Horizon West Bay go far beyond government service.
- Ground-floor retail space and a courtyard with a stage are part of a novel plan to help activate a downtown corridor that's never quite taken off.
The big picture: About a decade ago, city leaders formalized their vision for a live-work-play district along a stretch of West Bay Drive from the Pinellas Trail east to Largo Central Park.
- But plans for West Bay Lofts — a housing and retail project spanning the 500 and 600 blocks that city leaders hoped would catalyze the district — fell through.
- And businesses have continued to turn over at West Bay Village, a plaza across the street from Horizon. (The coffee shop Axios visited in 2023 closed, and the cool vintage resale store moved.)
State of play: Horizon West Bay opened in May, replacing a few strip malls in the 400 block.
- So far, local sweet shop Strachan's Ice Cream & Desserts and Indiana-based Parlor Doughnuts are open in two retail spots, along with a free 328-space parking garage.
- Louis Pappas Fresh Greek and The Tox, a "body-sculpting" studio, are next up to open.
- Mayor Woody Brown told Axios to look out for more business announcements in the coming months, including a 6,000-square-foot full-service restaurant.
Zoom out: Elsewhere downtown, several retail and housing projects are underway.
- A new plaza called Liberty Yards is now leasing, with first tenant Foxtail Coffee announced last year. A Pilates studio is set to open in another storefront by the end of the year, Brown said.
- Construction is slated to finish in the spring on Largo Vista, a 78-unit apartment community at 206 Second Ave. NW, within a half-mile of Horizon, developer Gary Tave told Axios.
- A 74-apartment project called Park Vista is in the final stages of design, Tave said. That's planned for a former mobile home park at 621 Stremma Road, about a 15-minute walk north of Horizon.
- Another developer announced plans last year for 26 townhomes scattered across four sites within a few blocks north and south of Horizon, St. Pete Rising reported.
What they're saying: Downtown is "more vibrant than it's been since I was a kid here in Largo," Brown said. "But we got a ways to go."
- The mix of housing and retail will help, he said — more people living in the area means more support for businesses.
The bottom line: "Our goal isn't to be Dunedin or St. Petersburg," Brown said. "Our goal is to be a better Largo."
What's next: A "sip and stroll" program is expected to launch in October, per the mayor.
- It will allow patrons to carry open containers of alcohol in a designated area downtown.
