► Sorrento Sweets, a bakery and coffee shop that specializes in classic Italian desserts, is opening at 667 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. (Pictured above)
► OriginClear completed its move out of California, co-locating corporate headquarters with its manufacturing division near Dallas, and setting up administrative facilities at 13575 58th St. N., Clearwater.
► Achieva Credit Union, based in Pinellas County, reached a definitive agreement to merge with Tampa-based Coast 2 Coast Financial Credit Union, gaining 1,900 new members in the process.
► Achieva Credit Union board member Rohland Bryant was recognized by The League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates with its Volunteer of the Year Award for promoting financial literacy in the St. Petersburg community.
► Melissa Seixas, vice president, Florida government and community relations at Duke Energy, ended a three-year term as chair of the board of directors of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership and will be succeeded by Derek Houston, partner and co-founder at Houston Taylor Law, in St. Petersburg.
► TruAmerica Multifamily, a multifamily investor and operator based in Los Angeles, purchased a 292-unit apartment complex at 3975 Country Place Lane, Palm Harbor for $47 million.
► Cushman & Wakefield arranged the sale of Worthington Court, a 152-unit apartment community located in New Port Richey, for $15.6 million.
► Marlene Debel, executive vice president at MetLife (NYSE: MET), joined the board of directors of Raymond James Financial.
► Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, will serve as chair of the Executive Directors Council of the Florida Regional Councils Association in 2021.
► The Portopiccolo Group, an investment management firm based in New Jersey, bought Jacaranda Manor, a nursing home at 4250 66th St. N., St. Petersburg.
► Ineta Kalnina and Samantha Locke joined Engel & Völkers Madeira Beach as Realtors.
► Clearwater-based Big Storm Brewing was awarded the gold medal at the 2020 U.S. Beer Open Championship for its Maple Rum Huracan Imperial Stout.
► Monin Americas, a Clearwater-based flavoring manufacturer, sold its distribution center in the Starkey Lakes Industrial Center in the Largo area to GID, a real estate investment firm in Boston, for $14 million.
► Pamela Lee was named chief financial officer of Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties.
► Pilot Bank named Roy Binger as St. Petersburg market executive.
► Buddy Brew is opening its eighth café, and first Pinellas County location, at 2424 4th St. N., St. Petersburg.
► Crown Automotive Group, headquartered in St. Petersburg, acquired Kelly Subaru, a dealership in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
► Susana Weymouth, executive director of Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and the Arts, joined The Florida Orchestra as chief development officer.
► Flaharty Asset Management, a wealth management firm in Clearwater, expanded its Florida footprint to the Naples-Fort Myers area by merging with AWA Investment Advisors in Punta Gorda.
► Commercial Partners Realty’s QA Team of Dan Quarles and Austin Karrick represented Mainstream America in the sale of the Petersburg Commerce Center in St. Petersburg.
► The Connor Group, a Dayton, Ohio-based real estate investment firm, bought Bayside Arbors, a 436-unit luxury apartment complex in Clearwater for $93.25 million.
► St. Petersburg-based 1347 Property Insurance Holdings changed its name to FG Financial Group.
► Scherer Development closed a $10.65 million construction loan with American Momentum Bank to finance the construction of a new 60-unit townhome community 3301 Whitney Road, Largo.
► PTM Partners, the Miami-based real estate investment firm behind the Edge Collective project in St. Petersburg, named Thomas Strand as vice president of acquisitions and capital markets.
► Greystar Real Estate Partners, based in Charleston, purchased vacant land at 225 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg for $15.075 million.
► General Services Corp., a Virginia-based multifamily rental housing investor, purchased Gull Harbor Apartments at 17105 Gulf Blvd., North Redington Beach for $55 million.
► The Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a business incubator and coworking entrepreneurial center in St. Petersburg, was announced as a finalist for Powderkeg’s 2020 National Tech Culture Awards.
► City Furniture, a home furniture retailer headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, purchased land at 16915 U.S. Highway 19 N. and 16991 U.S. Highway 19 N. in Largo for $7 million.
► Choice Hotels International, whose brands include Rodeway Inn, Econo Lodge and Comfort, opened a new hotel under its Cambria Hotels flag at 15015 Madeira Way, Madeira Beach.
