► Little’s, a drive-through restaurant serving sliders, tenders, fries and malted milkshakes, plans to open at 4th Street North and 87th Avenue, in St. Petersburg. (Rendering above)
► St. Petersburg’s Sunken Gardens is opening a history center in the original 1940 entrance and gift shop, a building that, until recently, held the garden’s tropical birds at night.
► Chargebacks911, a dispute technology specialist, in Clearwater, appointed long-time finance leader Pelwasha “Pel” Faquiryan as its chief growth officer.
► Alabama-based Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC), an owner of rehab hospitals, is planning to build a freestanding, 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital near the intersection of Tyrone Boulevard North and Ninth Avenue North, in St. Petersburg.
► Clearwater-based AmeriLife Group will acquire Minneapolis-based TruChoice Financial Group.
► FKQ Advertising & Marketing, a full-service marketing agency in Clearwater, named Sergio Rodriguez as the firm’s executive creative director.
► Johnson Bros., a subsidiary of Southland Holdings, was awarded a $243 million contract to construct the U.S. Highway 19 Pinellas County roadway project, in Clearwater, for the Florida Department of Transportation.
► St. Petersburg-based Bayfirst National Bank opened its eighth banking center located at 2102 59th St. W., in Bradenton.
► Empath Health opened the Auer Szabo Empath Adult Day Center at 340 49th St. S., St. Petersburg.
► RSR Capital Advisors is developing a 52-unit luxury condominium community in the Clearwater Marina District, at 708 Osceola Ave., which is expected to include both designer-ready shells and move-in ready units, with pricing expected to start at $1.2 million.
► The Tampa Bay Innovation Center Climate-Tech Accelerator program, which will begin in January, expanded its list of partners to include ARK Investment Management, the investment firm, in St. Petersburg, headed by Cathie Wood.
► Rockshop, a hand-crafted custom jewelry shop in St. Petersburg, will expand into a larger space at 531 Central Ave.
► Belleair Development Group acquired the Shoppes at Park Plaza, at 7200 U.S. Highway 19 N., in Pinellas Park, for $85 million.
► The Courtyard by Marriott St. Petersburg Downtown, at 300 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg, was sold to Atlanta real estate investment firm The Radco Cos., for $29.1 million.
► Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a commercial real estate brokerage firm, announced the sale of a Dollar Tree, at 8275 Bay Pines Blvd., in St. Petersburg, for $5 million.
► Clearwater-based AmeriLife Group will acquire Minneapolis-based TruChoice Financial Group.