But, what a difference eight months can make!  As you can see in the photo below (please click on the photo for a larger view), nothing remains of the old center; the new Fresh Market has truly taken shape – and it looks as though it’s going to have room for a lot of great stuff inside!  I’ve been impressed with the quality of construction as it has been going up, and I’m pleased with the look of the building.  It could have been yet another boxy building on the corner, but, instead, it’s an interesting and attractive structure.

I wish that I could give you a precise opening date, but when I contacted Jordan Worrall, the man responsible for Public Relations for Fresh Market, he said that they do not yet have a confirmed opening date – they do feel certain that it will open this Fall, but nothing more specific than that.  He promised me an opportunity to get inside and get some preview photos when the time draws closer, and you can be sure that, when that happens, I’ll update with a new post.   

The photo below was taken when the Royals had several players on base, and the Rays were doing their best to figure out how to stop them in their tracks…

Well, today I’m going to point you to an honest-to-goodness FREE credit score and an equally honest-to-goodness FREE credit report.  These sites will NOT ask you for a credit card number because they do NOT charge you!

Clearly, knowing your own credit standing is a critical step in the process of buying a home or of refinancing.  And staying aware and up to date, watching for changes, just generally keeping tabs on your own financial health is a common sense thing to do.

For your free credit score (and you can keep going back for free, once a month, if you like), go to http://www.creditkarma.com   The site requires you to submit basic information needed to identify yourself and it will then provide you with your current credit score.  It is an advertiser-supported site, so you will see a variety of offers from various companies.  But you are free to ignore the ads and focus on your score.  If you like, you can drill further down and see how your score compares with others in the United States, as well as seeing you how your credit history, your percentage of credit used, and various other factors compare to others in the country.

For your free credit report, go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com  This is the official credit report website that was created when the government instituted a requirement that each of the three major credit bureaus allow every US citizen to access their credit report for free, once a year.  Because you are allowed to choose any of the three credit bureaus once each year, a great way to use this site is to go to the site every four months and choose a different credit bureau each time.  That way, you get access to a free credit report every four months and then you start the process again the next year.

Take a few minutes and visit these sites soon!  As the old saying goes, “Knowledge is power”.  This is a great way for you to get some power and begin to take better control of your finances, and it is 100% FREE!

I know that the Azalea garden has been around for many years, and that it seems to go through cycles.  There are times when there’s not much activity there, and there are times when all of the plots are filled with thriving plants and active gardeners.

I was in the Azalea neighborhood today, previewing a home for a client of mine, and I noticed the community garden as I was driving down 22nd Avenue North.  So I pulled in and parked for a few minutes, just so I could get a couple of shots to post.  This particular St. Petersburg winter has seen a few days of much colder weather than we’re used to, but even so, winter vegetables are thriving, as you can see in the photos below.

I can tell you that there were several apparently unused plots in the Azalea garden, so if you’re interested in renting one for your own use, contact the City of St. Petersburg.  I believe that they are rented out for six months of time, and the price is very reasonable – somewhere around $30.  The Azalea Community Garden is located on the south side of 22nd Avenue North at 79th Street.  

Azalea Community Garden (Click on photo for larger image)

Azalea Community Garden (Click on photo for larger image)

And I suppose that’s why, all around the world, neighborhoods have identifying signs.  Signs that say, ‘You’re Home’, as residents return from wherever it is that they were. 

St. Petersburg has a lot of neighborhoods, and most of them have some sort of identifying sign with either a logo, a symbol, or some other characteristic that is somehow related to that neighborhood.  The city and its residents have done a good job of helping individual neighborhoods to show off their own unique character.   As you drive around the city, if you take the time to notice, you can spot these signs everywhere.  

This one is on 22nd Avenue South, just east of 4th Street, and it clearly lets you know that you’re entering the Old Southeast neighborhood. 

Old Southeast (Please click on photo for larger image)

And whenever we made that trip, just after we turned onto Park Street, I would see an old, large wooden sign that read, “Here Landed Narvaez”.  There was some more information etched into the sign, but I couldn’t read it as we drove by.  We moved too fast and the writing was too small.  But it always fascinated me to see it there, ’cause it felt an awful lot like something that I was supposed to see in a history book, not in real life.

That sign didn’t last forever, but it’s been replaced by a fancier one now, and it’s been moved a little further south to Jungle Prada (to see a post that I published a few months back about a little piece of Jungle Prada, check out this link.)  And somewhere during those years in which the old sign deteriorated, I managed to grow up and learn that there was actually a great deal of interesting history in St. Petersburg’s long-ago past, and that Narvaez and his 350 men were just one small piece of that history.  

Here Landed Narvaez (Please click on photo for larger image)

Participating St. Petersburg museums, in alphabetical order, are: 

• Dr. Carter G. Woodson Museum @ 2240 9th Avenue South  727.323.1104
• Florida Holocaust Museum @ 55 5th Street South  727.820.0100
• Florida International Museum at St. Petersburg College @ 244 2nd Avenue North  727.341-7900
• Great Explorations Children’s Museum @ 1925 4th Street North  727.821.8992
• Morean Arts Center @ 719 Central Avenue  727.822.7872
• Museum of Fine Arts @ 255 Beach Drive NE  727.896.2667
• Pier Aquarium @ 800 2nd Avenue NE  727.895.7437
• Salvador Dali Museum @ 1000 3rd Street South  727.823.3767
• St. Petersburg Museum of History @ 335 2nd Avenue NE  727.894.1052

Here are some of the highlights:

The number of new listings added to the market dropped 12.6% from August 2008, from 2,766 new listings added in August 2008 to a more reasonable 2,427 new listings added in August 2009

The overall number of Active listings – homes for sale – dropped a healthy 36% from last year, from 20,226 in August 2008 to 12,867 in August 2009

The number of Pending Contracts – deals that have been agreed to that are just waiting to reach closing – increased 68% from last year, from 887 in August 2008 to 1,492 in August 2009

The Median Selling Price for homes sold in August 2009 was $140,000, and that median price has been approximately the same for the past ten months

The Supply/Demand ratio has dropped significantly over the past year – there were 12.07 houses on the market in August 2008 for every single active buyer, but in August 2009, there were only 5.3 houses per buyer

Finally, the number of months of inventory has dropped very dramatically over the past year.  In August 2008, there was a 23 month supply of housing inventory, based on number of houses on the market and number of sales taking place.  In August of 2009, there is only a 9 months supply of housing inventory.

All of these statistics point to continued stabilization of our local market.  There is definitely a great deal of activity now in the Real Estate market, among both buyers and sellers.  Sellers who have homes that are in good condition and that are priced correctly are selling, and in a reasonably short timeframe.  And buyers who are in the market for a new home are still finding a lot of opportunities, but some of the better ones are purchased and disappear from the market pretty quickly!

[All data referenced in this post is courtesy of the Pinellas Realtor Organization and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed.]

The Science Center (click on picture for larger image)

St. Petersburg has a great place for the aspiring scientist in your family, and if you don’t already know about it, you should.  It’s called the Science Center, and it’s located on 22nd Avenue North, just about a half mile west of Tyrone Square Mall at 7701 22nd Avenue North.  The Science Center is geared towards students from Kindergarten up to and including 12th graders.  There are hands-on exhibits, there’s instruction, and there is great student personal involvement.  

The Science Center (click on picture for larger image)