The Manhattan Casino Stopped Looking for a Tenant and Became a Ballroom Again
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Starting in 2011, the City of St. Petersburg leased the Manhattan Casino to a series of outside operators, among them a restaurant group and a food hall. This fall the city took a different approach and began running the 101-year-old dance hall itself. On September 19, 2026, the Historic Manhattan Casino at 642 22nd St. S. reopened as a city-managed event venue, ending four years of closure and a $4.8 million renovation.
The city's choice changes what the building does for the neighborhood. The Casino is a place you book for a wedding, a reunion or a concert. It isn't a spot you drop into on a Tuesday. That leaves the regular foot traffic on the Deuces to Deuces Corner Park, the Woodson African American Museum of Florida and the businesses up the block. The fall calendar shows how the two work together.
The Manhattan Casino's history reads like a list of new starts:
Once the last lease ran out, the city stopped looking for another private operator and decided to run the building as an event venue.
The renovation turned the building back toward what it was designed for: big rooms meant for gatherings. The city's reopening announcement lists a new first-floor event space, a conference room, pre-function areas, a green room, a bar and a catering kitchen. Upstairs, the historic music hall got new drapery, a raised ceiling and refinished floors.
| Space | Floor | Size | What it's set up for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Ballroom | Second | 4,152 sq ft | The original dance hall, named for Elder Jordan Sr. |
| Legacy Room | First | 2,232 sq ft | New event space with an entry foyer and bar |
| Whole building | Both | 12,000 sq ft total | Separate events can run on both floors at once |
The venue can seat up to 180 guests, or hold 300 with auditorium-style seating. That size explains the city's plan. In 2025, when renderings were released, City Councilmember Corey Givens told St. Pete Catalyst, "We do not have an event venue on the South Side of this magnitude, and it's needed."
You can see the outside of the building any day you walk by. Artist Egypt Hagan's new mural on the exterior wall measures 14 by 23 feet and depicts the Casino's history, its role in the Deuces community and the musicians who played there. The statue of Elder Jordan was rededicated on reopening day. The city's release credits Jordan with building the Casino and with donating the land for Jordan Park, the city's first public housing development. The project also received $1 million in state historic preservation funding.
To use the inside, you rent it. On September 2, St. Pete Catalyst reported that standard six-hour rentals start at $1,500 for the Legacy Room from Friday through Sunday and $2,500 for the Jordan Ballroom. Renting the whole building for six hours was listed at $3,000 Monday through Thursday and $4,000 Friday through Sunday, with event packages and rentals of up to four hours also offered. Rates published in different articles about the reopening don't all match, so check current pricing on the city's Historic Manhattan Casino website before you plan a party around it.
Even on reopening day, the city sent people out into the neighborhood. The official announcement invited guests to make it a "Deuces Day Out": refreshments and music at Deuces Corner Park after the ribbon-cutting, then a stop at the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, which offered free admission for Free Museum Day.
That route is where the regular foot traffic is now.
The Woodson Museum at 2240 9th Ave. S. reopened July 11, 2026, after a six-month renovation. The reopening also marked the museum's 20th anniversary. If you haven't been inside since early this year, the space has changed.
Up the block at 903 22nd St. S., Jay Que's opened this spring in the former Catalyst on the Deuces space. That storefront was once home to Chief's Creole Cafe. According to St. Pete Rising, the bar has been holding themed parties, DJ sets, karaoke nights and live music during its soft opening, and it has a full liquor bar plus indoor seating and an outdoor patio.
Sid's Caribbean Grill, right next door, stayed open through the change and now serves food to Jay Que's customers, including a new Sunday brunch. Heavy's Restaurant is nearby.
Taken together, the corridor now divides up the work that past operators tried to do under one roof. You get dinner and live music at 903, history at the Woodson, and outdoor gatherings at Deuces Corner Park, which frees the Casino to host the big occasions.
The public calendar for this fall is built around the park and the street. The Casino isn't the venue for either event.
We haven't found any public programming announced inside the Casino since reopening day, so for now these two street-level events are the public calendar on the Deuces.
The blocks around the Casino are still changing. The Deuces Rising Townhomes across the street are finished. Mayor Ken Welch has also chosen Magellan Housing as the preferred developer for the nearby Commerce Park site, where the proposal calls for 126 affordable residences with retail on the ground floor. Storefronts on that site would put more everyday businesses within walking distance of the ballroom.
The Woodson's long-term plans are less certain. The museum's July 21 news post says its search for a permanent home is still going on. A new Woodson building has been proposed as part of the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment, the site that is home to Tropicana Field today. For now, the renovated 9th Avenue South building remains the museum's address.
Want help planning something at the Casino, or a fall weekend on the Deuces? The team at Madison Wells keeps track of what's opening around St. Petersburg and is glad to share what we've learned. And if you own a home near 22nd Street South and want to know how these changes affect its value, request your free home valuation.
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