Grady and Jodi Pridgen found their slice of heaven at the former home of the First Congregational Church of Christ of St. Petersburg.

The couple never planned to worship there.

"My wife's an angel, and she deserved to live in a church," Grady says.

Actually, the Pridgens and their children, Tyler, 7, and Paloma, 6 months, have set up housekeeping in the third and fourth floors of the attached rectory. The second floor will house Grady's real estate services company. Plans for the ground floor include a gallery featuring the work of local artists, including Jodi's paintings, sculptures and dolls.

The family is a prime example of why mixed-use housing is making a comeback.

FRED FOX/Tribune photo The church and rectory that the Pridgens purchased includes a theater, which Grady Pridgen hopes to fill with local talent.

"This weekend we didn't have to drive anywhere," Grady says. They played in the park, shopped at Baywalk and dined nearby.

"Paloma's stroller is our transport," Jodi says.

The Pridgens are not the only ones inspired by the possibilities of mixed use. Tampa Mayor Dick Greco is a strong advocate.

"What I want to see is downtown Tampa having more living quarters," Greco says. "Every vibrant city has to have people living in and around the downtown core."

So far, though, efforts to create homes that offer commercial and residential space have met with limited success in the Tampa Bay area.

"A lot of the problems we've created have been with zoning," says Fernando Noriega, Tampa's administrator for development.

Zoning laws cluster homes in one area, businesses in another. But that may change, Noriega says, thanks to the changing needs of today's young adults.

"We have singles, same-sex couples and other couples who are not particularly interested in the Donna Reed neighborhood with the white picket fence and a lawn," he says. "They would like to live in a place where they can work and play."

Marlene Bailey Gregg, an interior designer who recently moved to Tampa's Channelside District downtown, loves the convenience of living and working in the same space.

FRED FOX/Tribune photos Grady Pridgen and 6-month-old daughter Paloma stand on the second floor, which will become the office for his real estate services company. The ground floor will house an art gallery.

"My most creative time is in the wee hours of the morning after the telephones and faxes have stopped ringing," she says.

But mixed use is not just for artists.

Manny Alvarez, sales associate with Ybor Realty, says residents of Ybor City want to create a mixed-use urban borough.

"The perfect example is the Ybor Village" along 6th Avenue between 21st and 15th streets, he said.

"There are professional office spaces, guest houses and residential areas. Ever since we rezoned last year, we've had an enormous number of projects come to the area."

In downtown St. Petersburg, city development administrator Rick Mussett heralds the success of the Cloisters and Florencia condominium projects, both of which include retail on the ground floor.

The Pridgens are planning to take advantage of new zoning modifications and lease the vacant, 15,000-square-foot church building to a restaurant or other tenant. They also own an adjoining 450-seat theater, which Grady sees filling with local talent. The Pridgens plan to take advantage of new zoning modifications and lease the former church building to a restaurant or other tenant. The grand, 15,000-square- foot structure is now vacant.has been vacant since the church dissolved in 1994.

They also ownThe couple also own an adjoining 450-seat theater, which Grady sees filling with local talent.

They aren't worried about the noise a restaurant and theater could bring. The wall separating the house from the theater is 21 inches of cement.

But Brad Cooper of Brad Cooper Galleries on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City said it was the noise that drove him from his live-work environment. He lived in a loft apartment behind the gallery for eight years until he moved out two years ago.

"The city [of Tampa] wants people to live and work here, but they don't want to protect us from encroachment," he says.

For Tom Kopian of Creatures of Delight, at Eighth Avenue and 15th Street, the noise is a small price to pay for the fun of living in Ybor City.

Kopian lives above his store, which sells puppets, backpacks, dolls and sculptures. Living in Ybor is going to get easier, he says.

"As more apartments go in, it should be more conducive to live here."

Mixed use is the wave of the future, says Anthony Everett, state development overseer for Post Communities.Communities, a company that has built several apartment complexes in the Tampa Bay area.

"I think we are seeing across the country that people like using these communities," he says. "With road congestion, commute times keep getting longer and none of us have enough time to spend hours in the car."