St. Pete Looks to Speed Up Southside, Midtown Redevelopment

In an effort to help redevelopment in Midtown and Southside areas of St. Petersburg, city council will be voting to establish the Southside St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area (CRA).

If approved by council Thursday, the city would then send a request to the Pinellas County Commission to give the city the authority to create the redevelopment area and establish a tax increment financing district (TIF). 

A CRA is designed to combat blight and qualify of life issues in poverty stricken areas. Once a TIF is established the taxes brought in that year would set the baseline for taxes in that district. In subsequent years, any taxes over that baseline amount would go into the TIF fund for redevelopment within the CRA. 

While not exact (see map above), the redevelopment area for the district would be between 49th Street, 1st Avenue North, 4th Street and 30th Avenue South.

To prove the city needs a redevelopment area, the city must submit a blight study. 

According to city documents, the blight in the Midtown area meets state requirements to have a redevelopment area.

"While the report convincingly demonstrates the economic distress (in the area), the criteria in Florida Statutes for establishing a community redevelopment area largely requires a demonstration of 'blight' through physical evidence, such as deteriorated properties, disproportionate fire and emergency medical response, inadequate physical development patterns, unsanitary and unsafe conditions and falling lease rates." 

At the city's June 13 budget summit, local state legislator Darryl Rouson urged council to approve the CRA. 

"You will be voting June 20 to (create) a CRA that will reinvest jobs (into the community,)" Rouson said. "I’m asking you on behalf of the constituents that I represent, to vote favorably to that and to buy into the vision."

Rouson said the results of downtown CRA are proof a redevelopment area can work. 

"Support the plan for community redevelopment so that Midtown (will) be a seamless neighborhood with downtown," Rouson said.

The proposed CRA is home to around 34,000 people or 14 percent of St. Pete's total population. Documents show residents in the proposed area make up 45 percent of Pinellas County's low-income population.

In the Midtown area, which is mostly in the proposed CRA, St. Pete has spent more than $121 million for redevelopment from 2001-2011, according to city documents. 

Previous redevelopment investments have included, the Manhattan Casino, Tangerine Plaza (Sweetbay), Royal Theater, Pinellas Job Corps Facility, Pinellas Trail Mercy Hospital, Wildwood Park, GTE Federal Credit Union along with multiple other projects. 

To read the city's report on the CRA and the blight study, click here.