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A Times Editorial
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker should be given the room to work a deal that would help the Florida International Museum, boost downtown development and offer space to St. Petersburg College.
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 31, 2002
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker has come up with a creative plan to clean up Florida International Museum's troubled financial situation, free up a valuable piece of city-owned land for development and jazz up a neglected downtown block by opening a branch of St. Petersburg College. While a couple of City Council members have expressed doubts about the plan, there is no reason the city shouldn't proceed to the next step and let Baker hammer out a firm proposal.
The land in question is the block currently occupied by Florida International Museum. While the museum is struggling to boost attendance and pay its debts, it is not fully utilizing the property it controls (the former Maas Bros. building). That property, across the street from the popular Bay Walk development, could be put to better use.
According to a proposal from SPC president Carl Kuttler, the complex transaction would work this way:
The city would give half of the property (north of the alley) to the college, which would make some of the space available for a new, but smaller, museum.
The city would also help the college buy a strip of shops adjacent to the property and across from Williams Park by using its condemnation powers, if necessary. In return, the college would agree to build classrooms, offices and a bookstore.
The museum would give up its lease on the property and help the city pay any remaining debts.
That would free up the city to sell the southern half of the block to a developer, which would give downtown a boost and put the property back on the tax rolls.
While some details need to be resolved, the plan looks like the win-win situation that government officials are always seeking. The museum would get a new space better suited to its mission and budget. The city would be free to sell a valuable piece of land and to exert some control over what is built there. And the college would have a downtown campus that would serve students and the downtown economy. An unsightly block would be transformed into something attractive and useful.
A couple of council members have objected to the city's essentially giving the northern part of the property to SPC, but there is precedent for that transaction. The city spent about $14-million helping the University of South Florida St. Petersburg acquire land for its expansion. And it has supported the Fine Arts, History, Great Explorations and Dali museums.
The City Council will still have the final say on the transaction. For now, the council should give Baker the room to negotiate the best deal he can for city residents.