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A key piece to the puzzle of revitalizing St. Petersburg's Midtown area is in place. The City Council approved a plan under which the city will help a nonprofit development agency build a shopping center anchored by a Kash n' Karry grocery store in the heart of Midtown, an area trying to reverse three decades of economic decline. The city will lease its property at 22nd Street and 18th Avenue S to Urban Development Solutions for $5 a year and make an interest-free $1.35-million loan for construction.
The shopping center, which should be completed in 2005, will offer Midtown residents something they haven't had, a major grocery store and a variety of shopping opportunities in the neighborhood. It is the centerpiece of Mayor Rick Baker's economic redevelopment plan for the area immediately south of downtown. "This is huge," Baker said after the successful vote. Now, he would like to add a bank to the center.
Combined with other public improvements, new housing construction and amenities such as health services available at the renovated Mercy Hospital and expanded class offerings at Midtown's St. Petersburg College campus, the shopping center should give the area a real chance to catch up with other parts of the city. And as Baker often points out, a city on the rise can't afford to leave any neighborhood behind.
There is some risk in the project, but if it is successful, that risk will turn into a valuable investment. There is also an intangible benefit called pride. "It's going to be something that the people in this area can be proud of," said council Chairman Earnest Williams. "The community stepped up, and now the city is stepping up."
Midtown resident Ronald Wade may have put the project's importance in the clearest terms. "The image of the city should not change when you cross Central Avenue," he said. This project could help make that dream a reality.