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Sweet day is coming this week in Midtown

The groundbreaking is planned for Tangerine Plaza, where a Sweetbay Supermarket will rise.

By MELANIE AVE
Published February 13, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - For most people involved, the new Sweetbay Supermarket coming soon to Midtown is much more than a grocery store.

The store scheduled to open by fall in this mostly poor, largely black neighborhood south of Central Avenue is a symbol of a community trying to shake a bad reputation and receive the most basic of services - services taken for granted in most parts of the city.

Residents have begged for a major grocery store for years.

This week, they'll see a sign that their pleas are being answered.

A groundbreaking for the Tangerine Plaza Shopping Center, where the grocery store will serve as anchor, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at 18th Avenue and 22nd Street S. Construction will begin soon on the store that will settle on land where crack houses once stood.

Officials from Urban Development Solutions, who are building the 38,000-square-foot, $5.4-million store, will be on hand, as will Mayor Rick Baker and project consultants from the Sembler Co.

The chief operating officer of Sweetbay, Shelley Broader, also will announce a donation to the community. Howard Ross, dean of the Entrepreneurial Academy, will deliver a message to area business owners.

The groundbreaking is the culmination of yearslong efforts by the city and private investors to bring more retail to Midtown, a 5.5-mile area bounded by Second Avenue N and 30th Avenue S and Fourth and 34th streets.

Baker has made Midtown redevelopment a cornerstone of his tenure. Since he took office in 2001, a free-standing library has opened and plans to expand the postal annex at 1750 16th St. S to include full retail services have been announced.

The grocery store is the latest change.

Sweetbay chose to open a store in Midtown only after Baker asked, said company spokeswoman Nicole LeBeau.

"We're thrilled to be moving into that community," she said. "We're thrilled to be a part of it."

Sweetbay, formerly Kash n' Karry, will be the area's second chain grocery store, but it will be more centrally located for most residents. A Winn-Dixie is on the northern edge of Midtown, on Third Avenue S. A Wal-Mart Supercenter recently opened on 34th Street S. Smaller markets dot the area but typically have higher prices.

Tangerine Plaza will include the grocery store, which will employ about 200 people, a liquor store and several other retailers, possibly a bank.

Darryl Rouson, president of the local chapter of the NAACP and founding board member of Urban Development Solutions, said Sweetbay is the largest retailer to come to Midtown in years and a sign of a brighter future.

"We're clearly trying to send a message that Midtown is the current great economic frontier, and not just downtown St. Pete," he said. "I'm particularly excited because this is a venture that is the result of collaboration between public and private funds and between public and private players.

"It could not have happened without the critical assistance of the city of St. Petersburg and the mayor but also with the individuals like Larry Newsome (president of Urban Development Solutions) and myself pushing it."

Earnest Williams, a City Council member who represents Midtown, said he is relieved that the groundbreaking has arrived, after some delay that occurred after Kash n' Karry renamed itself Sweetbay. He has been telling residents for months that the store will be built, but Thursday's event will settle any lingering doubts.

"It's been a long time coming," Williams said. "It's on the way."

Melanie Ave can be reached at 727 892-2273 or melanie@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 13, 2005, 01:07:16]