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Letter to the editor

St. Peter's cathedral may ride condo wave

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published June 1, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Leaders at St. Peter's Episcopal Cathedral believe they may have struck a winning deal to expand and renovate their downtown property.

Last week the cathedral's dean, the Very Rev. Russell Johnson, signed a letter of intent with a local development group to expand the cathedral campus by 60,000 square feet and 35 parking spaces. The deal would give the developer the option of constructing a mixed-use structure with condominiums, parking and office space. Two residential units will be at the church's disposal.

"I'm hoping that our tower will be the next tower to rise over St. Petersburg," said Johnson, adding that he thinks it might have about 85 to 100 residences.

The project will include property where a former Baptist church sat at 120 Fourth St. N, which is owned by St. Peter's and next door to the cathedral.

The cathedral itself may not be touched during renovations. But its administration building, parish hall and the old Baptist sanctuary likely will. Church leaders have had several building plans in the past few years. No site renderings are available for the latest project, and church leaders are not giving further details.

Johnson, who would not reveal the names of those involved in the project, said the cathedral will pay the group $5-million to launch the much-needed expansion. He said the church is hoping to sign a contract toward the end of June.

If the group decides the project is not financially feasible, it will simply renovate the cathedral's current property, Johnson said.

Cathedral officials say this is the right time for such a deal.

"I think we are exactly in the right place and the right time with what's happening in downtown St. Petersburg," said Sarah Hill, the cathedral's senior warden. She said the church will launch a capital funds drive in the fall to raise money for the project.

Johnson said he's "as excited as a little kid in a candy store."

The congregation of about 800 to 900 has run out of options, he said. The historic sanctuary will remain, but its outer buildings are deteriorating.

"We have to have better facilities. One out of six dollars is being spent on maintenance. It's unacceptable. Virtually every air conditioning system has died. There are cracks in the walls with leakage; paint is falling down. It's a disaster," he said.

St. Peter's, at 140 Fourth St. N, has struggled for several years to expand and renovate its property. Besides financial obstacles, the church also has had to battle preservationists, who objected to the congregation's plan to raze the former Baptist church.

In December 2001 St. Petersburg's City Council agreed to let the church tear down the old Baptist sanctuary. The congregation, though, first had to show it had the money to build a proposed complex. It was given until December 2004 to raise the money.

In November 2004, with the deadline approaching, the City Council granted the cathedral's request for a one-year extension to the permit that would allow the cathedral to tear down the historic former Baptist sanctuary.

The extension was granted, provided the cathedral preserved the facade of the former church in its construction plans. If St. Peter's decides not to include the facade of the neoclassical revival church, it would have to go back to the City Council.

Johnson said he's not sure what the developers will decide to do.

"There's been no elevations, no drawings. The only thing that we have agreed to is that the outfit, in exchange for $5-million, essentially will provide us with the space we need for the future and if it is not feasible financially, they will work with us to do something with the existing buildings," he said.

The letter of intent "means that we are going to work with these guys until they decide they can't do it," he added.

[Last modified June 1, 2005, 00:38:18]