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Fourth Street magnet for money and dining

By PAUL SWIDER
Published January 15, 2006

In a kind of reverse Willie Sutton, rapidly redeveloping Fourth Street N is increasingly becoming home to new banks.

"It's where the money is," said Ginny Lomagno, the president of the Fourth Street Business Association, at one of the group's meetings in, of course, the new Bay Cities Bank, one of several cropping up along the corridor. Attendees also enjoyed a variety of food from some of the new restaurants that have sprouted along the street.

"Fourth Street is becoming a food and banking corridor," Lomagno said. "Deposit your money and go eat. It's wonderful because it brings even more people to the area."

Lomagno and her colleagues are enjoying the fruits of redevelopment, but they're still urging the city's efforts to beautify the street and make it ever more amenable to shoppers.

"It's a key location for the city," said Deputy Mayor Mike Dove, who worked with the group on a corridor plan. He said redevelopment along Fourth Street started with some city zoning changes as far back as the late 1980s, but that the past few years have seen dramatic improvements.

"The demographics have changed so much over the last few years," Dove said of the residents living near Fourth Street. "Now you've got a lot higher incomes and much younger families, which is why you're seeing these kinds of businesses."

The city's efforts on the street are focused on the stretch between Fifth Avenue N and 29th Avenue N, the so-called Garden District that is sporting banners with that title hanging from new decorative streetlights along the east side of the road. Dove said similar lights, part of a $1-million project, will be placed on the west side in 2007, but another $1-million from the state will go into sidewalks and resurfacing. Long-term plans for landscaping, street furniture, medians and more will give the district a distinct feel and make it a pleasant environment for pedestrians.

Dove said new private construction helps in implementing city improvements along the corridor because they won't require as much disturbance and can mesh with the construction. He also said the resulting cohesiveness of an overall district character will give it a staying power.

For the business association, that's music to their ears. Having started working with the city before there was much visual evidence of significant redevelopment, the group has persevered through tough times and is enjoying the rewards now.

"This is the strongest our association has ever been," Lomagno said. "It took us eight years to get to this point."

The Meadowlawn Neighborhood Association will hold its next meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hope Lutheran Church, 1801 62nd Ave N. A representative from Bayfront Medical Center will be the speaker for the evening.

The Lakewood Terrace Neighborhood Association will hold a spaghetti dinner and elections for its 2006 officers at its next meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Lake Maggiore Baptist Church, 4100 Ninth St S.

The next meeting of the Northeast Park Neighborhood Association will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the Masonic Home, 3201 First St. NE. The speaker for the evening will be Lt. Rick Feinberg, deputy fire marshal with the St. Petersburg Fire Department.

Mirror Lake will have a volunteer cleanup crew working along its shores from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. Participants include residents from areas around the lake, the Downtown Neighborhood Association, and others from throughout St. Petersburg. Volunteers will meet at the Mirror Lake Park Complex across the street from the lake, which is between Fifth and Seventh streets, and Second and Third avenues N.

Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association's next meeting is rescheduled to Jan. 23 to avoid a conflict with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. At that meeting, Kim Hinder, the city's preservation planner, will talk about the neighborhood's proposed historic designation. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 126 11th Ave. NE.

The Jungle Terrace Civic Association will hold a neighborhood cleanup starting at 7 a.m. Feb 6 on the northeast side of Tyrone Boulevard N, from 26th Avenue N to 40th Avenue N. City crews will pick up large household items. No hazardous materials will be accepted. For information, call 343-2041.

Readers wishing to submit information for the Neighborhood Notebook can contact Times staff writer Paul Swider either by e-mail at pswider@sptimes.com or by phone at 892-2271. Neighborhood association presidents who would like to publish their organization's information directly to the Web on their own itsyourtimes.com blog should also contact Paul Swider at pswider@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 15, 2006, 01:47:20]