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City Council approves homeless shelter planBy LEONORA LaPETER © St. Petersburg Times, published January 5, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- City Council members rescued a planned 88-bed homeless shelter and food center Thursday, overruling opposition from a city review board and some area business owners. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was given permission to convert the former Florida Hospital of St. Petersburg at 401 15th St. N into a food center and housing for homeless people with jobs. The Catholic charity faces a Sept. 30 deadline to spend a $1-million grant on the renovation, and needed the city to act quickly. More than a dozen supporters of St. Vincent de Paul, which has been attempting to open a facility for 10 years, spoke about the need for the larger shelter in St. Petersburg. "How can a community such as St. Petersburg, which is so concerned with its image, not support $1-million in renovations to a property that is unproductive, unsightly and proposes to provide this kind of service?" asked Scott Brainard of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Representatives of St. Vincent de Paul have spent a lot of time convincing their new neighbors, who were concerned about everything from safety to property values. Those complaints prompted the city's Environmental Development Commission to turn down St. Vincent de Paul's request to renovate the 3.47-acre property in December. To placate its neighbors, St. Vincent de Paul agreed to construct a fence, change its main entrance from the residential Fourth Avenue N. to Fifth Avenue N., and sell a small piece of property it won't be using for use as a playground. St. Vincent de Paul appeared to have neutralized some of its harshest critics, who either didn't show up Thursday or wrote letters of support for the project. The project now has the support of three neighborhood associations and two business districts. But not all the detractors have been mollified. One businessman worried about where the homeless would go once they left the food center. And a pair of doctors sent letters complaining their business could lose income and their property values might plummet. "I have had the opportunity to talk with our patients who have come to me with their concerns for their safety if the proposed shelter and food kitchen is approved," wrote Donald J. Baker, executive director of the Doctor's CareCenter, located across the street from the hospital. "Candidly, I am quite disappointed to see the Environmental Development Commission and the City Council are even giving this possible usage consideration!" But others preached tolerance for those less fortunate, and the City Council was quick to agree. "We have a duty to be good Samaritans," said council member Bill Foster. "We can not simply walk by with blinders on." St. Vincent de Paul has outgrown its existing facility at 757 Arlington Ave. N. The new 49,500-square-foot building when it opens less than a year from now would offer the poor a chance to grab a meal. Only those with identification would be served although the organization would provide IDs on the spot. Security would be provided 24 hours a day. The shelter would have 88 beds and house only those who have jobs. The food center could serve food to 250 people each day, two or three times a day. The facility would provide training in everything from grooming to cooking, said St. Vincent's executive director, Ronda Russick. Russick even suggested the plan for the building, now a blight, might improve property values in the area. In other business, the council: Agreed to hold a workshop at 1:30 p.m., Thursday on a proposed referendum to consider a 99-year lease of 8.2-acres of Campbell Park to the Pinellas County Schools. The school board is seeking the land for playgrounds, recreational land and parking as part of the construction of a new Campbell Park Elementary School. The Campbell Park Neighborhood Association opposes the move, because it would reduce the amount of park land available to the neighborhood. Scheduled a public hearing Jan. 18 on a proposal to place candidates for city office on the ballot by lottery rather than by alphabetical order, as it is now done. Granted Felix D. Fudge, of Bridgeport South Realty Advisors Inc., a variance to knock down a house and erect a parking lot on the south side of 10th Avenue N, about 90 feet west of Fourth Street N. The lot will service a building he is renovating for his real estate business and other businesses.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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