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South side bus tour reveals opportunities
By SHARON L. BOND
© St. Petersburg Times, ST. PETERSBURG -- The general purpose of a recent bus tour was to showcase southern St. Petersburg as an excellent place to live, work or operate a business. That meant it was an effort to dispel negative stereotypes that cling to the area where a large part of the city's African-American population lives. The St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce organized the tour for its members, some of whom were unfamiliar with the area south of Central Avenue. Some city and county employees also were on board as were four City Council members. "I think a lot of people on the tour were pleasantly surprised at some of the things they did see," said Leroy Sullivan Jr., operations manager of the St. Petersburg division of Teco/Peoples Gas. He was on the tour and knew southern St. Petersburg fairly well, as he has worked in the city for three years. He lives in western Hillsborough County. "I don't know if they really expected the area to have as much substance as it does have in terms of a business community," Sullivan said. The tour group, which numbered 45, was a mixed one with blacks and whites, young and old, men and women. Probably more representatives of businesses that buy the services of small firms or that supply small firms were on the tour rather than those from small firms themselves. "If you are a small business, you couldn't afford to take the time," said Bernice "Bernie" Young, current chair of the chamber, who was on the tour. Young lives, owns a business and has children who own a business in southern St. Petersburg. Young said people unfamiliar with the area assume that because it has the largest minority population in the city, "it must be the worst section of town." The southern part of the city includes neighborhoods as diverse as the pink streets of Greater Pinellas Point, the waterfront of Bahama Shores and Campbell Park, just south of Tropicana Field. The 10-stop tour began at Ceridian Benefits Services, which employs 1,000 people on a 51-acre campus on 34th Street S. Ceridian moved in last year after spending $28-million renovating the campus. It is a branch of an international company that administers benefits packages for other companies. The second stop was Joffrey's Cyber Cafe on 34th Street S, which features specialty drinks and Internet access. "The whole goal was to showcase south St. Petersburg, to give people a different perspective of south St. Petersburg," said Alvina Miller, senior business assistance specialist with the chamber. She organized the tour, got sponsors for it and asked businesses and residents to open up to tour participants. "A lot of them don't think it is the most desirable location to live and play," Miller said. "The media perpetuates a (negative) image of the area." Negative news came out of southern St. Petersburg in 1996 after a young black man was shot to death by a white St. Petersburg police officer during a traffic stop at 18th Avenue S and 16th Street. The shooting touched off disturbances in southern St. Petersburg. Businesses and residences were destroyed. The southern half of the city contains some of the poorer neighborhoods. Many of its business corridors, such as 22nd Street S, need serious rehabilitation. To some, even the geographic name, "south St. Petersburg," carries a negative connotation. To that point, the chamber called its trip the Southern Peninsula Bus Tour. It was sponsored by TECO, Wedding Architects, Sir Speedy Downtown and Pinellas Technical Education Center. Stops on the tour included the new YMCA being built on First Avenue S, Perkins Elementary School on 18th Avenue S and Boyd Hill Nature Park, a 245-acre preserve off Country Club Way S. The city has targeted 22nd Street S for redevelopment. Two stops on it were Green's Bakery and Linen Images. Green's -- famous for its sweet potato pies -- has been a family business 38 years, although it hasn't been in its present location all that time. "I really liked Green's and the sweet potato pie," said Rick Montondo, senior vice president of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg. That feeling was shared. Owner Bernice Green said she had had a number of those on the bus tour return for her pies and pound cake after sampling them at the stop. Linen Images opened in 1999 and makes linens for high-end markets. City Council member John Bryan, whose district is in the north tip of the city, was among those impressed with the Egyptian cotton with Italian designs that was being stitched into a duvet that would retail for $1,000. (Linen Images does not have a retail shop.) Unearthly Creations is nearby on Fairfield Avenue S. Young's daughter and son-in-law, Shannon and Beth Young-Scovatto, just opened the business, which makes solid surfaces using material made of acrylic and minerals. From this material the company creates countertops, other household items and even pieces of art. Unearthly Creations made the chamber's awards for small business of the year winners that were handed out in May. The residential portion of the tour was the Roser Park neighborhood, a historic area at the northern edge that contains a varied collection of homes from the early part of the 20th century. The bus tour was one of two the chamber is under contract with the city to provide each year. Earlier, members toured the Gateway area in northern St. Petersburg.
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