Cathedral's request to raze landmark denied again

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 17, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- By a 4-to-1 vote Tuesday, the city's Historic Preservation Commission denied a request by the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Peter to level a landmark building it has owned for more than a decade.

It was the second time this year that St. Peter's had sought permission to demolish the 77-year-old former First Baptist Church at 120 Fourth St. N, which a staff report has called a "rare example of the neoclassical revival style in St. Petersburg."

St. Peter's leaders say they will appeal the ruling to the City Council. They have 10 business days in which to do so.

The cathedral, at 140 Fourth St. N, wants to replace the vacant Baptist church and two other nearby buildings it owns with an $8-million project that includes a 45,000-square-foot building, a four-story 200-car parking garage, a courtyard and gardens. The project is crucial to St. Peter's survival downtown, church officials say.

Dozens of the cathedral's 1,000-member congregation turned out to support its cause Tuesday, but neither their impassioned pleas nor a letter of support from Mayor Rick Baker swayed members of the commission.

"We're very pleased about it," said Jim Brennan, a local historian and president of St. Petersburg Preservation Inc., at the end of the almost four-hour meeting.

"Disappointing," was how Blanton Garnett, president of St. Peter's chapter or board of directors, described the commission's ruling.

"Scripture tells us," said the Rev. Randall Hehr, dean of the cathedral, "when you have forces that oppose you, it forces you to have an even greater determination to do what you have to do."

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