Mayor Kriseman Unveils Deuces Rising Plan Focused on 22nd Street South
/SVG has submitted an unsolicited proposal to co-develop 2.6 acres of Commerce Park. The development would be mixed-use and would feature workforce housing.
When the vision for Commerce Park was first unveiled in 2007, it filled many residents with hope. Hope for economic development and jobs along St. Pete’s 22nd Street South corridor, which is home to the Deuces, a historic African-American entertainment and business district. Commerce Park was originally envisioned as a 13-acre business park that once promised to bring high paying manufacturing jobs on land assembled by a loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Over the last decade, delays and setbacks have dimmed that original hope. Community leaders grew tired of hearing excuses from those involved as to why the project kept getting postponed. While Downtown St. Pete and the nearby Warehouse Arts District and EDGE District were teeming with new development — Commerce Park sat still.
Last month, or twelve years after receiving the HUD grant, the federal government requested the city pay back the $2.2 million loan for not fulfilling its promises. It was another setback for Commerce Park, but in hindsight it freed the city from HUD’s job creation requirements for the site, allowing the possibility of other types of development.
The City had budgeted $7.5 million for streetscaping improvements to 22nd Street South. Shown here is an example of improvements that could be completed.
In an announcement earlier last week, Mayor Kriseman unveiled a new vision, named “Deuces Rising”, that has sparked renewed hope for the 22nd Street corridor. Beyond a revised plan for Commerce Park, the vision also addresses the revitalization of a one-mile portion of the 22nd Street South corridor that stretches from Commerce Park to Tangerine Plaza. Piggybacking off of the Warehouse Arts District’s Deuces Live Joint Action Plan which was completed in 2018, the new vision re-commits the city’s focus to the area and allocates additional city resources for placemaking and streetscaping.
As part of the Deuces Rising vision, the city is budgeting $7.5 million in FY20 for five gateway intersections, branded signage, and landscaping. The funds will also go to improvements that will promote safer pedestrian and bicycle crossings. A new community park is also planned for the northeast corner of 22nd Street South and 9th Avenue South.
The 13.4 acre Commerce Park site is expected to be divided into three parts as shown in the above conceptual plan.
As for Commerce Park, it will be divided into three parts. Approximately 5.5 acres will be put up for sale for market development while a separate 5.3 acres will house a new Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, which currently resides on 9th Avenue South near Jordan Park. The city is expected to contribute $1 million towards the new facility. The museum will need a capital fundraising campaign to raise the rest.
The remaining land will likely house a mixed-use project. The Sankofa Vision Group (SVG) submitted an unsolicited proposal for 2.6 acres of the site. SVG has proposed a partnership with the city to co-develop a mixed-use development featuring workforce housing, ground floor retail space, and office space. According to a concept sheet for the project, the city would take a lead and have the ultimate authority for design, development, and financing of the project.
The partnership would include a consortium of more than twenty local community groups including the Pinellas County Urban League, Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corporation, and The 2020 Plan/One Community Plan, among many others. Because SVG’s proposal was unsolicited, the city will need to release a Request For Proposal (RFP) to allow other parties to submit proposals for the land. Ultimately the city will then decide between the submitted proposals.
On the southern end of the 22nd Street South corridor, the city will also solicit proposals for Tangerine Plaza. Tangerine Plaza is a shopping center at 18th Avenue South and 22nd Street S which once housed a Sweetbay Supermarket and then a Walmart Neighborhood Market. When Walmart closed in early 2017, it created a food desert in the neighborhood. The city is seeking a mixed-use development that would include workforce housing, retail space, and a market or grocery store.
The Deuces Rising vision is just the latest effort to spur community-led economic development along the historically significant 22nd Street corridor. In 2015, St. Petersburg College opened a new 49,000 square foot building along the corridor. And in 2017 Mayor Kriseman selected the Callaloo Group to lease and operate the Manhattan Casino. The casino, located at 642 22nd Street S, is home to Callaloo, a restaurant serving southern comfort food with a Caribbean twist, and Pipo’s To Go Cafe.
The planned infrastructure improvements are expected to benefit existing businesses like Chief's Creole Cafe, at 901 22nd Street South, while also encouraging new businesses to open in the area. The hope is this that economic development will create jobs and prosperity that ripple into the surrounding neighborhoods.
