To Mayor Ken Welch, Members of City Council, and City of St. Petersburg Staff:
The Historic Gas Plant was a vibrant and thriving community of predominantly Black residents that provided homes, jobs and business ownership opportunities, safe green spaces, places of worship, and cemeteries. The new development must be focused on former residents, their descendants, and the residents of South St. Petersburg through education of the history of this community and substantive economic benefit directed toward these residents. It is our belief that the only way to ensure public benefit is for the public to remain in control of the land through ownership and democratic processes on determining its present and future.
We assert that the only viable path forward is a plan where the city retains ownership of all 86 acres. Furthermore, steps should be taken to ensure public control in perpetuity, including the development of the land by the city itself like it has on some of our most beloved city assets such as the Pier, Jamestown Apartments, the Marina and more.
Any design of the area must ensure that the space prioritizes the Black community. We urge the city to consider how it might deliver on the promises made in the 1970s and 80s and recommend the following:
Re-design of I-175 to remove a significant physical barrier between South St. Petersburg and the economic centers of downtown and Central Avenue.
Prioritize low-income residents in their housing needs. Currently, ~⅓ of the current renting households in St. Petersburg make less than 50% of the area median income ($20/hr or less). In order to preserve the economic diversity of our city, ⅓ of new housing units should be made affordable to people making $20/hr or less and be maintained at that level in perpetuity.
Include a carve-out of at least 8 acres for a social housing pilot project through a public developer.
Prioritize Black entrepreneurship, job development, and minimum standards of the number of Black-owned storefronts in perpetuity.
Raise the environmental living and building standards to address the historic pollution of the land, limit polluted run-off going into Tampa Bay, and utilize green-LEED technologies for sustainable building and energy practices.
Construction should utilize Union trades with registered apprenticeships that utilize FDOL- approved apprentices, use only responsible contractors, and promote the hiring of local and hard-to-hire residents.