On a narrow stretch of sand in the town of Indian Shores, the earth has reclaimed Tiki Gardens. The tidy footpaths that meandered past neatly-manicured palm trees and flowering bushes, grass huts and painted stucco Tiki statues are covered now with greenbrier vines, scrub palmetto and 30 years of the matted, decayed detritus of palm, pine and invasive Brazilian pepper trees.
Housing that’s affordable, office space to attract and retain businesses, and university research and development operations top Mayor Rick Kriseman’s wish list for redevelopment at the Tropicana Field site.
The redevelopment also will honor the site’s history and provide opportunities for economic equity and inclusion, according to a request for proposals for the 86-acre site released Monday morning by the city of St. Petersburg.
Author, deep thinker and Poynter Institute writing prof Roy Peter Clark returned to The Catalyst Sessions Friday, for a wide-ranging discussion of whatever happened to be on his mind.
“It seems as if we’ve entered this comic book bizarro world,” he mused, “in which all the things we took for granted no longer exist in the same way, and things which were of little importance are now of great importance. Things that we never saw before, we’re seeing all the time now.”