Developer unveils ambitious South St. Pete revitalization project

Drastic changes are on the horizon for a blighted South St. Petersburg corridor known for its lack of healthy food options, retail offerings and neighborhood connectivity. 

Local developer John Barkett and his wife, Julie, have unveiled plans to transform several parcels along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South, near Historic Roser Park and the St. Petersburg Innovation District, into a wellness hub. They dubbed their ambitious adaptive reuse project The Looking Glass Initiative. 

The plan is to reimagine a long-neglected plaza and fill empty storefronts with a neighborhood grocer, a community coffee shop, a full-service real estate boutique and new retail spaces for local small business owners. A separate vacant lot will become the Wonderland Garden, with a “Food Farmacy” program, educational workshops and employment opportunities for residents with disabilities. 

“Having three to four blocks of unlit, unoccupied blight – it’s just a detriment,” Barkett told the Catalyst. “You can’t leapfrog over it. You can’t get institutional investors to invest any further south. It’s a connector.” 

A map of the surrounding area.

The Looking Glass Initiative encompasses a 13,218-square-foot strip mall at 900-938 Dr. MLK Jr. St. S and a 15,239-square-foot lot at 1013 MLK Jr. St. S. Former City Councilmember Richard Martin, who died in March, once owned the dilapidated properties. 

Martin rebuffed Barkett’s previous attempts to buy some of the parcels for nearly a decade. Barkett said the previous owners invested “zero money into the properties, racking up code compliance liens.” 

He subsequently agreed to purchase the lot, once home to a nursery, and the new deal closes Sept. 12. The couple will then begin improving and redeveloping the properties.

“We’re rebuilding basically brand new, best of the old and the new, vanilla shells,” Barkett said. “We have the ability to work with potential owner-operators … in parallel with us on their design, and be ready to hit the ground running. Some of which are already doing that.” 

Barkett, founder of Barkett Realty and a managing partner of Ascension Real Estate Partners, said  “reverse engineered the financial modeling” to “offer the lowest rent that we possibly can” for a neighborhood market. While no agreements are in place, he has already discussed the initiative with the City of St. Petersburg and the One Community Grocery Co-op. 

The plaza’s southern end opened in 1925 as a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. Community input will guide the revitalization process for a project that abuts Campbell Park, 13th Street Heights and Roser Park, and has already garnered support from the three neighborhood associations. 

The Wonderland Garden is a passion project for Julie Barkett, a “registered nurse turned stay-at-home mom” who felt compelled to continue serving the community. She has also long-envisioned launching a neighborhood garden and farm that offers adult day training and supported employment for people with disabilities. 

Julie believes the vacant lot is an “absolutely perfect spot” to make her dream a reality. She said the nonprofit garden will promote food security and self-sustainability. 

The Barketts have discussed partnering with a neighboring hospital; they are also open to working with any interested local organizations. Julie hopes the garden will help attract a grocer to the area “because it works with such great synergy.” 

The Barketts will transform a vacant lot across the street from the plaza into the Wonderland Garden.

The couple seeks a master gardener to consult on the project, which will eventually lead to a full-time position. Julie called it an impactful role as it allows someone to “do what they love” and “pass that on to so many people,” including those with disabilities. 

Their plans include removing two utility structures and fencing facing an alley. They will also add lighting throughout the property to mitigate what is now considered a haven for criminal activity. 

John said the two will reinvent the area as a community courtyard with food and beverage service. “This gives us the ability to curate an entire mini-district in one fell swoop.” 

A “dynamite husband and wife” plan to establish a “third space” coffee shop with art and poetry events, he said. John will relocate his real estate, development and property valuation and management businesses into a storefront. 

He said The Looking Glass will offer a blank canvas for entrepreneurs to “run their own business and be not just financially feasible out of the gate, but sustainable.” John called the project an incubator and accelerator that will foster growth further south along the corridor. 

“It also just brings a sense of place and pride for the community,” Julie added. “Somebody is investing in their neighborhood, and that matters.” 

The city and the Florida Department of Transportation have agreed to add a pedestrian crosswalk that is critical to supporting neighborhood connectivity and walkability. John has secured a local lender with the “desire and need to invest” in local Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) projects. 

The Barketts will apply for South St. Petersburg CRA funding and want to ensure tenants can access available resources. “There’s a lot of other initiatives and passion plays that tie into everything we’ve been doing for well over a decade,” John said. 

“It’s exciting to see what happens when you stay steady.”