Dignitaries celebrate St. Pete Science Center’s rebirth

A group of current and former government officials, as diverse as the programming planned for a reimagined Science Center, celebrated the dawn of a new era for the once-beloved institution Friday.

​The list of speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony underscored the bipartisan collaboration and time it took to reach that milestone. Former Governor Charlie Crist, Mayor Ken Welch, Sen. Darryl Rouson, Rep. Linda Chaney, Rep. Berny Jacques, City Councilmember Copley Gerdes and former Councilmember Robert Blackmon, the project’s visionary, each addressed a standing-room-only crowd.

​A civic landmark from 1966 until 2014, the Science Center will again foster a love for science and innovation in the summer of 2027. The St. Petersburg Group (SPG) and its redevelopment partners, collectively known as St. Pete for STEAM, recently purchased the neglected building and 3.9 acres of land from the city for $1.6 million.

​“What I love about this place is that it’s steeped in the essence of St. Petersburg,” said Joe Hamilton, co-founder of SPG. “What I love most about this place today is the impact it will have on the St. Petersburg of tomorrow.”

Joe Hamilton, co-founder of the St. Petersburg Group, expressed pride in the project’s diverse group of supporters. Photo by Mark Parker.

​The estimated $25 million project at 7701 22nd Ave. N. will transform the site into an “unapologetically complex” facility that will “reflect and serve this community as best as we can,” Hamilton said. A reimagined Science Center will also be “weird in the best way possible.”

​Hamilton noted that visitors could walk out of a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) lab and into a tranquil garden with a restored historic mosaic trail. “All while a wedding rehearsal is whooping it up in the Star Garden on the roof,” he said.

​Students, residents, businesses, government agencies and nonprofits “need to be ready for AI,” Hamilton added, and you “cannot reach for what you cannot see.” He pledged that the Science Center will open an “endless path for learning” that will continue long after visitors exit the building.

​Blackmon has dreamt of reviving the Science Center since 2019. In the following years, he “openly begged” his colleagues on the city council to help save it from demolition.

​“I had no funding, no support and little hope,” Blackmon said. “But what I did have was friends.”

​The first call he made was to Rouson, the “true hero of this story.” Blackmon said the legislator “fought back in the trenches” to keep the site from becoming 12 single-family homes.

​He credited Crist, then a congressman, for securing the first $3 million in project funding. Crist called Blackmon’s request a “no-brainer,” as the facility has and will provide “so much education for children and others.”

​Blackmon began building a “core team,” including Pathfinder Outdoor Education and the Water Warrior Alliance, to offer new programming at the Science Center. He then met Hamilton and “pitched him on the plucky group with big dreams” who were “looking for a leader.”

​“He is the reason we’re here today,” Blackmon said. He also lauded West St. Petersburg residents for rallying “in a big way” and a “true team effort at every level of government – across the political spectrum.”

Mayor Ken Welch (second from right), said the project exemplified how local leaders can collaboratively work toward common goals. Photo by Mark Parker.

​Welch said the project exemplifies how city stakeholders can collaboratively navigate complex issues. The city will “pursue multiple goals of education and economic development here, but also resilience at our highest and most sustainable water reclamation facility next door. We can do both.”

​“I want to thank the definition of perseverance in Joe Hamilton,” Welch continued. “This is what progress looks like. This is what collaboration looks like. I’m proud of where we’re going.”

​Hamilton said Gerdes, who represents the area, “probably had more to gain or lose with this place than anyone.” Gerdes, who was born, raised and “will be buried” in District 1, called the Science Center “another gem” for the area.

​He credited neighborhood leaders for their outspoken support during periods of uncertainty. Gerdes anticipates the facility showcasing technological advancements and “all the new things that tomorrow is bringing.”

​“I’m excited for my children to experience one more thing that I experienced as a kid, because that’s what St. Pete is about,” he added. “It’s about that story – the storyline continuing, and we get to be a part of that.”

​St. Pete for STEAM has raised over $15 million, largely due to the efforts of Rouson, Jacques and Chaney. “It’s about our future,” Rouson said.

​“It’s about the children, who will get that spark, that hunger, that thirst for knowledge, here at the Science Center.”

​Jacques said lawmakers are expected to vote on everything, but there’s no way you can know everything.” He stressed the importance of community stakeholder feedback.

​The initial stakeholders in this scenario were Hamilton and Blackmon. However, Jacques said “it wasn’t long” until generations of current and former residents shared how the Science Center “ignited their imagination” and helped them become better adults.

​“We are going to provide the know-how to our youth so that they can hit the ground running for the jobs of today and tomorrow,” Jacques said. “That path to a more prosperous economy for all Floridians will begin here in St. Petersburg.”

A rendering of the reimagined Science Center, which should open in the summer of 2027. Rendering: Victor Fehrenbach @Rob Bowen Design.

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