Federal grant will help reconnect South St. Pete, downtown

Long-discussed efforts to remediate an interstate’s negative impacts on predominantly African American neighborhoods in St. Petersburg received a federal boost Friday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded the city $1.4 million for its Reconnecting the Historic Gas Plant District Project. The overarching goal is to increase safety, access, air quality and economic development opportunities in South St. Pete.

According to city reports, nearly 4,000 people – and 2,700 Black families and businesses – were displaced when construction of I-175 began in the late 1970s. Congresswoman Kathy Castor championed plans that she and Mayor Ken Welch hope will help rectify past mistakes.

“I am thrilled because the interstate system cut St. Petersburg in half,” Castor told the Catalyst. “It really left South St. Pete, in many ways, disconnected from the economic growth of central downtown.”

The walled, limited-access interstate and several adjacent one-way streets bifurcate South St. Pete neighborhoods from the rest of the city. Many communities used transit networks to replace redlining – denying minorities mortgages to ensure segregation – when Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974.

City officials will use the grant for two-way conversions and lane-repurposing on 8^th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Street South. In a prepared statement, Welch credited Castor and Sen. Marco Rubio for supporting St. Petersburg’s progress “in our Infrastructure, Equitable Development and Neighborhood Health and Safety pillars – some of the highest priorities for my administration.”

“Reconnecting South St. Pete neighborhoods and businesses to the downtown corridor is critical to addressing the transportation projects that negatively impacted hundreds of families living in the Historic Gas Plant District and adjacent neighborhoods,” Welch said.

A map showing how I-175 split historically Black neighborhoods. Image: City documents.

The funding stems from the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Program. Local governments can use the money to remove, retrofit, mitigate or replace existing infrastructure that disconnects neighborhoods.

According to the RCP website, the program represents the U.S. DOT’s “commitment to alleviating historical injustices and fostering more inclusive and just environments.” St. Petersburg is one of three Florida municipalities to receive the award during this funding cycle.

“This is recognized because this happened all across America, where interstate highways divided communities,” Castor said. “So, it was very intentional … that we (federal officials) devoted some time and resources to going back and trying to repair those past mistakes.”

Castor noted St. Petersburg’s focus on creating a more walkable community with safer streets. Those efforts include expanding the SunRunner rapid-transit bus system.

Castor said increased connectivity would reduce pollution in neighborhoods and throughout an area that relies on a clean environment to propel tourism. She believes the Reconnecting the Historic Gas Plant District Project will foster “a more vibrant and equitable” city for all residents.

“Small businesses see it too, and they’re saying, ‘Ok, I’ll invest and relocate there,’” Castor added. “They see what is happening; they see what is changing. And this is a small business community, for sure.”

City officials will use the grant for two-way conversions and lane-repurposing on 8th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Street South (pictured). Image: Google.

The project stems from the 2022 Downtown St. Petersburg Mobility Study, conducted in partnership with local planning agency Forward Pinellas. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) supported its findings.

Whit Blanton, CEO of Forward Pinellas, said those included a need to examine I-175’s footprint when local leaders announced the project in October 2023. He noted FDOT officials, to the delight of myriad city stakeholders, committed to launching an interstate action plan and “determining the best course of action.”

Reconnecting the Historic Gas Plant District Project initiatives include:

• Developing and implementing a meaningful community engagement plan that fosters community reconnection and rebuilds trust.
• Planning and preliminary engineering, including concept design, to incorporate improved pedestrian and bike facilities, creative place-making and green infrastructure.
• Conducting an equity assessment to evaluate how two-way conversions and lane reallocations address transportation-related disparities and ensure equitably distributed project benefits.

The project intrinsically intertwines the Historic Gas Plant District’s $6.5 billion redevelopment. Welch announced the project near the former site of his grandfather’s lumber company, Welch’s Woodyard. The business was among hundreds razed to make room for the 1.4-mile interstate.

He reiterated the former Gas Plant neighborhood’s oft-repeated fate. City officials promised jobs and revitalization; Black residents received Tropicana Field and its sprawling parking lots.

“It’s time for all that to change,” Welch said in October 2023.

The city council and Pinellas County Commissioners approved long-negotiated redevelopment plans in July 2024 that Welch believes will help right past wrongs. Castor believes the grant represents another step in that direction.

“I’m thrilled because this coincides with this major redevelopment – the Historic Gas Plant District – and the rise in advocacy for economic growth in South St. Pete,” Castor said Friday. “So, this will be another catalyst to try and knit the community back together.”