New park signifies momentum for the Deuces corridor

A vacant corner lot along the main street running through St. Petersburg’s Deuces corridor will now be a new gathering space for uniting the local neighborhood.

“We want to recreate what was here before and will continue making the investments to restore opportunities and quality of life,” St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said during a Saturday ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new park on the corner of 22nd Street and 9th Avenue South – an area that was a vibrant hub of Black-owned businesses, entertainment and homes during the Jim Crow era.

The new park features a covered pavilion, sidewalks and benches. According to Welch, it represents “the beginning of the progress that’s to come.”

The desire for a new park was identified through a 2018 Warehouse Arts District Deuces Live Joint Action Plan, which lists specific opportunities for enhancing the infrastructure to support the upward social, cultural and economic potential of the area with sidewalks, lighting, streetscapes and parks.

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St. Petersburg Economic and Workforce Development Director Brian Caper said the design work started in 2019 with a 10-month construction timeline. It’s part of the overall $5 million Phase 1 plan for the area, which also entails a second park on 5th Street that will be opening, among other projects.

The two parks will serve as bookends for the Deuces, creating flexible space that can be used to host events, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Jefferis said.

“Our dream is that the Deuces will once again be an asset to this vibrant city,” Welch said during the event, which was simultaneously taking place with the annual Collard Green Festival. He was joined on stage by other key players involved in the park and enhancing the Deuces, such as Samantha Harris, co-founder of the Collard Green Festival.

Welch listed additional projects in the works that will help the community rise, including the construction of 266 apartments in Jordan Park, Sankofa’s development that will create 24 townhomes, providing additional affordable housing and retail, and the redevelopment of Tangerine Plaza. 

Today, the corridor houses restaurants, retail, the Woodson African American Museum of Florida and the Manhattan Casino, which is undergoing repairs.