Thrive
St. Pete wants to build a $55 million park under I-275
The idea was never simply to dress up the underside of an interstate.
A stretch beneath Interstate 275 that is now mostly asphalt and parking could become a major new public space in St. Petersburg.
The proposed Trails Crossing would turn roughly 12 acres beneath and alongside the interstate near Central Avenue into parks, trails and gathering spaces, with playgrounds, public art, markets, event space and a pedestrian and bicycle route along 18th Street.
The project would stretch from Fifth Avenue South to Burlington Avenue North, with a possible future extension to Fifth Avenue North. The Pinellas Trail cuts through the middle.
Getting there could take a decade and an estimated $55 million.
St. Petersburg’s Public Services and Infrastructure Committee got a detailed look at the draft master plan Thursday and agreed it could move toward the full City Council without another committee review.
The concept reached City Council in 2022. The city later hired LandDesign to develop a master plan and agreed to split planning costs with the nonprofit Friends of Trails Crossing.
John Barkett, co-founder and president of Friends of Trails Crossing, said the idea was never simply to dress up the underside of an interstate.
“It’s more than a park,” Barkett said. “It’s a trailhead. It’s a pedestrian trail. It’s a way to safely get St. Pete residents up and down to the Pinellas Trail and along the Pinellas Trail safely.”
Designs divide the long, narrow property into different areas. The southern end would include green space, public art and room for performances. Near Central Avenue, a lawn and plaza could handle larger events. Farther north, plans call for a children’s playground and water feature.
The project would also remake 18th Street with safer crossings and a roughly 16-foot-wide corridor for people walking and biking.
That north-south connection caught the attention of Councilmember Copley Gerdes, who said it could become increasingly important as the Historic Gas Plant District is redeveloped east of the interstate.
“The other thing that I really like is we’re creating another very intentional connection south, which we should be doing on the Gas Plant,” Gerdes said. “Creating a second connection there is a really big deal to me.”
Designers also went backward before drawing what might come next.
A 1923 Sanborn map shows houses and outbuildings lining the west side of 18th Street before the interstate occupied the area. The master plan traces some of those former building footprints into the park, where they could appear as planters, gathering areas and play structures.
“We started out by looking at the historic maps,” said Ken Smith, LandDesign’s principal landscape architect. “The 1923 Sanborn map that we got from the university showed … all of the houses and outbuildings that were on the west side of 18th Street at that time.”
Turning those drawings into a park presents a more immediate problem: St. Petersburg doesn’t own most of the land.
The property beneath I-275 belongs to the Florida Department of Transportation. The city has controlled the lots through an agreement with FDOT since the 1970s, but that agreement would have to be changed to accommodate Trails Crossing.
Councilmember Mike Harting asked how the city could be sure FDOT would continue allowing the property to be used years into the future.
Transportation Director Evan Mory said FDOT has participated in the planning process and reviewed the proposal without raising major concerns.
“Negotiating an agreement with them will be a pretty heavy lift,” Mory said. “But we’ve had one with them since the 1970s where the city’s controlled these lots. So the idea is that they would likely be amenable to doing that into the future.”
The city also has an existing business to work around. Vertical Ventures, the climbing gym along the Pinellas Trail, relies on parking beneath the interstate.
Mory said the city has negotiated a five-year agreement with Vertical Ventures that is awaiting final FDOT approval. Early phases would preserve some of the company’s parking.
“I think everybody wants this to happen, but nobody wants it to happen at the cost of what is, I think, a thriving business,” Gerdes said. “Now it gives them time to figure it out.”
Then there is the $55 million question.
The first two pieces are estimated at roughly $23 million combined, followed by phases estimated at $16 million and $15 million. No funding package is in place for the entire project.
When Harting asked how it could be funded, Mory said grants would likely play a major role, while city funding could also come before council in future budgets. Barkett said Friends of Trails Crossing would pursue other funding sources as well.
“Funding is coming from all buckets,” Barkett said.
The finished park is envisioned as more than a city-maintained neighborhood park. Consultants have recommended a public-private model in which Friends of Trails Crossing or another nonprofit could help operate and maintain a space designed for regular markets, festivals and other programming.
Councilmember Richie Floyd said those arrangements will require closer scrutiny as the project moves forward, particularly around management and public access.
“That’s going to be something I’m interested in,” Floyd said, adding that the city needs “a real firm grasp on how issues will be handled and access will be handled.”
The committee did not approve construction or commit $55 million Thursday. Its direction allows the master plan to proceed to the full City Council, while agreements with FDOT and the nonprofit and the search for construction funding would follow.
For Barkett, the ambitions extend beyond the park itself. He pointed to potential pedestrian connections farther south toward Johns Hopkins Middle School, Campbell Park and Booker Creek, part of a broader effort to improve north-south connections across the city.
“We’ve really stitched back together all of it and not just downtown,” Barkett said. “We’ve stitched South St. Pete back into downtown.”
Stephanie Weber
September 15, 2026at12:41 am
Wow,building a park, a $55 million park,. on concrete,under concrete!? Are you kidding? How about making our parks safer, and actually beautiful again. And seriously, a decade huh, before and perhaps even if, it’s erected. How about using that money for more stable and permanent homes for families struggling? Homelessness? I keep hearing the words “affordable housing” thrown around, but see nothing but highrise luxury condos absolutely everywhere..all these developers coming out of the woodwork especially after the past hurricanes.
Judy Too
September 14, 2026at7:01 pm
The fact that such studies are actually funded proves beyond a reasonable doubt that passing Amendment 3 is not going to affect the city’s ability to provide necessary services.
Welch needs to retire and get off the taxpayers’ payroll, although we will be paying for his retirement the remainder of his life.
S. Rose Smith-Hayes
September 14, 2026at6:55 pm
What about using those funds to assist the HOMELESS. We have more than enough Parks, many are rarely ever used. Do something for the people. Many homeless have jobs and/or income. Please help them.
Greg Aurre
September 14, 2026at5:40 pm
I want to start by saying that I love parks and outdoor spaces.
However, the audacity of the City to even propose spending $55 million dollars on improvements to ~10 acres of land understand a highway is so out of touch with reality. Prices of everything have soared since Covid and wages have been largely stagnant during the same time. The thought of cutting property taxes had the city crying about services needing to be cut in fear tactics. I have an idea, let’s cut this project before it gets started.
Charles Eitel
September 14, 2026at4:23 pm
in a word: seawalls
James Turner
September 14, 2026at11:43 am
THIS is where standalone workforce housing should be located using affordable housing funds already available! Currently, the affordable housing funds are being used to subsidize construction of LUXURY TOWER AFTER LUXURY TOWER! Soon will come a time when these luxury units will not be selling, and the burden of tower upkeep will fall heavily on the workforce residing therein!
Deana Stephen
September 14, 2026at10:51 am
Stop spending money! Now !
James Ferral
September 14, 2026at10:27 am
The cost will double and the result will be a crime ridden park for drug dealing and the homeless encampment. Besides, you can not afford it.
Eric Savidge
September 13, 2026at2:47 pm
I’d rather see the money go towards the bridges downtown getting re-painted.
Lights under the bridges to illuminate them at night could be a nice addition.
Hugh Hazeltine
September 13, 2026at1:46 pm
“Getting there could take a decade and an estimated $55 million.”
I went to a meeting at the Enoch Davis center where Mayor Welch proposed about that amount to redo the center and it’s adjacent library. He was asked from the audience where the money would come from? He said funding has not yet been identified.
Remember when the Mayor took the stage on Mahaffey theater just before the Cynthia Erivo concert to pitch the idea of an arts district next door that would demolish Al Lang Stadium. Funding for that idea has not been identified either.
First we need to spend $.5M on a study that will tell us that trying to buy out Duke Energy for $2-4 Billion is a poor choice of public resources.
Mahaffey Theater is also known as “Duke Energy Center for the Arts”. We might have to find a new sponsor now.
Tony Cambria
September 13, 2026at12:07 pm
No new developments, bike lanes, or new parks until the city finishes repairing and upgrading VITAL infrastructure. Let Friends of Trails Crossing raise the full amount themselves and make them responsible for the paying for the ongoing upkeep. If they aren’t willing to do that, why should the city (residents). We have enough problems (drainage and traffic problems) that have been neglected/deferred yet we continue to develop and overburden our already inadequate and deteriorating infrastructure. Once the city fixes what we have then start adding the nice to haves.
Kevin Cowan
September 12, 2026at9:51 pm
In the meantime they continue to raise fees on a regular basis…Why don’t they just do what they were voted into office for…And stop with the frivolous nonsense..We don’t need new parks or overpriced..AFORDABLE Housing…Or for them to manage our electrical grid.And the list goes on and on..with no end In sight because of the bunch of corrupt idiots we have running this City
Chad Tucker
September 12, 2026at8:42 pm
So let me get this straight. The city can spend $55 million to redevelop parking lots into parks and could have contributed hundreds of millions to a private company’s new baseball stadium, but somehow the property tax cut is going to decimate public services??? How about the city let us keep more of OUR money and let parking lots be and let private companies build their own stadiums? How about the city pay the essential services and THEN spend on pet projects? Don’t let them trick you! They just want to waste your money on their toys. The can easily afford our tax cut.
JAMES GILLESPIE
September 12, 2026at6:59 pm
the public park concept has positive appeal. however at $55 million it joins a long list of proposed city investments which the city can’t immediately afford. city council needs to prioritize and affordable housing and updating and hardening all city water facilities seem most important. achieve important goals to offer proof you can do it. the idea of the $500,000 homes still is sour. achieve not just spend.