It was a full house in the Vinoy on Friday, October 4th at the public presentation of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Waterfront Master Plan and we at iLovetheBurg.com were on the edge of our seats. The overall message was exciting for downtown St. Pete’s prospects with a generous amount of tough love, notes of caution and a combination of both bold and pragmatic recommendations. Bottom line, the ‘Burg is a beautiful place with many enviable assets but we’ve got work to do to tap into our full potential. Some interesting takeaways were the emphases on improving public use of waterfront space, investing in the healthcare, education, and research (HER) industry of our newly-termed “Innovation District” and above all connecting the city from North to South and East to West.

“I came an Indians fan, I leave a Rays fan,” said Mike Higbee who headed the ULI panel. “St. Petersburg has an unbelievable future if managed correctly.” The formulation of ULI’s visit was a monumental effort in of itself and thank yous abounded, both for members of the Chamber of Commerce that footed most of the bill and for the eager cooperation of the city and community. The professional members of the panel came to St. Petersburg as unpaid volunteers and spent about a week walking, biking, busing and driving around St. Pete as well as conducting interviews with key waterfront players and everyday ‘Burgers. ULI has been advising communities since 1947 and are brought in to serve panels like this 15 to 20 times a year for different locations around the world.

“It’s a good week to be out of Washington DC,” joked one of them. The presentation was several hours long and packed with observations, data and recommendations. The full presentation is available on the St. Pete City website here and we highly recommend giving it a look over.

The Bottom Line by Region:

“North” = 5th Ave N. to Coffee Pot Bayou
Themes: Preserve, maintain, serve current demands
Keep and embrace bike paths and brick streets.

SUGGESTION: Reclaim parking lots for better recreational use.
SUGGESTION: Establish food trucks and pop-up offerings for existing demand.

“Central” -> 5th Ave N to 4th Ave S -> “Core Downtown”
Themes: Enhance, maintain, synergize, multi-modal connectivity, diverse population/environment
Link downtown and the Waterfront, connectivity will be vital going forward.

SUGGESTION: Build the Pier with the design of our choosing.
SUGGESTION: Add light rail transit from end of Pier to Mirror Lake (2nd Ave. N., East to West) and down 4th St. S. (North to South). Will be ultimate connection between St. Pete assets.
SUGGESTION: Get rid of 20 acres of parking lots on the Pier and repurpose the land for parks/recreation use AND repurpose 10 acres of Al Lang stadium to multi-use waterfront space to maximize public access to waterfront.
SUGGESTION: Redesign Bayshore Drive to a convertible street with limited auto use and cater to biking/walking with bountiful event/market space.
SUGGESTION: Construct a pedestrian and bike “Art Swing Bridge” across North Basin.
SUGGESTION: Add more transient boat slips for visiting boaters across all three basins.
SUGGESTION: Expand public art of all types, art very insular/inside right now.
SUGGESTION: Need downtown population housing of all kinds like hotel rooms and jobs/office space. A convention hotel is missing.
SUGGESTION: Expand offerings to kids and families like cheaper dining options.

“South” -> 1st Ave S to Lassing Park -> “Innovation District”
Themes: Expand, invest, gather ingredients for livable neighborhood, connect/integrate
USFSP and rest of the “Innovation District” is an incredible investment opportunity, a “little engine that could become a roaring train.” 400 PhDs in Florida Fish and Wildlife facility alone.

SUGGESTION: Give USF St. Pete a visual presence with a “University Gateway” landmark/building at 1st Ave. S. and Dali. University “Hidden in plain sight”, a landmark would have physical address and help with connectivity.
SUGGESTION: Rename 1st St. to University Way.
SUGGESTION: Prioritize HER and marine sciences on this stretch of waterfront and expand footprint.
–Phase 1: Decommission and demolish water reclamation plant for short-term use as site for additional airport hangars to free up equivalent space on the north side of 8th Ave. S. Convey/lease area to one or more HER District partners for expansion and for HER uses.
–Phase 2: Relocate Coast Guard facilities to north of Bayboro Harbor and consolidate with Coast Guard location south of Bayboro.
–Phase 3: For long term, use water reclamation site for HER uses. Consider infill housing for globally mobile knowledge professionals, live work lab(s) and park/waterfront amenities.

Economic Impact charts from ULI presentation

“They (the ULI panel) have given us a pencil drawing on a canvas, it’s now up to us to add the color,” said Mayor Bill Foster. The official, complete ULI report will be issued 60-90 days from October 4th and will be available to all.

We stuck around for the Q&A and at the mic several audience members who confessed to being initial skeptics applauded ULI and said that the panel “seemed to get it.” Is it possible that this vision, with its focus on connectivity, serving the public and investment in innovation, will bring us together as a community? Time will tell which recommendations are realized, but now is when we need to stay knowledgeable and get involved. In the meanwhile, we can pat ourselves on the back before rolling up our sleeves.

Photo via StPete.org

Article by Norris Comer, Writer/Editor for iLovetheBurg.com

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