Tag: St. Pete
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A Duke Energy-commissioned study estimates it would cost St. Petersburg between $2.75 billion and $4.1 billion to seize the company’s local electric system and stand up a city-run utility. The numbers arrived as the city waits on its own $590,000 analysis and after its 30-year franchise agreement expired July 31. Concentric Energy Advisors, hired by…
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A flood-tracking network built on ordinary residents snapping photos with their phones has quietly become one of the most effective storm-response tools in Pinellas County, in contrast to the often slow-moving, taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects local governments typically rely on. The system, known as CRIS-HAZARD, was developed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg professor Barnali…
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St. Petersburg residents will pay more for water, sewer, and trash service starting soon after the City Council voted Thursday night to raise utility rates across the board, brushing aside objections from a room full of ratepayers. The council approved increases to water, wastewater, stormwater and sanitation charges. Customers with reclaimed water hookups will see…
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More than two years after St. Petersburg quietly doubled its network of license-plate-reading cameras, the City Council took up the matter in public for the first time Thursday, prompted by a growing coalition of residents who say the program was built without their knowledge or consent. Council Vice Chair Richie Floyd placed the item on…
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St. Petersburg residents could soon be paying more for water, sewer and trash service as city council members prepare to vote Thursday on a fresh round of utility rate increases. City officials say the utility rate hikes are needed to fund infrastructure improvement projects, with the new rates set to take effect Oct. 1 if…
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City residents are on track to pay more for water, wastewater and other utilities starting Oct. 1, marking the sixth consecutive year St. Petersburg has raised these rates — even as council members debate a series of alternative revenue schemes that could shift costs elsewhere without necessarily lowering the overall tax burden on residents. City…
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City Hall is asking St. Petersburg residents to dig deeper into their pockets again, with a fresh round of utility rate hikes set for a first vote this Thursday — just six days before voters head to the polls to pick the city’s next mayor. If the St. Petersburg City Council signs off, the increases…
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Just weeks after residents have watched their water bills climb for years, St. Pete City Council is weighing another utility rate hike — this one roughly 7% — with a public hearing set for August 27 and changes that could take effect as early as October 1. City leaders say the increase is needed to…
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St. Petersburg residents will decide in November whether to approve a new property tax to speed up stormwater, sewage and water infrastructure projects, after the City Council voted 7-0 Thursday to place the question on the general election ballot. The measure would authorize the city to issue bonds financing $600 million in upgrades. Council member…
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St. Petersburg officials are considering a long-term plan to gradually replace many of the St. Pete Pier Marketplace’s temporary vendor tents with permanent kiosks, a proposal intended to improve the experience for both merchants and visitors. The Pier Marketplace currently includes seven permanent kiosks and 21 tent spaces that house nearly 30 local businesses selling…
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St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch says the city is moving into a new phase of redevelopment for the Historic Gas Plant District following the selection of development proposals for the long-vacant site, emphasizing affordable housing, economic opportunity and honoring commitments made to the former neighborhood. Speaking during a recent edition of WFLA’s Rooted in Progress,…
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Time is nearly up for Pinellas County residents hoping to tap into an unusual pot of federal disaster money that helps hurricane survivors buy homes instead of just repairing them. The Pinellas Recovers Homebuyer Assistance Program is accepting applications through Friday, offering eligible residents up to $80,000 in down payment assistance using federal disaster recovery…
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The City of St. Petersburg has been awarded a $2.2 million federal grant to fund stormwater mitigation projects on two roadways that flooded repeatedly during past hurricanes, city officials announced. Mayor Kenneth Welch said the projects represent a small piece of the city’s broader resiliency efforts but will meaningfully help residents and drivers who use…
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The City of St. Petersburg’s long-running franchise agreement with Duke Energy is set to expire at midnight Friday, and the city currently has no active negotiations underway to renew it, according to Duke spokesperson Ana Gibbs. Gibbs said Duke is reviewing what the expiration will mean for both the city and the company, and that…
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St. Petersburg is moving ahead with another major flood mitigation project in Shore Acres, a neighborhood that has experienced repeated flooding during hurricanes and heavy rain events in recent years. Construction is expected to begin as the city advances infrastructure improvements aimed at reducing future flooding. The project includes upgrades to the area’s stormwater system,…
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Construction is continuing on a new mixed-use path along the west side of 4th Street North between Gandy Boulevard and Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg, a project led by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The recreation trail is designed to provide a dedicated route for pedestrians and bicyclists while improving connectivity in the area.…
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The St. Petersburg City Council is set to vote Thursday on a series of agreements that would clear the way for the long-awaited Tampa Bay Ferry to launch, including a $324,000 deal for a temporary dock near The Vinoy. The resolution includes a three-year agreement with Mobro Marine to install the temporary dock off Bayshore…
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The St. Petersburg City Council has voted down a proposal that would have allowed neighborhoods outside of downtown to establish resident-only parking zones, ending a debate that pitted frustrated residents against local business owners fearful of losing customers. The vote followed a public comment session last Thursday in which both sides made their case. Supporters…
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As the city continues to grow and parking pressure mounts in residential neighborhoods, the St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday took up a proposal that would give residents a formal path to restricting street parking to permit holders only. The ordinance would establish what the city calls Neighborhood Resident Only Parking Areas, or NROPAs. It…
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City officials on Thursday released a wide-ranging list of services that could face reductions if Florida voters approve a constitutional amendment in November to raise homestead exemptions and reduce or eliminate property taxes. The warning came during the city’s annual State of the Economy event, where leaders outlined the potential local fallout from the statewide…
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The St. Petersburg City Council voted Thursday on whether to fund a $590,000 feasibility study examining whether the city should end its relationship with Duke Energy and create its own municipally owned electric utility. The city’s 30-year franchise agreement with Duke Energy expires Aug. 1. Before that deadline, council members considered authorizing an eight- to…
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The St. Petersburg City Council is set to take up an ordinance today that would make it significantly easier for neighborhoods across the city to establish resident-only parking districts, a response to growing complaints about overflow parking as urban redevelopment accelerates. The proposal would create a formal petition and review process that allows neighborhoods to…
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With hurricane season opening June 1, St. Petersburg has kicked off a public planning process around long-term flood resilience — even as many residents in one of the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods are still rebuilding from storms nearly two years ago. The city held the first in a series of public meetings Tuesday night focused…
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St. Petersburg’s Northeast Sewer Plant has completed a $67 million upgrade that public works officials say allows it to withstand a 15-foot storm surge — more than double the surge that forced it offline during Hurricane Helene. The plant was shut down for the first time during Helene’s 6.3-foot storm surge in 2024, causing one…
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A Tampa-based developer is moving forward with plans to build an affordable housing tower on the site of St. Petersburg’s former Playhouse Theatre in the Grand Central District. Blue Sky Communities plans to construct the 12-story JR Tower at 1850 Central Ave. and 1833 First Ave. S., featuring 150 residential units and approximately 3,000 square…
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The St. Petersburg Development Review Commission voted 4-3 Wednesday night to approve a redevelopment proposal for the Tierra Verde Marina, despite strong opposition from hundreds of area residents who packed City Hall to protest the project. The meeting stretched past four hours, with overflow crowds filling two additional rooms. Opponents submitted more than 200 emails…
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The St. Petersburg City Council has approved $1.4 million to demolish the Jungle Prada Pier, which has been closed since Hurricane Helene severely damaged it in September 2024. The vote, taken Thursday as part of a consent agenda, moves the city toward tearing down the waterfront structure — but leaves its future uncertain, to the…
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Residents of Tierra Verde turned out Tuesday for a community town hall to voice continued opposition to a revised redevelopment proposal for the Tierra Verde Marina, making clear that scaled-back plans from developer Greenleaf Capital have not satisfied their concerns. Tampa-based Greenleaf Capital, the real estate division of HCI Group Inc., is seeking approval from…
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The city of St. Petersburg has released a timeline for choosing a developer for the Historic Gas Plant District, the 86-acre site that includes Tropicana Field, with Mayor Ken Welch aiming to begin contract negotiations in July. The timeline, which runs from April through July, follows the City Council’s request to establish a planning framework…
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St. Petersburg has broken ground on a new fire station that will replace a cramped 1950s house where firefighters have been working for nearly a decade. The new 8,700-square-foot Fire Station No. 2 will be built at a cost of $8.5 million to serve the city’s northwest side. It will include two bays, a decontamination…
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The City of St. Petersburg is set to begin dredging Bartlett Lake next week as the first phase of a $30 million stormwater improvement project aimed at reducing flooding on the city’s southside. Workers will remove between one and six feet of accumulated silt from the lake bottom to improve water flow. The buildup has…
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St. Petersburg residents could see two referendums on their November ballot, including one that would allow longer leases at the city’s port to support an expansion of a coastal resilience research center. The proposed measure would extend allowable lease lengths at the port from 10 to 25 years, enabling the development of a planned Center…
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St. Pete city officials and residents of the Shore Acres neighborhood gathered Wednesday to discuss a $32 million flood mitigation project aimed at reducing chronic flooding in the low-lying St. Petersburg community. The plan calls for building a new pump station and replacing part of a culvert on Connecticut Avenue, with construction expected to begin…
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St. Petersburg city leaders are laying the groundwork to accommodate electric air taxis — known as eVTOLs, or electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft — at Albert Whitted Airport, following the release of a roadmap from the city’s Advanced Air Mobility Task Force. The task force, led by chair Ed Montanari, presented its recommendations to…
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The City of St. Petersburg has adopted a new housing policy that permits churches and other places of worship to use underutilized land to build affordable housing, making it the first city in Florida to implement the statewide “Yes In God’s Backyard” (YIGBY) framework into local zoning. Under the policy, religious institutions can rezone unused…
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency has committed $16.5 million to reimburse St. Petersburg for repairs to Tropicana Field, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in October 2024. St. Petersburg Assistant City Administrator Tom Greene informed City Council members of the expected reimbursement in a Feb. 10 email, describing it as “an extremely promising step…
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St. Petersburg city officials are asking residents to weigh in before developing a master plan to improve the city’s 15 miles of publicly owned seawall. The Seawall Master Plan aims to create a consistent seawall condition rating system based on federal standards and to establish a framework for future repair and replacement projects. The stated…
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The City of St. Petersburg has begun accepting bids from consulting firms to conduct a feasibility study on whether the city should leave Duke Energy and establish a municipal electric utility. The study will evaluate whether a city-run utility could reduce residents’ electric bills and help St. Petersburg meet its clean energy goals, among other…
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The St. Petersburg City Council voted 6-2 Thursday to pursue a planning-first approach before selecting a developer for the redevelopment of the historic Gas Plant district. The vote supports Councilwoman Brandi Gabbard’s motion expressing the council’s preference for slowing down the process. Gabbard said the city is chasing a speeding bullet with the current timeline.…
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More than a year and a half after back-to-back hurricanes struck Tampa Bay—Helene and Milton—residents who opted into Elevate Florida continue to wait for federal approval. The program, administered by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), received over $400 million in federal funding, primarily through FEMA programs such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.…
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The City of St. Petersburg has unveiled the second phase of its $160 million disaster recovery initiative, which includes voluntary property buyouts, homebuyer assistance, and affordable housing development for areas affected by recent hurricanes. The Sunrise St. Pete program will allocate $5 million to purchase up to 14 high-risk, flood-prone properties damaged by hurricanes Idalia…
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The City of St. Petersburg is preparing to implement the second phase of its $160 million disaster recovery plan to assist residents affected by storms over 15 months ago. The program offers reconstruction assistance, down payment help, affordable housing funding, and voluntary property buyouts. City officials report receiving 466 applications for reconstruction assistance, more than…
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The St. Petersburg City Council approved a state grant agreement Thursday to invest an additional $1 million in a pump station for the Shore Acres Flood Mitigation Project. State Rep. Lindsay Cross and Sen. Nick DiCeglie secured the matching state grant to help fund the pump station at Connecticut Avenue NE and Bayshore Boulevard. The…
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