What can Downtown St. Pete learn from European cities?
/St. Petersburg seems to be getting a lot of attention these days. And why shouldn’t it? We live in a city with good parks and trails, easy access to water, a bayfront downtown, and funky Central Avenue to tie it all together. And all of this without much traffic thanks to the well-connected street grid. Even though the city, and especially the downtown and Central Avenue, have made great strides in the last 5-10 years (as the long-time locals keep reminding me), the urban planner in me is always looking for ways to make a good thing better. And while some hesitate to look across the Atlantic for inspiration, I find there is much to learn from European cities and their immersive urban environments, especially as it relates to the downtown area.
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A long-delayed project that will deliver 24 affordable homes for working families is nearing completion and preparing to welcome its first residents.
The bright white-and-blue, two-story townhomes line 6th and 7th avenues South near 22nd Street South, directly across from the Manhattan Casino.
The City of St. Petersburg purchased the land in 2007 for $2.2 million using a federal grant. However, the project was not announced until 2019 under former Mayor Rick Kriseman as part of the broader Deuces Rising initiative, which aims to revitalize the Deuces, the historic African American entertainment and business district along the 22nd Street South corridor.
Built by Tampa-based Horus Construction Services, the development includes twelve 1,780-square-foot townhomes with three bedrooms and twelve 1,525-square-foot townhomes with two bedrooms.