Nearly 21 acres around downtown St. Pete's Mirror Lake may soon become a local historic district, preserving its pedestrian-friendly, low-rise character amid a wave of new development.

On Tuesday evening, the City’s Community Planning and Preservation Commission (CPPC) unanimously approved a citizen-initiated application to designate certain areas of Mirror Lake as a local historic district.

The proposed local landmark designation, which has been spearheaded by local preservation advocacy group Preserve the Burg, must be approved by St. Pete City Council before taking effect.

If approved by City Council, the historic district designation would require all properties within the district to obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) for future exterior alteration, new construction, demolition, or relocation.

The local historic district would not impact any future development that has already received site plan approval by the city.

Additionally, the historic district designation would have no effect on the century-old Mirror Lake Community Library, the original home of St. Petersburg High School, and the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard and Lawn Bowling Club, as these landmarks are already listed on the St. Petersburg Register of Historic Places. 

During the meeting, many residents who reside or own property in the proposed district supported the designation, stating it would be another tool in the city's toolbelt to keep the quaint charm of the neighborhood and preserve it.

The city first issued notices to residents within the proposed historic district in January about the potential designation.

City regulations state that a demonstration of support from over half of the district’s tax parcels is required to officially file a designation application.

The ballots for the proposed Mirror Lake Historic District were distributed on March 22nd by city staff and he balloting period remained open for 60 days.

Out of the 142 tax parcels in the proposed district, 77 parcels supported the designation, just over the required 72 approval threshold.

One registered opponent, Matthew Weidner, who recently sold a property in the proposed district, challenged the designation application, claiming the legal descriptions for each parcel were absent and therefore, the application is incomplete.

It was later clarified by city staff that legal descriptions were submitted at a later date after being left off the initial application.

In a letter to the city, Weidner also alleged, “this proposal is an effort by one group of activists to enforce dramatic downzoning right in the heart of our city’s economic core.”

He also argued the applicant “sketched out the boundaries of a proposed district that entirely suited their own purposes,” leaving out some of the district’s newest neighbors, such as the residents at the recently completed Reflection condo tower.

Will Conroy, founder and president of local development group Backstreets Capital, questioned the voting process.

Conroy said he appreciates the viewpoints of the residents; however, he explained there was inequity in the voting process as 108 of the votes were from residences in just two residential buildings - Lake Palms Apartments Co-Op had 36 votes and The Mirror Lake Condominiums (the old St. Petersburg High School) had 72 votes. Combined, the land area for those parcels is less than 10% of the proposed district.

“I would encourage city council and staff to take a hard look the inequities at the way those votes get counted and administered when you consider an incredible impact to property types,” Conroy said.

Conroy’s company, Backstreets Capital, recently submitted plans to preserve a historically significant property fronting Mirror Lake and construct an adjacent seven-story condo building. The project was recently approved by the City’s Development Review Commission and received support from Preserve the Burg.

While this is the first citizen-initiated request to create a local historic district in Mirror Lake, in 2021, St. Petersburg City Council considered a Mirror Lake historic district designation proposal submitted by St. Petersburg City Council member Gina Driscoll.

The discussion was ultimately deferred for fear that implementing a historic district would jeopardize the City of St. Pete’s chances of being awarded the construction of a new Florida Second District Court of Appeal courthouse on Mirror Lake.

By the end of 2021, Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls announced the courthouse announced the new $50 million courthouse would be built on Mirror Lake in downtown St. Petersburg. The courthouse is currently under construction.

“The result after two years of review and public comment is the more modest proposal before you," Preserve the Burg Executive Director Manny Leto said to the CPPC.

With the CPPC's approval of the proposed designation meeting the city’s criteria, the City Council will conduct a first reading of the designation on November 25th. A tentative City Council second reading and public hearing is scheduled for December 12th.

The approval comes after the neighborhood has experienced exponential growth.

The newly completed 18-story Reflection condo tower on 3rd Avenue North recently started welcoming new residents in the 88-unit building.

While Reflection is located outside of the proposed historic district, it’s the tallest building in the immediate area around Mirror Lake.

Earlier this year, the city approved St. Pete developer Skyward Living's plans to build the 11-story Lake House condo building on Mirror Lake Drive North.

In 2023, Pinellas County Schools (PCS) announced a partnership with developers Dantes Partners and Goshen + Cornerstone to construct a 225-unit apartment community on the site of the former Tomlinson Adult Learning Center. Half of the residential units would be designated as workforce housing for teachers and district employees.