St. Pete approves purchase of three-acre property along Salt Creek for new park
/The City of St. pete has approved the purchase of three acres along Salt Creek | Google Maps
Nearly three acres of vacant property along Salt Creek may become a lush park space with landscaping, public art, and educational components.
During a Committee of the Whole meeting held on January 23rd, committee members unanimously approved moving forward on pursuing the acquisition of a property located on 4th Street South between 17th Avenue South and 18th Avenue South.
The property comprises 1.7 acres zoned Corridor Commercial Traditional (CCT-1) fronting on 4th Street South and 1.26 acres zoned Neighborhood Suburban Multi-Family (NSM-1).
The city is seeking to purchase the property at or below the asking price of $2.9 million.
The property was appraised in July 2024 with an estimated market value of $2.88 million.
The City of St. Pete is seeking to acquire three acres of vacant land along Salt Creek in south ST. Pete for the creation of a park and pump station to mitigate flooding | Google Maps
St. Petersburg City Council member Gina Driscoll has long sought to acquire and convert the property into a park space.
“This effort started a few years ago with the property on 4th Street South being for sale,” Driscoll said. “I originally had the idea to use Weeki Wachee funds [used to acquire properties for green spaces] to purchase it to add it to Barlett Park and add green space at a time when we are dealing with development. We learned from storms that any green space we save is a good thing.”
Driscoll and Brejesh Prayman, the city's engineering and capital improvements director, spoke about adding a pump station to offset flooding during heavy rainfall events at Lake Maggiore, which experienced substantial flooding from Hurricane Milton last year.
Mike Jefferis, Community Enrichment Administrator for the City of St. Pete, added that the property would be protected in perpetuity.
“We know many communities are converting current parkland into solutions for flooding,” Jefferis said during the meeting. “This is the best win. It’s taking property that is not currently parkland, making it parkland, a preserve, and then utilizing it for that purpose.”
A site plan of the proposed pump station | city of st. petersburg files
One side of the property would extend Bartlett Park, located just south of the subject property, with acorn-style lamps and well-lit walking paths while the remainder would be wetland.
The committee members compared the proposed land to Clam Bayou Nature Preserve, a 170-acre estuary between Gulfport and St. Petersburg on Boca Ciega Bay, which they said is a prime example of having functional ground design with amenities like trails that simultaneously blended into a preserve.
“This would be beautiful, functional, and educational,” Driscoll said, noting how maintenance would be minimal.
Weeks following the Committee of the Whole meeting, the St. Petersburg City Council unanimously approved spending up to $2.9 million for the land purchase and entering into a $5.1 million contract with Miami Beach-based Ric-Man Construction to complete pre-construction work for the Salt Creek pump station.
Directly to the east of the proposed park and pump station, a Clearwater-based company, which has ties to Southeast Investment Property Holdings, has spent $43.7 million over the past few months acquiring over 10.5 acres of property along Salt Creek.
The company has been very tight-lipped about their plans for the assemblage, however rumors swirling suggest a mixed-use project with offices, retail, restaurants, and a marina component. Redevelopment plans have not yet been submitted to the City of St. Pete.
