St. Pete prepares to sell former Science Center with support from City Council and community
/The Science Center of Pinellas County closed in 2014 after serving the community’s school children for 55 years | city of st. petersburg
The once-cherished Science Center in west St. Pete, attracting more than 20,000 students each year from 1959 through 2014, is on the verge of a major comeback.
At the end of September, St. Petersburg City Council voted unanimously to move forward with selling the Science Center property at 7701 22nd Avenue North to St. Pete for STEAM, a local team led by The St. Petersburg Group (SPG).
The group made an unsolicited offer to buy the property in 2023 and now plans to acquire the four-acre site for $1.6 million, transforming it into a modern hub for science, technology, and entrepreneurship.
Mayor Ken Welch, who had recently reconsidered the sale in favor of using the site for an expansion of the city’s wastewater facilities, now supports the sale again and has directed his staff to identify alternative locations for expanding the Northwest Water Reclamation Plant.
“I appreciate that the Council expressed willingness to support higher-cost options, including the potential relocation of the brush site, in order to advance the Science Center redevelopment,” Welch wrote in a letter to City Council.
“I believed that the project could have gone forward on another non-city parcel, while still utilizing the federal and state support promised over the years,” Welch continued.
The Science Center’s 3.89-acre property is located at 7701 22nd Avenue North in west St. Pete, near Tyrone Mall and east of Azalea Middle School | google Earth
"After directing that two of our three water reclamation facilities be shut down during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, my focus remains on implementing the most impactful investments in improvements citywide,” concluded Welch.
City Council members agreed that while planning for future infrastructure needs remains a priority, the Science Center site should be preserved for the community.
The sale agreement is now being finalized and is expected to return to City Council for approval within three months.
Joe Hamilton, publisher of the St. Pete Catalyst and co-founder of The St. Petersburg Group, has outlined an ambitious $25 million plan to restore and expand the Science Center into an educational and innovation destination.
At its heart would be the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence (AICOE), focused on AI education, research, and workforce development through classes, labs, summits, and community programming.
Plans also include creative new spaces such as the AI Village, an interactive exhibit designed to teach artificial intelligence concepts through hands-on learning; the Cityverse Hybritorium, a hybrid event venue for in-person and virtual audiences; and the Star Garden, a rooftop gathering space for events and stargazing.
The project will also restore nostalgic elements from the original campus, including the Planetarium and the Historic Mosaic Trail, a hand-painted tile walkway celebrating American heritage.
St. Pete for STEAM has already raised more than $14 million toward its $25 million goal, bolstered by $800,000 in new state funding announced in September and $2.5 million secured last year. The group will continue to raise the money needed to fund the project.
First opened in 1959, the Science Center was a hub for STEM education in Pinellas County for over 55 years.
The building closed in 2014 and was later purchased by CareerSource Pinellas before the City of St. Petersburg bought it in 2019 for $3.15 million.
Now, a decade after its closure, the Science Center’s next chapter is coming into focus.
