St. Pete reaches preliminary deal to buy CSX rail line running through downtown St. Pete
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A years-long effort to bring a key stretch of the CSX rail corridor in downtown St. Pete into public ownership, including the segment that cuts directly through Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill, is finally moving forward.
According to an October 15th email from St. Pete Transportation and Parking Management Director Evan Mory, CSX Transportation has accepted a conditional offer from the City of St. Petersburg to acquire nearly a mile of rail right-of-way stretching from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street along 1st Avenue South to 5th Avenue North.
The city plans to create a trail linking the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment and the Pinellas Trail up to 5th Avenue North, with the longer-term goal of extending it to Booker Creek Park in North Kenwood.
The purchase is expected to cost $7 million, with $1 million coming from the City of St. Pete, $4 million from Mark Ferguson of Ferg’s Sports Bar, and $2 million from Ellison Development.
The offer cannot move forward without City Council approval, which is expected within the next 30 days.
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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.