St. Pete prepares to sell former Science Center with support from City Council and community
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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.
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The Manhattan Casino, the historic 22nd Street South venue that once hosted performers including James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Ray Charles, will reopen September 19 following a $4.8 million renovation.
The City of St. Petersburg will operate the two-story building at 642 22nd Street South as an event venue, with a ribbon-cutting and open house planned for 10 a.m. that day.
The reopening returns a major gathering place to The Deuces, the historically Black commercial and cultural district along 22nd Street South. The venue will be available for weddings, corporate events, conferences, family gatherings and live performances.
The renovations include new flooring and air conditioning, along with a new lobby, conference room, green room, catering kitchen, and stage for live bands.
The first floor will house the 2,232-square-foot Legacy Room and an entry foyer with a bar, while the second floor will feature the 4,152-square-foot Jordan Ballroom, named for Elder Jordan Sr.