The Deuces Live association has declared 2022 the “Year of the Deuces!” A dinner meeting this Wednesday was a rousing kick-off for the theme. With eyes fixed on the future, three dozen development leaders met and broke bread to discuss the possibility of a comprehensive partnership for the end-to-end revitalization of the historic 22nd Street South (aka, “the Deuces”).
The timing could not have been more perfect. On the eve of the corridor’s centennial (2023-24), the Deuces is experiencing unprecedented growth.
Not since the mid-1920s have there been so many projects unfolding on the corridor simultaneously.
Approximately seven mid-sized commercial facilities were built along 22nd Street South in the 1920s. Today, there are ten development projects underway, which – if successful – will bring a total of 180,000 SF of commercial space and over 450 new or revitalized housing units to a 13-block stretch of the Deuces.
For perspective, that’s two times more commercial (non-institutional) and housing development in the next five years than the sum total of the prior 20 years of redevelopment efforts combined.
From 2000 to 2020, the corridor saw over 300,000 square feet of new construction, renovation, and historic preservation. But a majority of it was institutional and educational, such as the 166,000 square foot Pinellas County Job Corps campus and two facilities by St. Petersburg College including a 45,000 square foot campus.
The current landscape is much different. Whereas prior projects drew mostly students and clients of local non-profit service agencies, today’s pipeline of projects is decidedly more commercial.
Several of the projects on the drawing board are poised to attract more of a diverse consumer and household mix. The vision for a new world-class Woodson African American Museum of Florida is expected to be a center of gravity in drawing tourists and locals to the corridor. Sankofa on the Deuces is slated to attract several dozen entrepreneurs to the Deuces. The Tangerine Plaza re-boot will house as many as six retail tenants.
This is added to the magnetism of existing anchors – Gloria Campbell’s Advantage Insurance Solutions, Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy’s Chief’s Creole Restaurant, the Manhattan Casino, and the newest addition, Heavy’s Soul Food restaurant, which opened this January.
The term is “critical mass,” says Veatrice Farrell, Executive Director of the Deuces Live Main Street (the organization tasked with leading redevelopment and historic preservation on 22nd Street South).“The momentum we see now has been years in the making.” Indeed – redevelopment planning dates back to the tenure of Mayor David Fischer in the 1990s.
Also present at Wednesday’s dinner were representatives of Sankofa on the Deuces, Deuces Rising townhomes, the Woodson African American Museum, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (spearheading development of The Legacy Center), Binger Financial (which is in talks with the City about redevelopment of Tangerine Plaza), the Brayboys (who own multiple parcels on and adjacent to the corridor), VISION Investors (an emerging housing development group), and Pathway2Success (a local organization with a project building 27 housing units, one block east of the Deuces).
Several existing owners and operators attended as well, including the Urban Collective (operating the Manhattan Casino), and Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corporation (the BBIC), which owns two properties on 22nd Street South.
Three of the region’s economic development leaders took part – Dr. Cynthia Johnson, head of Pinellas County Economic Development; Bemetra Simmons, CEO of the Tampa Bay partnership; and Tony Brown, Community Development Director for the Tampa Bay Economic Development Corporation.
The feedback of attendees was upbeat throughout the evening. “The potential and combined power of the people in the room was incredible,” said Nikki Gaskin-Capehart who served as Moderator for the occasion. “We’re talking about the possibility of 93 organizations operating on the corridor by the year 2025.” That’s triple the current total of roughly 30.
Clockwise: Dr. Cynthia Johnson, Director, Pinellas County Economic Development; Rev. J. C. Pritchett, President, Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance; Terri Lipsey Scott, Executive Director, Woodson Museum of Florida; Pastor Louis Murphy, Sr., Mt. Zion Progressive MB Church; Tony Brown, Tampa Bay Economic Development Council; Valerie Fulbright, Vice President, First Home Bank; Bemetra Simmons, CEO, Tampa Bay Partnership; and St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Stephanie Owens. Photos by All Photos Considered.
Yet the dinner’s organizers struck a cautious tone at several points during the dialogue. “This will not be easy, and it will require some of us to step up with equity investments,” said Albert Lee, CEO of the BBIC. Lee pointed to the Brayboys as among a small handful of African American investors bringing their own capital to the table.
“We will need to be ‘intentional’ about creating high-income earning possibilities along the corridor as well,” said Dr. Johnson. “The professional services and tech firms evaluating the Sankofa site can serve as a foundation for growth.”
Attorney Tamara Felton-Howard encouraged the audience to identify next steps that harness the energy of the room, such as committing to the Woodson Museum capital campaign, set to launch on February 1.
Deputy Mayor Stephanie Owens was positive in her remarks to the gathering. “One of Mayor Ken Welch’s core principles is creating intentional equity,” said Owens. “The progress in the Deuces is uplifting, and the future looks bright. The city is committed to ensuring progress continues and, perhaps more importantly, that it’s the right progress for this community.”
The strategies of the Welch administration will be a decisive factor in the success of several projects on the drawing board. At least two housing developments will require zoning variances. Several of the projects may seek or already have sought investments from the City-run South St. Petersburg CRA.
One of the next steps discussed at the dinner was the capitalization of a development fund created late last year by the City and the Sankofa Group as part of their co-development agreement for a 2.8 parcel in the 600 block of the Deuces. Net revenues from Sankofa on the Deuces (a two-building, two-story business facility) will serve as a starter source for the fund.
The Sankofa Group is seeking to leverage the City partnership to replicate the funding models of the Los Angeles Development Fund and the Detroit Strategic Neighborhood Fund.
The dinner meeting was the first time the corridor’s project sponsors were invited to the same table. Several stakeholders met one another for the first time.
“I’ve been waiting 50 years to see this kind of meeting take place,” said Rev. Watson Haynes, CEO of the Pinellas County Urban League. “Now is the time for collaboration on a scale not possible in the past.” The Urban League is an anchor partner to Sankofa on the Deuces and recently completed construction of the agency’s first single family home.
After decades of disinvestment and decline in commercial tenants, the Deuces has begun to turn a corner. Occupancy has doubled over the past decade.
The energy of Wednesday’s meet-up left many with the sense that the Deuces’ may soon regain its former glory.
Deuces Live and The Equity Institute of St. Petersburg will convene a larger group of stakeholders in April of this year to continue developing a shared vision.
Click here to view photos of the dinner meeting. To receive updates on this effort: gypsy@onecommunitystpete.com.
