LARGO, Fla. — In the heart of Pinellas County, you will find a playground full of kids and a city where parents say they feel at home.
“It’s good for kids. It’s good for families. I grew up in St. Pete. Moved here in 2015. I’m actually a mailman in Clearwater,” said Largo resident Shawn Gallagher. Largo Central Park is the city’s No. 1 attraction.
“It’s just really family-focused. The location is amazing,” Largo Mayor Woody Brown said. At 6 feet, 7 inches tall, Brown believes Largo is reaching new heights. He jokes that he eclipsed former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker.
“Rick Baker is a little shorter than me. He gives me a hard time when I see him,” Brown said.
Brown acknowledges that Largo sometimes gets lost in the mix of St. Pete, Tampa and Clearwater.
“We don’t really let it bother us though. We always try to be involved in the conversation. Sometimes we’re not invited, but we’re doing good things,” he added.
During our visit, Brown toured the new mobile command center for the Largo Police Department: “What this replaced was almost my age.”
It’s not the only shiny new object in Largo. Construction is well underway on the new city hall. It’s an $80 million project that will include government services and retail. At 60 feet above sea level, it will replace the current city hall that is in a flood plain.
With growth, comes the challenge of affordable housing.
“Largo, still per capita, per unit probably continues to be the most affordable place in Pinellas County,” Brown said.
Pinellas Safe Harbor is a shelter and service headquarters for homeless people involved in the criminal justice system. It is just across the city limits from Largo.
“It has allowed some other cities in this county to kind of transplant some of their most chronically homeless, the people that are hardest to help get back in housing to our city. So, I think the percentage of folks that fit that category in our city is higher than any other city around because of Safe Harbor,” Brown said.
Largo is home to the Pinellas Sheriff’s Headquarters, the Pinellas School Board and some big businesses including TD Synnex. During rush hour, it can be gridlock.
“We have an influx of people, about 60,000 people a day that come and work in Largo that don’t live here and about 35,000 that live here and go work elsewhere," Brown said. "The number of people who live and work in Largo is relatively small, about 7,000. So we’re trying to make that number bigger.”
While navigating traffic is a universal challenge, negotiating low branches is a unique obstacle for Largo’s three-term towering mayor. Brown says he is looking nowhere but up when it comes to the future of Tampa Bay’s fourth-largest city.
Back at Largo Central Park, it is the shortest residents taking center stage. Shawn Gallagher says his family is staying put in Largo.
“We love the area, don’t want to leave or anything. So, it’s got a lot to offer,” he said.