ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg City Council has approved the plan to revitalize Tangerine Plaza into a mixed-use housing project by a vote of 5-3.
The city-owned property has been without a grocer for at least seven years when the Walmart Neighborhood Market left. Prior to that, the Sweetbay supermarket. The federal government has designated the area around Tangerine Plaza as a food desert.
"Now, the work starts," said Roy Binger, who is part of the Sugar Hill Group said. "For the past five years, we've been waiting for this moment."
Under the agreement, Sugar Hill Group will plan to bring at least 115 affordable housing units averaging at 80% area median income. The units must remain at that affordable rate for 40 years.
As far as efforts to improve food insecurity with fresh meat and produce, the team also plans to bring 10,000 square of retail space, 3,000 square feet of which must be for a grocer.
Binger, also of Binger Financial Services, said he wants this redevelopment to be a catalyst to revitalize the area as a whole and allow for continued partnerships with other groups aiming to improve the community.
"When I look forward to the next 20, 30 years, I really see a community where you have education, you've got financial institutions, you have a backfield of retail shops," he said.
Rev. Louis Murphy of Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church who is a partner of the Sugar Hill Group echoes the efforts to help the area as a whole.
"Revitalizaiton is key," Murphy said. "There's been a lot of neglect."
Nearby neighbors like David King Rose, a resident of 35 years, said the community is in great need of food and resources, citing the lines he sees every weekend for the food pantries. He said he has reservations on how affordable units may be and urges more help.
"I see people sleep underneath trees, on benches," he said. "We need to come together and help each other out."
Sugar Hill Group partners include New Urban Development based in Miami. The group must secure finances for the project and attract a grocer in 18 months. The project could take about three years to complete.