ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St Pete’s Tangerine Plaza was once home to a Sweetbay grocery store, but now the space sits vacant creating a food desert.
The Sugar Hill Development has plans to turn Tangerine Plaza into a mixed-use space in the next couple of years.
“The plan is to bring at least 150 affordable housing units on this site with an average of 80 percent median income and a 10,000 square foot retail space that's dedicated for a grocery,” Roy Binger with the development group said.
Binger said this revitalization project will address the food desert issue.
“You'll start to have a seamless community. Whether you're on the north side or the south side you can live there, you can afford to live there and have the same features and benefits as any citizen in this community,” Binger said.
The area has been without a grocery store for more than five years. Binger said the city selected the Sugar Hill group to revitalize the area in 2020, but it was not finalized before former mayor Rick Kriseman’s term ended. Since then, other groups have submitted proposals, but Sugar Hill continues to work towards a development agreement.
“The city wants to make sure you're going to live up to what you're going to do,” Binger said.
Right now, the city still owns the property.
“We hope to have something presented to city council in the next month where we can formally ask for site control,” Binger said.
If their proposal is approved, Binger said the next step will be putting together a financial package.
“The vision is not just for the people in this community to have affordable housing and to have fresh food quality, but to live in a community where they're proud of it,” Binger said.
The Sugar Hill group said this project could cost about $25 to 30 million dollars. If their plan is approved by city council, they believe it will take around three years to complete.