Here’s the scoop on our current initiatives and other news worth noting.

Preservation Ordinance Amendments 
In 2010 the City, through the Community Preservation Commission (CPC), started a review of the preservation ordinance.  In August, 2011 a package of amendments were reviewed by City Council in a workshop.  The amendments are expected to be finalized with an opportunity for public hearing at the end of 2011.  As a result of the controversy over the Blocker home landmark application, City administration is backing a series of changes to the preservation ordinance to make it more difficult to designate historic buildings as local landmarks over owner objection.  SPP contends these changes are not necessary and has noted to city council that only a handful of landmark applications have been brought forward in the 25+ years in which the preservation ordiance has been in place.  SPP is supporting changes to the procedures to create local historic districts.  The city only has two such districts, Roser Park and Granada Terrace.  SPP's full comments to city council can be read at:  CPC Amendments Letter.

City Council to Change LDR Demolition Procedures
City Council conducted the first of two public hearings on Thursday, August 18 to consider a proposal making it easier to tear down historic buildings in the Downtown National Register Historic District (and leave behind empty lots).  The final public hearing will be Thursday morning, Sept 8.  Please send message to council (council@stpete.org) and copy dave.goodwin@stpete.org and info@stpetepreservation.org objecting to the proposed change. 

Our position is:
1.    The present procedures work to prevent empty/vacant lots from proliferating in downtown by preventing demolition of existing buildings until a new project is ready to be developed...there is no need to change the process;
2.    Historic buildings are particularly important to maintaining the special character and sense of place in downtown.  Council should be sure that historic buildings, including landmarks, contributing structures to the downtown historic district and buildings listed on the Florida Master Site File are not torn down to only be replaced by an empty lot;
3.    Council should defer approval of the proposed changes to when buildings can be demolished and refer the item back to committe for further review.

Tell Council that our downtown historic buildings make St. Petersburg special and create a sense of place in our community.  Urge Council not to change the ordinance requirements for the demolition of downtown buildings.

Background:  In 2007, the City rewrote its land development regulations (LDRs).  As part of this process, the City addressed the problem of downtown buildings being torn down before a developer is ready to start building a new development, leaving an empty lot.  The 2007 LDRs prohibited a developer from demolishing a building downtown before a site plan was approved and a complete application for a building permit submitted. 

Mayor Foster is bringing before City Council an LDR amendment that would create a series of "exemptions" to this requirement.  The vaguely-worded exemptions would eviscerate the restriction on demolition and effectively return us to what was occurring before the 2007 change in regulations: buildings being torn down with chain link fences and empty lots left in their place. 

There is a simple solution to the issue that would protect the contributing buildings in the Downtown National Register Historic District from being torn down for no purpose other than for speculation and the resulting empty lot: Limit the proposed exemptions about when demolition can occur to buildings that are not historic resources.

To read a letter we wrote to the city regarding this issue, click here.

Preservation Progress
Some good things are happening with preservation downtown!  New construction may not be robust, but plans are moving forward for a number of small historic reuse projects, including Grayl's Hotel on Beach Drive. 
 
Recently an application for tax act credits was approved for the Garden Cafeteria (building across the street from Baywalk on 2nd Street, also known by many as the old Piano Exchange).  This means that the historic building character must be retained as renovation work progresses and the large paintings inside will be protected.
 
And a certificate of appropriateness (COA) has been applied for work at landmark-designated Bay Gables (Chateau France) on 4th Ave. NE.  This building and the adjacent building, the 1910 Morrison Hotel (Inn by the Bay, not a designated landmark) were going to be lost or relocated out of downtown for a high rise hotel.  Instead, the buildings have been purchased by a Seattle architect who is renovating both buildings for use as an inn.

Jennie Hall Pool landmark application
SPP and the Wildwood Neighborhood Association have submitted a landmark application for city-owned Jennie Hall Pool, located at 2650 10th Ave. S. in Wildwood Park. The application is expected to go before the Community Preservation Commission (CPC) at a public hearing on September 16. It also must be approved by City Council before the landmark designation can take effect.  Mayor Foster has yet to indicate whether the City will support the application.
 
St. Petersburg, like other cities in the south during the 1950's, was a segregated community and offered few places for African Americans to swim. Despite discussions that had started after World War II about providing such a facility the City seemed to lack the political will to do so.
 
Jennie Hall, having retired to St. Petersburg from Montana in 1921, approached City Council in 1953 at the age of 85 with the intent to contribute $25,000 to construct a pool to serve African Americans (she wrote a $10,000 check at the council meeting).  While Ms. Hall was not known as a wealthy woman and was described by the newspaper as a "petit spinster" she told the Times that she had lived frugally so she would be able to do things for others. With her money, the pool was constructed and opened in 1954.  Jennie Hall died in the spring of 1955 with an obituary in the New York Times, reading, "Jennie Hall, Aided Negroes in Florida.  
 
The pool complex retains excellent historic and architectural integrity with only minimal alterations since its construction. The pool complex represents a tangible reminder of the omnipresent racial discrimination faced by the African-American community in St. Petersburg prior to the Civil Rights Movement and is an important part of our heritage.

Grants Received Amounting to $11,000
St. Petersburg Preservation is pleased to announce the recent award of two grants totaling over $11,000!  SPP received an $8,000 grant from the Florida Humanities Council to conduct a two-year program series examining the history, theories, and practice of preservation in our community, and SPP has been recommended to receive a $3,000 grant from the City of St. Petersburg to market our popular historic walking tours.                               

The lecture series, funded by the Florida Humanities Council, is especially timely for St. Petersburg with the city administration seemingly intent on bringing forward several potentially disastrous changes to its preservation ordinance (one of which is highlighted in the Preservation Ordinance Amendments section above).  The overarching goal of the series is to provide a forum for St. Petersburg residents to ponder which aspects of our community we value enough to preserve. Topics to be covered in the first year include: the preservation of archaeological resources, mid-century modern structures, and St. Pete's unique housing stock, as well as an exploration of historic preservation's role in successful heritage tourism. As an exciting bonus, some of the grant funds will be used to create a tour map of downtown landmarks. 

The first program is scheduled for this November. We'll be sending future e-mails with specific program information..


Rebuilding of the Pier
The Pier is a city icon and one of the most recognizable buildings in St. Pete.  It originally dates from 1913 when a “Municipal Pier” was constructed by the city.  This first pier was replaced in 1926 with the “Million Dollar Pier” with its Mediterranean Revival “Casino” building.  The current Pier building, the inverted pyramid, dates from 1973.   But while the Pier building dates from the 1970s, the pilings holding up the roadway to the Pier date from 1926 and are deteriorating and must be replaced by 2014.  Some $50 million has been earmarked by the county and the city for the Pier’s repair and possible replacement.  A City Task Force was established to research alternatives for the Pier’s repair and/or replacement.  SPP board member Will Michaels was a member of the Pier Task Force and served as Chair of the Design and Location Committee.  The City Council has accepted the Task Force findings, voted to tear down the Pier and has approved of a design contest for a "new" pier.  As a city icon, SPP supports preservation of the 1973 inverted pyramid pier.


Saturday Morning Market
SPP volunteers spread the word at the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Pete. SPP thanks all the volunteers who have helped with this project in the last few weeks with a special thanks to Peter Belmont and Kai Warren for organizing. This is a great way to get the word out about SPP!