This November, the 3.3-acre park in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg will become home to Winter Wonder, a six-week holiday experience featuring an open-air ice skating rink, holiday market, food and beverage offerings, entertainment and family activities.
But Shaun Drinkard, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Improvement District, stated that Winter Wonder is a live experiment for the future of St. Petersburg’s oldest public space that’s been incubating, but underutilized, for years.
“The City started the process to renovate the bandshell in 2018,” Drinkard said. “This is a 10-year lead-up to investing in the park.”
The project follows a series of changes that have gradually opened Williams Park to new possibilities. PSTA relocated its buses from the park in 2016, ending an era when idling buses effectively walled off the public space. Subsequent hurricanes caused additional damage to the bandshell, further complicating efforts to revitalize the park.
The bandshell renovation is expected to wrap up in early November, just before Winter Wonder’s Nov. 20 opening. The holiday attraction will operate through Jan. 3, 2027.
Separately, organizers have secured $800,000 in state appropriations for additional improvements expected to begin after Winter Wonder leaves the park.
Drinkard said, “We knew that for the park to be successful, we needed a highly programmed space. So how do we create rooms and spaces in the park to celebrate? Winter Wonder is an opportunity to do something for six weeks.”
Those six weeks will allow the Downtown Improvement District to observe how people actually move through and use Williams Park before the next round of permanent improvements begins.
Drinkard is especially stoked about the park’s southern end, home to a fountain and veterans memorial, as a primary, active urban plaza. The concept could include regular events and food and beverage programming seven days a week all year round.
Winter Wonder will essentially give planners a temporary version of that environment.
The event’s proposed layout divides Williams Park into distinct zones, with the ice rink occupying the northern portion of the park, a central plaza, holiday market shops along the perimeter, activation areas and a food and beverage commons to the south.
The approach mimics the work of Dan Biederman, whose efforts revitalizing New York City’s Bryant Park made him a prominent figure in public-space management, and Drinkard’s go-to guide and resource for Williams Park, too.
“When Dan Biederman visited the park, he made the comment that, ‘This park has great bones. You don’t need millions to recreate this park,’” Drinkard said.
Biederman’s philosophy centers on breaking large public spaces into smaller “rooms,” each offering people a reason to stop, gather or participate in an activity. Due to its limited acreage, Williams Park lends itself to that approach.
Contrasted with a much larger open space like Vinoy Park, where a small group can disappear into the landscape, Williams Park’s comparatively compact 3.3 acres creates the opportunity for activity to build on itself.
The benchmark Drinkard is after is roughly 100 people per acre, at any given time, occupying the park. For Williams Park, that means creating enough reasons for approximately 300 people to be there in the first place, and “people attract more people.”
Williams Park occupies a distinctive place in St. Petersburg history, but Drinkard contends its role dwarved.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the world-class waterfront parks and pier, which has been the focus of the city,” Drinkard said. “Williams Park was the first public space, with a grand purpose early on, but it became an afterthought.”
Its location nevertheless gives the park enormous visibility. Using FDOT data, the project organizers estimate roughly 50,000 vehicles travel around Williams Park each day.
Drinkard also acknowledged that Williams Park has long served as a gathering place for members of St. Petersburg’s unhoused community. Revitalizing the park, he said, is not intended to push people elsewhere.
Drinkard said. “A lot of people struggling find that space to not be bothered. We don’t want to displace anyone. It’s not a ticketed, gated event.”
Plans call for what organizers describe as Tampa Bay’s only open-air downtown ice rink, surrounded by holiday lighting and complemented by a market featuring 15 to 20 local businesses throughout the season. A food and beverage commons will offer food, desserts, coffee, cocktails, beer and wine, while live entertainment, community performances and family activities will add additional programming.
Unlike a weekend festival, the attraction is designed to keep the park active for more than 40 consecutive days.
What organizers learn during that period could influence the permanent work beginning shortly afterward.
Drinkard said improvements funded with state dollars are expected to move forward in early 2027. Rather than interfering with established events such as Localtopia, Paddy Fest and the Saturday Morning Market, the goal is to make Williams Park work better for them.
Upgraded electrical capacity is as an example. Providing sufficient power could make it easier for markets, festivals and other recurring events to operate in the park, and lessons learned from existing events are already informing improvement plans.
The newly renovated bandshell could also bring another type of activity back to Williams Park. Drinkard said The Florida Orchestra has expressed interest in using the venue.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
