A $1 million grant was initially meant to help the Woodson African American Museum of Florida build a new home in St. Petersburg. Terri Lipsey Scott subsequently found herself in a “use it or lose it” situation.
Scott, the museum’s executive director, closed the institution Monday to complete much-needed renovations. The facility at 2240 9th Ave. S., a roughly 4,000-square-foot former community center, will reopen to the public by late April.
Plans to create a state-of-the-art facility in the Historic Gas Plant District, currently home to Tropicana Field, fell through in March 2025. While a new redevelopment proposal also includes the museum, its current home is in desperate need of upgrades.
“Ideally, we would have loved to have turned some dirt by now,” Scott said of the previous plans. “But as we haven’t, we’ll continue to move forward with hope and anticipation for what the future holds.”
A former rental office and community center in Jordan Park, the state’s oldest public housing community, has housed the museum since it opened in 2006. While a purpose-built facility is the ultimate goal, Scott appreciates the South St. Pete site’s historical significance and the opportunity to improve the building.
The state awarded Scott and the museum a $1 million African American Cultural and Historical Grant in 2022, “with hopes to be able to use it toward our new museum.” However, “because things remain in flux, it was use it or lose it.”
Scott is now using the money to renovate bathrooms, improve the cooling and heating system, enhance lighting and install new flooring. The project will elevate the visitor experience and help preserve the historic building’s integrity.
“It’s progress,” Scott said. “And for me, it’s a promise that folks are still engaged and respectful of our mission.”
Facility limitations have prevented the museum from hosting certain exhibitions, despite “very creative” efforts to modify the space. The latest upgrades will “heighten our ability to bring in some art and artifacts,” Scott said.
A lack of security, other protocols and space will still prevent the Woodson from “being the museum that we’re hopeful to become,” Scott said. She also pledged to continue enhancing “where we are, and doing as magnificent a job as we can.”
She believes that increasing the Woodson’s profile now – and continuing to earn admiration from the community, region and state – will help elevate the museum when it moves into a new facility. “There’s a starting ground everywhere, and this happens to be foundational work,” Scott explained.
Administrative offices will temporarily operate from the Enoch Davis Center. Programming will remain active at partner venues, including the Barack Obama Main Library and the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art.
“It means everything to us to know that they support our initiatives and that they’re to fill in the gaps as and when needed,” Scott said. “We also look to be that partner to these other entities … when we’re up and running, as we have in the past. Partnerships – without them, none of us can survive.
“So, we’re grateful to have built such a reputation that folks are willing, interested and kind enough to share their space for us.”
The future
Mayor Ken Welch, who has repeatedly advocated for a new Woodson Museum in a reimagined Gas Plant District, is also a staunch supporter. The Rays committed $10 million to a previously estimated $38.3 million project, which would have opened with a new stadium in 2028.
Scott withdrew a $10 million tourist development tax funding request in February 2025 due to uncertainty surrounding the Gas Plant’s future. The city secured development rights around the Trop after the Rays exited the previous deal in March, and Welch subsequently reiterated that affordable senior housing and a new Woodson Museum are priorities.
“The importance of our history and the connection between the Woodson and Historic Gas Plant is very strong, so we’ll get it done,” Welch previously told the Catalyst. “The city has made investments and agreements with the Woodson on the Deuces (22nd Street South), but I believe the Historic Gas Plant is the right site.”
Everald Colas, founder of St. Petersburg-based Storyn Studio for Architecture, has since created a new vision for the museum’s future home in the Gas Plant. Scott noted Monday that the 40,000-square-foot concept has won six state, national and international awards.
Welch’s administration is currently considering a $6.8 billion redevelopment proposal from ARK Investment Management, Ellison Development and Horus Construction. Scott said the latter company’s leadership “reached out to us, and we had a listening session at the museum.”
Those plans include a new Woodson Museum, and the city opened a 30-day window for additional proposals this week. “We find ourselves open and willing to have conversations with any and all who have a desire to help us uplift our story,” Scott said.
“But more importantly, ensure that we have a proper location to share our stories.”
Scott noted the importance of a purpose-built African American museum in St. Petersburg, a self-billed city of the arts. The facility would also become the first in the state to not exist in a retrofitted building, “depending on how quickly we can get it done.”
“We’re improvising in the space that we’re in so that we can do the best job possible to tell a story that’s rarely shared,” Scott said. “We’re just looking to enhance educational opportunities across the board.”
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