Robert Blackmon, who served on the St. Petersburg City Council from 2020 to 2022, is also a local real estate developer.
Blackmon and his family were behind the restoration and rehabilitation of the former Standard Oil station, at the corner of 4th Street S. and 24th Avenue, in St. Petersburg’s Harbordale neighborhood. It is now occupied by Pete’s Bagels.
The project was honored by the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation May 14 at the Florida Preservation Awards during the organization’s Preserve Florida 2026 conference in St. Petersburg.
A nonprofit founded in 1978, the Trust is dedicated to protecting the state’s history and heritage. The initiative received a “Restoration, Rehabilitation or Adaptive Use” award.
“It’s humbling,” Blackmon explained. “We’re so thankful that the Trust would honor something like this. It just goes to show how important these preservation projects are to neighborhoods. One of things I think is so cool is that Harbordale residents can now say that they have a state award-winning historical building right in their neighborhood.”
The building was one of the first gas stations in St. Petersburg. It opened in 1926 and remained in business until 1962.
According to nonprofit Preserve the ‘Burg, which advocates for St. Petersburg’s history, the building is the southernmost Standard Oil station in the U.S. The renovation was honored at the organization’s Preservation Awards in May 2025.
Blackmon bought and began rehabilitation efforts on the deteriorated property in 2019. The cost was in a high six figure range.
“What attracted me to the project was displeasure with conditions on 4th Street S. in particular,” he said. “I lived in Lakewood Terrace and Coquina Key. So, I would pass by that site every day for 10 years. It was in bad shape as far as I can remember.”
This inspired Blackmon to explore the property’s history. After conducting research in the City’s archives, he learned that the building was a Standard Oil station.
Historical documentation was used to guide the project. The original hipped roof was reconstructed, new windows were installed and the brickwork was restored. In May 2023, the St. Petersburg City Council approved the restoration effort and a local historic landmark designation.
“We’ve seen so much growth in our area, which is a good thing in a lot of ways,” Blackmon explained. “But, you have to have growth that’s also heritage and preservation minded or else we’re going to end up looking like Anytown U.S.A.”
He added that there’s an economical benefit to restoring historical sites. People often travel to different locations to “see unique places” that “tell the story of our past.” For example, Blackmon learned that some individuals like to visit old gas stations around the country.
“The Standard Oil station was chosen for the 2026 11 to Save list because it’s one of St. Petersburg’s earliest auto-related landmarks, and the Blackmon family’s work has helped protect and revitalize it,” Florida Trust for Historic Preservation program manager Larry Crumbie said in a statement prepared for the Catalyst. “The project was honored for saving a significant historic resource and showing how preservation can keep a place’s story alive for the community.”
Blackmon and his family faced many challenges during the effort. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the process. Permitting and zoning also took considerable time because the site was no longer zoned for commercial use. “The City told us we could only make it a house,” he said.
Eventually, the St. Petersburg government and Blackmon formed an agreement where “we could make it commercial if we got it designated historic.”
Blackmon added that City staff members, including Derek Kilborn and Kelly Perkins and Preserve the ‘Burg executive director Emanuel Leto, played an instrumental role in the project.
“There’s plenty of other buildings throughout the city that are historic that people may not know are historic,” he said. “If everybody who is involved in the real estate or renovation trade did one of these projects in their life, we could really have a booming preservation community in the city.”
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
