Solidarity from the St. Petersburg City Council has led to a rare about-face from Mayor Ken Welch, who will now proceed with plans to revive and reimagine the Science Center.
Welch’s administration quietly reneged on a $1.6 million deal to sell a once-beloved cultural institution and the surrounding four acres to a group known as St. Pete for STEAM. A new, reportedly identical contract is under legal review, and the group expects it back “shortly.”
Council members unanimously asked Welch to reconsider the sale and find alternative sites for unplanned stormwater storage tanks last week. Some also expressed disdain for a convoluted feasibility study’s findings, and the mayor, in a memo Tuesday, said he took those comments to heart.
“Given Council’s consensus request from last week’s meeting, I have directed my team to proceed with the previous Science Center agreement, identify the next-best alternatives to increase operational capabilities and equalization storage capacity at the NWWRF (Northwest Water Reclamation Facility), and estimate what the additional costs may be for land acquisition,” Welch wrote.
“Council’s preference to use the old Science Center site for the new, reimagined Science Center has been clearly communicated.”
The memo to council members, obtained by the Catalyst, included an explanation and some jabs. Welch believed the long-planned project could have found success on “another non-city parcel, while still utilizing the federal and state support promised over the years.”
He said that scenario would have allowed the city to “strengthen the NWWRF’s wet weather resilience under the most cost-effective option, while maintaining onsite flexibility for future plant expansions.” However, Welch also noted the facility was the only one of three not shuttered during Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In addition, Public Works Administrator Claude Tankersley told the council that “we don’t know when that’s going to happen,” at their Sept. 25 meeting. “Could be five years, could be 10 years,” he said.
Welch wrote Tuesday that he shares the council’s desire for a “both/and solution” that would allow the Science Center to reopen as an artificial intelligence-focused learning facility. The St. Petersburg Group (SPG) and its project partners, collectively known as St. Pete for STEAM, plan to bring engaging educational experiences for students, adults, agencies and nonprofits, along with innovation and entrepreneurialism, together under one roof.
“Like you, I spent many days at the former Science Center as a grade-school student,” Welch wrote. “I understand the emotional tie, even though the old building is not part of the planned future development.”
However, the iconic Space Shuttle-adorned rotunda will remain throughout the estimated $25 million project. St. Pete for STEAM will also breathe new life into the historic Walk of States mosaic trail and what became known as White’s Gardens.
“City Council’s thoughtful discussions illuminated both the immediate and long-term value of STEAM education right in our backyard,” said Joe Hamilton, co-founder of SPG. “The myriad comments from West St. Pete neighborhood leaders highlight how long overdue this blighted site is for beautification and rebirth.”
Welch expressed his appreciation for the council’s willingness to support “higher-cost” alternative plans, which include the “potential relocation” of a two-acre brush site, to advance the Science Center’s redevelopment. Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz previously admonished administrators for not pursuing a part of the former Raytheon site next door that recently sold for $562,000 an acre.
The new property owner reached out to the City asking $2.1 million for three acres of undesirable land abutting the sewage plant. Multiple council members questioned why administrators did not negotiate a lower cost when they had a $1.6 million contract pending for the Science Center.
Welch wrote that staff would continue working on other options to “complete essential infrastructure upgrades as needed at the NWWRF.”
“One thing to be clear about – it’s reductive and misleading to frame this as Science Center versus infrastructure,” Hamilton said Wednesday. “The water storage tank in question may not be needed for a decade, if ever. It was so ‘unimportant’ that the most feasible location in the study was taken out of contention for higher and better uses, leaving the brush site, Raytheon site and Science Center next on the list.
“It would be more accurate to frame it as a $20-plus million community asset that requires no city funds versus maybe moving a pile of palm fronds and a couple of dumpsters to a new brush site a decade from now.”
Community support to save the Science Center swelled once the administration’s decision to nix the long-negotiated deal became public. The facility at 7701 22nd Ave. N. opened to national fanfare in 1966.
Thousands, if not millions, of Pinellas County students and their families visited the Science Center until the cash-strapped facility closed in 2014. City officials purchased the property five years later due to its proximity to the sewage plant.
Former Councilmember Robert Blackmon began leading efforts to rejuvenate the institution in 2021. SPG submitted an unsolicited proposal to purchase the building in 2023.
Councilmember Gina Driscoll does not recall a resolution ever sparking an immediate administrative U-turn throughout her nearly eight years in office. “This is a big win for science and, more importantly, for the children,” she said.
Hamilton echoed that sentiment. He said the Science Center will “serve our children, our community and our region for generations to come. We are ready to work with the City and other partners to make it a truly transformational resource.”
Editor’s note: Joe Hamilton is also the publisher of the St. Pete Catalyst.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
