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10/1/07 St. Petersburg Brownfields Program Awarded
$200,000 EPA Clean-Up Grant
The City of St. Petersburg’s Brownfields Program was recently awarded a $200,000 Brownfields Clean-up
Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. This grant was awarded to
the city to continue the clean-up of groundwater and soil petroleum
contamination at the former Atherton Oil site located at 638 26th Street South in the Dome Industrial Park Community Redevelopment
Area. The Atherton Oil site was a petroleum distribution facility that was
abandoned by its owners in the seventies and eventually escheated to the
city. The city has utilized Brownfields grant monies, Underground Storage
Tank pilot grant funds, and city resources to remove numerous underground
storage tanks as well as buildings from the property.
Cleaning up the
Atherton Oil site is one component of the city’s redevelopment effort that
is focused on identifying opportunities for community revitalization by
using public investment and attention to further facilitate private
interest in real estate development.
Since the City of St. Petersburg Brownfields Program began in 1997, the city has been proactive in
redeveloping Brownfields sites. The Dome Industrial Park Project was the first
Brownfields Project to be undertaken by the city, this project utilized a
diverse array of local, state, and federal funds to assist with property
acquisition, infrastructure improvement, and environmental clean-up. The
redevelopment of this area will take a great step forward when the new Job
Corps site at 5th Avenue South and 22nd Street begins
construction in 2009.
One of the City of St. Petersburg Brownfields Program’s most prominent success stories is the renovation of
the Historic Mercy Hospital located in the 22nd Main Street
District. This facility has been reborn into the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health
Center, a public health center that benefits the entire city while
honoring the history and culture of the Midtown community. In 2008, it’s
expected that the property adjacent to the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center will be developed into townhomes by Midtown Green, LLC, a partnership
formed between Pinellas Habitat for Humanity, Inc. and Grady Pridgen, Inc.
Please visit the City's Brownfields Program
online to learn more about our redevelopment efforts.
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