Science Center of Pinellas County could become new STEM facility
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 24, 2023

The city-owned Science Center of Pinellas County, once slated for demolition, could be revitalized by a local development team that plans to transform it into a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning facility.

The St. Petersburg Group, led by Irv Cohen and Joe Hamilton, wants to buy the science center, which sits on 3.89 acres. The group's offer triggered an open bid process, and the city is asking other interested parties to submit their offers by May 23.

The group has offered to buy the property for $100,000 less than the appraised value. Harvard Jolly assessed the condition of the building in May 2022.

Neither Cohen nor Hamilton was immediately available for comment Monday.

The Science Center of Pinellas County at 7701 22nd Ave. N was established in 1959. Before its closure in 2014, it offered an observatory and planetarium, laboratories, gardens and a 600-gallon marine life touch tank, according to a proposal submitted to the city.

SPG said in its proposal that it would partner with Pathfinder Outdoor Education, the St. Petersburg Foundation, Cap Ex Advisory Group, PCS, D-Mar General Contracting and the Walter Warrior Alliance for the project. The St. Petersburg Group and the St. Petersburg Foundation will lead “all facets of the construction, programming and operations for the facility.”

Clearwater-based D-Mar has been involved in this project since April 2022, when former City Councilmember Robert Blackmon, who led a restoration effort for the property, asked the firm to start assessing the building and see what could be done with the budget allocated for the project, Collin Parenton, director of operations in construction for D-Mar, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

D-Mar will be SPG's general contractor if the project proceeds. Parenton said there was "a lot of excitement" from stakeholders as the assessment showed the building was salvageable. Doreen Caudell, president and owner of D-Mar, said the science center has "touched all of us," and her firm is passionate about seeing this to the finish line.

"Our ability to put this project together will also enhance the Pinellas County School System in engaging in trades and getting students that particularly may not be cut out to go to college that can perhaps onboard in the trade industry," Caudell.

The goal, Parenton said, is to make the project itself a classroom and to make it an educational experience for local high schools, trades programs and University students as they progress through construction.

“Hands-on STEM experiences are a powerful adjunct to classroom instruction and an essential investment at a time when educators are stressed, stretched, and in need of public support for their important work and their students,” SPG wrote in its proposal. “As envisioned and planned by the participants to this proposal, the Science Center will be a space where hands-on, discovery-based learning and STEM enrichment fuel inquisitive minds and enthusiasm for all things science.”

According to the proposal, the building will “require a significant investment to bring [it] up to code and outfit it for use as a science and technology learning center.” While the gardens and mosaic paths were preserved, the rest of the green space “will need a significant amount of landscaping and tree work to be safe and usable.”

The first floor of the building will have approximately eight STEM modules, each sponsored by a local business. Pinellas County Schools and the Pinellas Education Foundation would partner for teaching and learning objectives and staffing.

The second floor would have rentable space for STEM-focused organizations. The group said conversations with anchor tenants are currently underway. The business plan shows the rent for the second floor would be approximately $16 per square foot. The proposal said the space could also be rented to a group of “complimentary nonprofit organizations.”

In a letter of support to the city, Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said just over a year ago, PCS and the Innovation Foundation — a philanthropic arm of Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest — came together to develop science curriculum for local students. That curriculum — which is designed for sixth graders — has been piloted at six schools in the district.

Hendrick said as the district moves forward with that work, there is “significant interest” in exploring the development of an "emerging science experience" similar to Enterprise Village and Finance Park.

“This experience would be available to all middle school students and extend the learning for emerging technologies through experiential learning. The Science Center is a potential location to make this vision become a reality.”