Clearwater’s new North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area plan approved
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 2, 2023

Pinellas County has approved the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area plan, which will launch a wave of investments for 840 acres in Clearwater.

County commissioners unanimously approved the plan. The area lies north of downtown and was once home to many successful Black-owned businesses. The vote also approved the creation of a redevelopment trust fund, which comes from the county’s tax increment financing contribution rates. The fund is anticipated to collect $30 million over 20 years.

Clearwater has allocated $5 million of its Covid-19 relief funds to the new fund. Clearwater approved the North Greenwood CRA plan on Jan. 12. The county’s approval officially gives the green light for creating the new CRA, allowing the city to focus on redevelopment and reducing or eliminating blight.

The new CRA includes portions of the Pinellas Trail, a library, a recreation complex and a community center, a garden club, multiple schools and parks and three health centers. Sunset Point Road bounds it to the north, Kings Highway to the east; Palmetto Street, CSX Railway, and Jones Street to the south and North Osceola Avenue, North Fort Harrison Avenue, and Clearwater Harbor to the west.

More than 52% of the area is zoned for residential and the city of Clearwater owns 64 parcels within the CRA — approximately 83.33 acres. Most of the city-owned land is either parks, recreational facilities or public service sites. Pinellas County owns 16 parcels in the CRA, including areas along the Pinellas Trail, the Clearwater Health Department and the Garden Trail Apartments workforce housing.

Currently, there is a mix of residential, commercial and light industrial within the boundaries. According to the plan, there are 6,619 residents living in the area. Of those, roughly 27% live in poverty.

The vote came after years of work that originally began via grassroots community efforts led by the Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition. The group first proposed the city establish a CRA in 2019. The North Greenwood neighborhood was once known as “The Grove” after the many citrus orchards there.

City council and the county commissioners approved a study analyzing the area in 2021. Community members — including several residents and business owners — comprised a steering committee that took over planning efforts to “help the city guide the process,” according to a release.

The CRA will be tailored around the makeup of the neighborhood. According to the plan, North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue is the “historic heart of North Greenwood.” The corridor had once been a “community focal point” with a mix of businesses and gathering spots.

Most of those businesses are now gone, and vacant lots are prevalent. However, the corridor still serves as a cultural center with the North Greenwood Recreation & Aquatic Complex, the North Greenwood Library, the Pinellas County African American History Museum and a few community services all located along the street.

The vacant and city-owned land “presents an opportunity for this corridor to be revitalized in a way that serves the current community while honoring the corridor’s past,” according to the plan. It recommends focusing on restoring black entrepreneurship in this area of North Greenwood.

According to data from the Pinellas County Property Appraiser data, there are 350 vacant properties within the CRA. While spread throughout, there are concentrations of vacant parcels along the North Fort Harrison Avenue and North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue corridors. The plan recommends developing the vacant land be a “top priority” for the CRA as it would not cause any direct displacement.

The recommended breakdown of CRA funds for the 20-year period is:

$14 million set aside for affordable housing

$10 million assigned to economic development

$4 million for CRA administration

$2 million toward mobility — like improving access to transit and walking/biking options