Mangrove Bay Middle School and Speer YMCA project ‘full circle moment’ for general contractor Todd Pope
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 15, 2024

The Speer YMCA and Mangrove Bay Middle School project has set the bar for collaborative developments in the county.

The project is a unique partnership between the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg and the Pinellas County School District. Creative Contractors, the general contractor for the project, took on the challenge of simultaneously building two projects with different owners, architects and budgets.

Todd Pope, vice president of Creative Contractors and project director, has a personal connection to the property. As a child his father taught shop at Riviera Middle School, which was demolished in 2008. Pope said being able to build a new school on the site is a full-circle moment for him.

“I was able to as a young kid see middle and high schoolers create something in a woodshop environment when my dad allowed me to tag along,” Pope said. “That really is what got me interested in construction. Coming back to build Speer and Mangrove Bay Middle School and knowing I was on that property as a kid and now, 40 years later, I’m redeveloping it again for the next generation is incredible.”

Creative Contractors largely focuses on three sectors: education, health care and a mix of municipal/hospitality/recreation. Pope said that with his parents being educators he’s always had a soft spot for building educational facilities.

He said he knows from years of feedback from his parents what works well in classrooms and what doesn’t. Their entire team carries a sense of pride when building schools as they know they’re building something impactful for the next generation of local students.

The two projects sit on roughly 19 acres. The Speer YMCA is located at 495 62nd Ave. NE. The YMCA facility is part of the 111,757-square-foot project that also includes the Mangrove Bay Middle School, located at 501 62nd Ave NE.

The projects have shared amenities, including a culinary center, dining hall, gymnasium and athletics field. The YMCA opened earlier this year and the middle school will be delivered this Spring and will be up and running in time for the 2024-2025 school year.

Creative Contractors has completed 27 Pinellas County School projects — both renovations and new construction — and seven YMCA projects.

Pope has been with Creative Contractors for 25 years and as a Pinellas County native, he said he takes immense pride in knowing the buildings he creates may one day be utilized by his children or future grandchildren.

The Speer YMCA and Mangrove Bay Middle School project is one of those legacy projects, according to Pope. Creative Contractors is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and will soon open an office in Lakeland.