St. Pete is on the precipice of major zoning changes in this up-and-coming neighborhood
By Henry Queen
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 9, 2024

St. Petersburg's Warehouse Arts District could finally be on the verge of a redevelopment wave.

City council on Sept. 5 discussed a zoning overlay for the area just west of Tropicana Field that would allow for more multifamily development. The changes were approved by Forward Pinellas and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners earlier this summer. A final vote on the zoning overlay was delayed to Sept. 12, but council members did agree to five amendments to fix aspects of the ordinance they saw as problematic.

"We waited five years," councilmember Gina Driscoll said. "One more week to make sure we get this right, I think, is worth it."

The zoning reform effort represents a significant step toward a more progressive land-use policy that will give property owners flexibility and, city officials hope, result in more housing units affordable for middle-class households. Though not every neighborhood will be as accommodating to such changes, the Warehouse Arts District overlay could be a sign of things to come for other parts of St. Pete and set an example for other cities in Tampa Bay.

Mayor Ken Welch's administration supports the overlay but is looking to avoid unintended consequences, according to City Administrator Rob Gerdes.

"This has been one of the most amazing urban planning conversations I've ever been able to participate in with city council," Gerdes said at the meeting. "I've been so impressed with all the comments and your passion around trying to do something different. We want to compromise and we want to find a way."

Parking mandates may be abolished

Council voted 5-2 on Sept. 5 on to waive parking requirements for "all uses approved under the application of the overlay" in the Warehouse Arts District.

Over half a dozen neighbors spoke in favor of the overlay while opposing any parking mandates within it, citing the area's strong walkability and transit access.

"Let people at least make their own choices when developing," said local resident Daniel Cammardella.

Though developer Joe Furst would appreciate the flexibility, he said he wasn't as passionate about removing parking mandates due in part to a lack of existing parking other than the vacant lots surrounding 3 Daughters Brewing and Urban Stillhouse that he owns and will likely develop.

"There's not a single on-street parking space along 22nd Street," Furst said. "That should change as part of the streetscape redesign and the development process. And there's not a single structured parking facility that exists in the area. It is a little different than downtown where you have existing parking infrastructure."

Advocate Max McCann said the Palmetto Park Neighborhood Association took the possibility of spillover parking into account before voting to push for zero mandates.

"We're not going to change this [code] for 20 more years — let's be realistic. We're setting in stone today's level of car dependency for the next two decades. ... It's hard to find people who want the parking mandates outside of city staff, frankly," McCann said.

Finding space for artists — and restaurateurs

The city recently altered the overlay ordinance to clarify that to meet the target employment use requirement, a building must have 40% of its total gross area of the ground floor filled with target industries such as small-scale manufacturers, artist studios and more. Staff was concerned about a loophole where a developer could minimize that type of space.

But Furst — the person most instrumental in spearheading the zoning changes — expressed dismay about the rule that would require him to put roughly 40,000 square feet of target industry space on one of his projects. Bars, restaurants and other businesses are still important, he said.

"I want to deliver the most commercial space that I possibly can on the ground floors of buildings because that's what creates human-centric development and vibrancy," Furst said. "In order to do that, there needs to be a mix of the TEC (target employment center) and the non-TEC."

Ramps, mechanical space and loading areas will now be excluded from the calculation of gross square footage after a vote from council on Sept. 5.

The Warehouse Arts District is already home to creative concepts such as Foodie Labs, where restaurateurs can use ghost kitchen space and get help obtaining a food truck permit. Councilmembers expressed concern during the Sept. 5 meeting about a rule prohibiting food trucks from staying in one place permanently. City staff said a permanently parked truck could trigger new fire code requirements, but some community members disliked the policy.

"To [force] the relocation of food trucks every so many days is just a waste of effort and a waste of time," said St. Pete land use attorney Don Mastry, who said he represented Duncan McClellan — the owner of a 7,800-square-foot gallery in the Warehouse Arts District.

How high can the residential buildings go?

Councilmembers and city staff also went back and forth on how tall the buildings in the district should be.

The city recently increased the maximum base floor area ratio (FAR) of a development in the district from 1.5 to 2. (FAR is the measurement of a building's floor area in relation to the size of its lot.)

Residential developers can use workforce housing density bonuses to unlock a floor ratio of up to 5. Workforce housing conditions were initially still attached to the base FAR, but councilmembers voted 5-1 to remove those conditions.

City staff want to maximize the number of affordable units in the district, but Driscoll said attaching any such conditions would ruin the intent.

"We have to allow enough [units] to be built for the numbers to make sense, especially when we're requiring all these [target industry] uses," Driscoll said. "We're not talking about high rises. They're the mid-rises we're not building downtown because everyone is doing high-rises now. If we're going to go through all of this, I want us to allow for some good development."