Downtown Partnership Shows Off St. Pete to International Downtown Association

Our friends at the Tampa Downtown Partnership hosted the International Downtown Association’s annual convention last month. This is the global professional association for organizations like the Downtown Partnership. On October 19, the St. Pete Downtown Partnership hosted pre-conference tours for this group focused on things that make our city special including: the Innovation District, the Warehouse Arts District and Deuces Corridor, Central Ave along with the Waterfront Park System and new St Pete Pier.

We got to show off St. Pete to city leaders from Seattle, Austin, Nashville, Atlanta, Boulder, and many other cities – large and small. We are very proud of our downtown, but it was great to also hear observations from other urban professionals and city builders. They were enthusiastic and inspired about what we have here. But they also cautioned us about growth and about the temptation to try to prevent development as we continue to evolve.

Some key lessons learned from hosting other downtown leaders: We should be proud about St. Pete – and we have a lot of work to do to keep it special.  

• Measured, thoughtful growth and careful, strategic development will be important to maintaining a high quality of life in St. Pete’s downtown.
• Residential development is important for every income - affordable, workforce, market rate and luxury housing supplies are not keeping up with demand, fueling increasing prices in every category.
• We need to continue to find ways to add leading-edge office products so that we have space for St. Pete’s businesses to grow.
• We need to protect the special local retail, nightlife and nightlife economy that sets our city apart.
• We need to prioritize art and funding for artists and arts organizations as a critical part of our culture and economy.
• We need a comprehensive and well-funded transit system, and new ways of thinking about transportation, to meet the needs of our growing population.
• We need to recognize that climate change is real and that ocean rise, flooding and sever weather events require additional infrastructure which can be paid for, in large part by impact fees from new development.
• We need balanced preservation and development.
• And we need to continue to focus on equity and ensuring that everyone who lives in St. Pete is valued and has the tools they need for success.

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