ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — The City of St. Petersburg said it’s working to revitalize South St. Petersburg

That includes what the city is calling “transformative” projects on the city’s 22nd Street South Corridor, also known as “the deuces”.

Thursday night the city updated the deuces community on the project. 

What You Need To Know

The City of St. Petersburg said it’s working to revitalize South St. Pete.

Construction is underway for affordable housing and the Manhattan Casino

The St. Petersburg mayor said the development won’t force out the people who live and work there

The city hosted a community update on the project Thursday night

Construction has started on some of the affordable housing projects.

The mayor reaffirmed that the new development will be affordable for people who live there. 

And the Manhattan Casino is also undergoing its renovations. 

The Catalyst on the Deuces has been on 22nd Street South for a couple of years.

“When we were starting it we were thinking about a speakeasy, and fortunately the community made it what it wanted to make, it organically grew,” said Jeffrey Copeland, Owner of The Catalyst on the Deuces.

Copeland has lived in the deuces neighborhood his whole life. His restaurant and lounge now employs 54 people, he said they serve 9,000 people a week.

“This street, the deuces, has not seen that many numbers since probably the 80s,” he said.

The City of St. Petersburg said it’s revitalizing the area with affordable housing, new parks, and improving the Manhattan Casino event space. Copeland said he feels the city should have asked for his input. 

“This would be kind of a place that you would come to say, ‘hey listen, you guys getting 9000 people a week, what do you think we should put here? What do you think should go? What’s going to work?’,” he said.

The city held four workshops this year to get feedback from residents and businesses for the future of the warehouse arts district and the deuces live district.

“We do extensive community outreach, community conversations reimagining the deuces we’ve been out, talking to everyone. The vast majority of folks want affordability, they want something they can be proud of in their community,” Mayor Welch said.

Thursday night the city gave an update on the revitalization project. Mayor Welch said the development won’t push out residents. The housing will be available for people who make average or below average salaries. 

“We kept our word when we said this will be inclusive progress that won’t push out folks that make an average salary,” Welch said.

While Copeland supports some of the revitalization project, he wants the area to stay true to itself. 

“We always want better for ourselves, but what we don’t want to do is give up our culture for something that may not stay as long as it should stay,” Copeland said.

The city said it’s working to preserve the deuces history while investing in the community’s future.

Officials said they are hoping to have the Manhattan Casino open in July 2026.