{"id":136373,"date":"2026-01-29T15:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/136373\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:16:08","slug":"st-pete-looks-to-give-area-under-i-275-a-major-makeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/136373\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete looks to give area under I-275 a major makeover"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ST. PETE, Fla. \u2014 The city of St. Pete is helping construct a plan to transform the four-block area under I-275 near the heart of downtown.<\/p>\n<p>The area, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stpete.org\/residents\/current_projects\/transportation_projects\/trails_crossing.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dubbed Trails Crossing, spans from 1st Avenue North to 3rd Avenue South.<\/a> The stretch of I-275 has historically divided a number of growing neighborhoods like the Edge District, Historic Gas Plant District, Grand Central District and Warehouse Arts District.<\/p>\n<p>Trails Crossing would essentially link together the neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p>Cheryl Stacks, Transportation Manager for the city of St. Pete, said her team has been working closely with the community group Friends of Trails Crossing to create a plan for the space. Early concepts show the area could be turned into a mix of performance and art areas, parks, a spot for an outdoor market and outdoor recreation areas.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, it\u2019s primarily used for parking, but Stacks said due to the location, it\u2019s underutilized.<\/p>\n<p>What You Need To Know<\/p>\n<p>Community meeting set for\u00a0\u00a06 p.m. Thursday at the President Barack Obama Main Library Auditorium located at 3745 9th Ave. N.<br \/>\n<br \/>City will show latest concept designs, ask for feedback at meeting\u00a0<br \/>\n<br \/>Trails Crossing still in planning stages\u00a0<br \/>\n<br \/>CLOSER LOOK:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cms5.revize.com\/revize\/stpete\/Residents\/Current%20Projects\/docs\/Open%20House_Presentation_sm.pdf?t=202510071609360&amp;t=202510071609360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Concept designs of Trails Crossing<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe area is a little complicated because it\u2019s under I-275,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it is important for us to understand what people want to do with that space, but also compare it to what is physically possible and what is allowable from a regulatory standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stacks said they\u2019re working closely with FDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to make sure to follow all safety guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>The community is invited to a public meeting regarding the project set for 6 p.m. on Jan. 29 at the President Barack Obama Main Library Auditorium located at 3745 9th Ave. N. There, the city plans to show the latest renderings for the project and ask for community feedback.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The City of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StPeteFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@StPeteFL<\/a> is working on a plan to give the 4-block stretch under I-275 near downtown St. Pete a big makeover. What is now parking or rundown areas, will be brand new and connect neighborhoods at the heart of the city.<\/p>\n<p>Community meeting set for 6 p.m. tonight <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BN9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@BN9<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4q2WAIfZ1W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/4q2WAIfZ1W<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Angie Angers (@angie_angers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/angie_angers\/status\/2016878746821705772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chris Arnold, Executive Director of the Grand Central District Association, says the neighborhood has evolved so much over the last decade. What started as a few antique shops and tattoo parlors has boomed into a vibrant and fun neighborhood full of things to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just that one piece in the middle that we haven\u2019t fixed yet, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re so excited about the Trails Crossing project,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold said it\u2019s the final piece of the puzzle needed to really connect the city together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you told someone that they would be able to walk from downtown to 23rd, 24th, 25th St, even 10 years ago\u2026 you would have never thought it was happening,\u201d he said. \u201cNow we can walk all the way downtown because it\u2019s connected the entire way. The only spot that\u2019s not is underneath the overpass.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jon Dean, owner of Balance House Studio &amp; Cafe, says more connectivity only means good things for the growing neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not super built out yet, but I see it \u2014 I see the action moving this way,\u201d he said. \u201cI think connecting the neighborhoods is a positive for most of the businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETE, Fla. \u2014 The city of St. Pete is helping construct a plan to transform the four-block&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1564,274,558,770,2287,115,596,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,278,729,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-136373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-angie-angers","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-community-news","12":"tag-local-politics","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-pinellas-county","15":"tag-st-pete","16":"tag-st-pete-headlines","17":"tag-st-pete-news","18":"tag-st-petersburg","19":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","20":"tag-st-petersburg-news","21":"tag-tampa","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-traffic","24":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}