{"id":235376,"date":"2026-04-17T08:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235376\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:48:00","slug":"st-pete-targets-safety-housing-and-park-improvements-in-thirteenth-street-heights-neighborhood-plan-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235376\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete targets safety, housing and park improvements in Thirteenth Street Heights neighborhood plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brief<\/p>\n

A south St. Petersburg neighborhood could soon see major changes, as city leaders move forward with a long-awaited plan shaped by resident input.<\/p>\n

The city of St. Pete has approved a new neighborhood plan for Thirteenth Street Heights, an area just steps from Tropicana Field and near the proposed redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District.<\/p>\n

City officials say the plan is designed to guide the neighborhood\u2019s future as surrounding development takes shape.<\/p>\n

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – After months of community meetings and engagement, the city of St. Petersburg<\/a> has approved a new neighborhood plan for Thirteenth Street Heights. The area is in the shadow of Tropicana Field<\/a> and near the proposed redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District.<\/a><\/p>\n

As the city considers proposals for the redevelopment of that neighborhood, a vision is taking shape for Thirteenth Street Heights.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

By the numbers<\/p>\n

Residents made one thing clear during community meetings: safety is a priority.<\/p>\n

According to the plan, 49% of residents identified crime and public safety as one of their biggest concerns.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“I know from talking to some of the residents that public safety in your neighborhood and feeling safe is extremely important,” said Councilwoman Gina Driscoll.<\/p>\n

To address those concerns, the plan calls for increased police engagement, including more outreach efforts.<\/p>\n

St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway says officers are prepared to expand those efforts.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019d be more than happy to do more park walk-and-talks, and the CSOs continue to engage,” Holloway said.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper<\/p>\n

While safety topped the list, residents also highlighted broader quality-of-life issues.<\/p>\n

The neighborhood has one of the lowest median incomes in the city, and many residents say they struggle with access to affordable housing, grocery stores and fresh food options.<\/p>\n

Concerns were also raised about the condition of parks, including Silver Lake Park and vacant city-owned lots.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“A lot of complaints have arisen because of the condition of the park, safety concerns, that sort of thing,” said Councilman Corey Givens Jr.<\/p>\n

What the plan includes<\/p>\n

The updated plan outlines several improvements, including:<\/p>\n

Better lighting in parks and public spaces<\/p>\n

Revitalizing vacant lots for housing or business use<\/p>\n

Street and infrastructure improvements<\/p>\n

Grants to help local businesses improve storefronts<\/p>\n

What’s next<\/p>\n

City leaders say some changes could happen quickly, while others will depend on future funding.<\/p>\n

“This plan is a huge achievement for the neighborhood,” Driscoll said.<\/p>\n

Officials are expected to provide an update on progress within the next year.<\/p>\n

The Source<\/p>\n

Sources for this reporting include a report by the City of St. Petersburg on the 13th Street Heights Neighborhood Plan and a St. Petersburg City Council meeting (April 2026).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief A south St. Petersburg neighborhood could soon see major changes, as city leaders move forward with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[34332,2470,8122,13644,677,18224,4436,202,204,203,199,201,200,104918,8125],"class_list":{"0":"post-235376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-anthony-holloway","9":"tag-city-leaders","10":"tag-historic-gas-plant","11":"tag-historic-gas-plant-district","12":"tag-neighborhood","13":"tag-redevelopment","14":"tag-safety-concerns","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-street-heights","22":"tag-tropicana-field"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235376","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=235376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}