Downtown Redevelopment in St. Petersburg: How the Intown CRAs Work

Downtown St. Petersburg redevelopment is paid for mainly by tax increment financing in the Intown and Intown West Community Redevelopment Areas, where part of the growth in property taxes is set aside for district projects instead of the general budget.

The St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Agency has established three Community Redevelopment Areas, each with an adopted plan and its own redevelopment fund: South St. Petersburg, Intown and Intown West (City of St. Petersburg). Two of them, Intown and Intown West, cover downtown; the city's economic development office says downtown has two redevelopment areas: Intown and Intown West (City of St. Petersburg).

State law sets the math. Under Section 163.387 of the Florida Statutes, each taxing authority pays into the trust fund an increment equal to 95 percent of the difference between current taxes on the district and the taxes it produced in the base year, and a local ordinance may set a lower share, but in no event shall such amount be less than 50 percent of such difference (Florida Legislature). The Intown page records the city and county contribution reaching that 50 percent level in FY2023 under Ordinance 333-H (City of St. Petersburg).

The board making the spending decisions is the City Council. The city says St. Petersburg City Council is solely delegated the authority to serve as the Agency by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, under Sections 163.357 and 163.410 of the Florida Statutes (City of St. Petersburg).

The Intown CRA covers nearly 643 acres of downtown St. Petersburg land and water, Intown West adds 193 acres, and the separate South St. Petersburg CRA covers 4,777 acres.

Intown runs from the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel in the northeast to Tropicana Field in the southwest, borders Albert Whitted Airport, and takes in University Park, the waterfront park system, the Central Avenue core and the Historic Gas Plant District (City of St. Petersburg). City Council approved the district on April 15, 1982 and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners on August 3, 1982, by Ordinance 82-24.

Intown West lies north and west of Tropicana Field and is bounded by I-175, I-275, Burlington Avenue North and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street (City of St. Petersburg). It was created to capitalize on the development of Tropicana Field and the eventual award of a Major League Baseball franchise. County payments into it expired on November 15, 2020; since then only the City of St. Petersburg contributes, at 50 percent of the increment, through April 7, 2032.

South St. Petersburg, approved on May 21, 2015 by Ordinance 169-H, is bounded generally by 2nd Avenue North, I-275, I-175 and Booker Creek on the north, 4th Street South on the east, 30th Avenue South on the south and 49th Street on the west (City of St. Petersburg). Its fund runs until May 21, 2045, with Pinellas County paying 85 percent and the city 95 percent of the increment.

The Intown CRA collected about $20.3 million in tax increment in FY2026, split between the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, after reaching $20,369,913 in FY2025.

The district's value has multiplied many times over: the original base year assessed real property value was $107.88 million, and the 2024 assessed real property value (collected in FY2025) was $3.77 billion (City of St. Petersburg). That growth let the city and county lower their shares. In 2015 City Council approved reducing Pinellas County contribution level to the district from 95 percent to 85 percent; in FY2019 the county went to 75 percent and the city from 95 to 75 percent; in FY2023 both dropped to 50 percent under Ordinance 333-H.

The newest change came on July 30, 2024, when St. Petersburg passed Ordinance 585-H, extending the Intown Redevelopment Plan until 2042 and letting the city set its contribution each year at no more than 60 percent; the county contributions, maximum contribution and sunset date were not changed (City of St. Petersburg). In city budget books the same district appears under another name, the Downtown Redevelopment District, which matters when searching the annual budget for Intown figures.

Intown tax increment has helped pay for the new Municipal Pier and Pier District enhancements, two public parking garages, Mahaffey Theater renovations, part of the original Tropicana Field and downtown land purchases.

The city lists those uses on the Intown page: construction of the new Municipal Pier and enhancements to the Pier Approach and Pier District, the development of two public parking garages, renovations to the Mahaffey Theater, partial funding to build Tropicana Field in the late 1980s and later work to accommodate Major League Baseball, and acquisition of property throughout downtown to consolidate development sites (City of St. Petersburg). The next large use named on that page is site preparation: redevelopment of Tropicana Field is expected to begin in the next several years with a funding source from TIF.

That site is the Historic Gas Plant District. On July 2, 2026 the Mayor picked two teams to redevelop it, The Burg Bid and the Pinellas County Housing Authority, and the city says a final agreement must be approved by City Council before ground can be broken on the site (City of St. Petersburg, July 2, 2026). The Digital Towns guide to Tropicana Field covers that project step by step.

Beyond the districts' own projects, the economic development office describes the downtown it is trying to grow: the Innovation District with the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and Research Center, Bayboro Harbor with its marine institutions, a museum district of seven institutions, and arts districts running from the waterfront up Central Avenue (City of St. Petersburg). City Council also approved the Downtown Waterfront Master Plan, which covers the shoreline from Coffee Pot Bayou to Lassing Park.

Since 2021, St. Petersburg's Community Benefits Agreement program has required developers whose projects receive public assistance to deliver community benefits approved by City Council.

The city says the program requires developers to provide community benefits for projects that receive public assistance, in areas such as affordable or workforce housing, environmental resiliency and sustainability, public infrastructure, equitable workforce development, neighborhood health and safety, and equitable economic opportunities (City of St. Petersburg). The package is worked out with the Community Benefits Advisory Council and community meetings, and City Council gives final approval. The program page lists one past project reviewed, 800 1st Ave S.

South of downtown the rules differ. The South St. Petersburg plan directs its tax increment toward three focus areas, Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization, Education and Workforce Development, and Business and Commercial Development, and uses grants, loans and property tax abatements to draw private investment (City of St. Petersburg). A Citizen Advisory Committee, created by an interlocal agreement between St. Petersburg City Council and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, advises the agency on that plan.

St. Petersburg residents follow CRA decisions through City Council meetings, because the council sits as the redevelopment agency, and through the Economic and Workforce Development Department, the registered agent for all three districts.

The city lists the registered agent as the Economic and Workforce Development Department, One 4th St. N., 727-893-7100, and the governing body at St. Petersburg City Hall, 175 5th St. N., 727-893-7117, [email protected] (City of St. Petersburg). Each CRA page also posts its annual goals and objectives, supplemental regulatory reports and audited CRA financial reports, with FY 2025 the latest set listed.

Some official material is stale or inconsistent, and it is worth knowing before quoting it. The About the Districts page still links Downtown Demographics 2018 and a Downtown Development Projects Map dated July 2019 (City of St. Petersburg). The three CRA pages print three different FY2026 Pinellas County millage rates: 4.5423 on the Intown page, 4.5432 on the Intown West page and 4.523 on the South St. Petersburg page, while all three agree on the city rate of 6.4525 (Intown West; South St. Petersburg).

Last verified: October 18, 2026, on the City of St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area pages and the Florida Legislature's online statutes.