Azalea Gateway ● 1501 72nd St N
Planned redevelopment of the 29-acre former Raytheon site (1501 72nd St. N.) would be built in three phases totaling over 1,000 apartments. Phase 1 calls for 340 units, including 102 income-restricted affordable/workforce apartments (51 at ≤80% AMI and 51 up to 120% AMI). The City of St. Petersburg approved $6M and Pinellas County approved $5.25M toward Phase 1.
Councilman Copley Gerdes informed us at the October 2025 meeting that there will be air quality monitors at the construction site. Gerdes noted that, in his view, there’s about a 90% chance that Phase 2 will move forward and a 50% chance that Phase 3 will ever be realized.
Groundbreaking expected late summer/fall 2026.
Science Center ● 7701 22nd Ave N
Renovation work has begun on the St. Petersburg Science Center campus, with reopening planned for summer 2027. The revitalized center is expected to combine science education, technology programs, and community spaces across the historic property.
Plans include an Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, student training programs focused on emerging technologies, and an innovation hub designed to support new companies and research partnerships. The campus will also continue to host summer camps, educational programs, and public events.
Several historic and recreational features will remain part of the site, including the Walk of States mosaic trail, the planetarium, gardens and outdoor learning spaces, and new indoor-outdoor event areas.
Traffic safety at Pinellas Trail crossings
Forward Pinellas is now studying the trail crossing at 22nd Ave due to safety concerns. Since that’s similar to the crossing on 5th Ave, the agency may be able to recommend safety improvements to both.
SPC Athletic Site ● Near 66th St N and 5th Ave N
The City of St. Petersburg purchased the former St. Petersburg College Gibbs Wellness Center property (the former SPC athletic fields near 66th St. N. and 5th Ave. N.) in 2024 with the goal of creating attainable homeownership opportunities on the roughly 5-acre site. Plans call for 80–100 workforce townhomes, aimed primarily at buyers earning moderate incomes. The project concept has been approved and several development proposals have been submitted, though a final developer selection has not yet been announced. Unlike many recent housing projects in St. Petersburg, the homes are expected to be for sale rather than rentals, helping local workers remain in the area. The effort is part of the city’s broader push to address the shortage of attainable housing in west St. Petersburg.
The athletic fields were previously used by St. Petersburg College sports programs at the Gibbs Campus. SPC athletics still competes as the Titans at other campuses, but the Gibbs fields have not been used for intercollegiate competition in recent years.
Pasadena Card Club ● 10 Park St N
The storm-damaged Bridge/Card Club building in Sunset Park is scheduled for demolition. City funding has been approved, and the removal of the structure will expand the park’s open greenspace.
Jungle Prada Pier ● Jungle Prada de Narváez Park, 1700 Park St N
An engineering report commissioned by the city determined that the pier cannot be repaired and must be fully replaced. The estimated cost for demolition and reconstruction is about $5.6 million, with permits currently valid through July 2027.
Because the city is facing an $18 million budget deficit, funding has not yet been secured. City leadership has identified the pier as a District 1 priority for FY27, and staff are exploring grant opportunities, preservation options, and competitive bidding to help reduce costs.
White Peacocks
Neighbors continue to keep an eye on the two rare white peafowl that hatched in Azalea last summer. They are now juveniles and are doing well. Some neighbors have noticed that one bird has been spending more time with the male peacocks while the other tends to stay closer to the females, though at this age it’s still difficult to determine their gender.
If one of them turns out to be male, we may eventually see the famous white peacock fan. Male peafowl typically begin developing their train around their first year, though the full dramatic display usually appears when they are two to three years old.
For now, we’ll keep watching and enjoying the neighborhood’s most unusual residents.
Raytheon Site Cleanup
ANNUAL REMEDIAL ACTION STATUS REPORT - SUMMARY
JULY 2024 – JUNE 2025
The cleanup work is paid for by Raytheon, but testing and reporting are handled by independent environmental firms and reviewed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
This is an annual update (2024–2025) on the cleanup of the
former Raytheon site at 7167 13th Ave N in St. Pete. It explains how
groundwater contamination is being treated and whether things are improving.
🧪 What was the issue
Past industrial activity left chemicals in the
groundwater, mainly:
- TCE (a
common industrial solvent)
- 1,4-dioxane
- Related
breakdown compounds
These are being tracked and reduced over time.
🛠️ What they’ve done
Cleanup has been ongoing since 2008, including:
- Pumping
and treating contaminated groundwater
- Chemical
and thermal treatments in key areas
- A
long-term system (since 2014) that:
- pulls
groundwater out
- treats
it on-site
- sends
cleaned water to the city system
⚙️ Current system (still running)
- About 14
active wells are pulling groundwater
- Water
is treated and safely discharged
- System
has been running continuously and meeting all discharge standards
📊 What the latest results
show
👍 Overall trend:
Improving
- Contaminant
levels are stable or declining
- Cleanup
system is working as intended
- Natural
biological processes are also helping break down chemicals
📉 Groundwater plume
(important)
- The
contaminated area is NOT expanding
- In
fact, it is shrinking compared to earlier years (2010 vs 2025)
📍 Where contamination
remains
- Mostly
localized on the former Raytheon property
- Some
lower-level impacts still exist nearby, but:
- they
are limited
- they
are being controlled
🌱 What’s helping cleanup
- Pumping
system removes contamination
- Natural
processes (“attenuation”) are breaking it down
- Some
fluctuations happen, but that’s expected
⚠️ Is it getting worse?
👉 No.
The report specifically says:
- No
uncontrolled spread is happening
- The
system is maintaining control of the groundwater
- Conditions
are improving over time
🏗️ What’s next
- Cleanup
system will continue operating
- Monitoring
will continue through at least 2026
- Redevelopment
of the property may begin soon, coordinated with cleanup efforts
🧠 Bottom Line (according to report)
- The
contamination is contained and shrinking
- The
treatment system is working and meeting standards
- The site is being actively monitored and managed
Link to download 1,777 page PDF report Contains recent plume maps by contaminant.
Link to view map of contamination plume area (St. Pete Times, 5-23-2008)
Link to current FDEP Pinellas contamination locations
2008 FDH Testing of Homegrown Fruits and Vegetables:
🥕 Raytheon Site & Homegrown Produce – What Residents Should Know
There has been long-standing concern about groundwater contamination near the former Raytheon site, particularly for residents using shallow irrigation wells for gardening.
In 2008, the Florida Department of Health tested homegrown fruits and vegetables from several nearby properties—including citrus, peppers, tomatoes, and onions. The results showed that none of the tested chemicals were detected in any of the produce.
Even using very conservative assumptions, health officials determined that:
- Eating these fruits and vegetables is not expected to cause health problems
- There is no meaningful cancer risk associated with consuming them
- The produce is considered a “no apparent public health hazard”
While groundwater contamination does exist in some irrigation wells, the testing found that those contaminants are not being absorbed into the edible portions of plants.
Bottom line:
Homegrown produce in the Azalea area has been tested and found to be safe to eat based on available data.
