Reinvigorate St. Pete by Reimagining 175

A guest column by Justin Cournoy of local volunteer organization Reimagine 175

St. Petersburg needs a citizen-led master plan for the Gas Plant, and removing Interstate 175 needs to be a part of the conversation.

St. Pete is changing. This town is certainly in a renaissance period, with cranes and concrete trucks expanding the skyline as new residents come from far and wide. But just look a bit west of downtown and you’ll see an area that is frozen in time with 86 acres of parking lots, a damaged Tropicana Field under repair, and eight lanes of interstate coming off 275 ending at 4th street: Interstate 175. This area was once a neighborhood, the Gas Plant, and it could become a vibrant place once again like the rest of downtown.

The city is once again soliciting bids from developers for this site. For nearly a decade, we’ve seen renderings and proposals. We’ve seen deals come together and fall apart. At the same time, the community has also been contemplating what comes next for Interstate 175 just south of this site. The Tropicana Field Master Plan of 2017 was the first study that put in writing what residents had been feeling about this dividing highway. As former Mayor Rick Kriseman famously said in 2020, “We’ve broken down some figurative barriers In this city. This is a literal one that should be flattened someday.” 

The Tropicana study prompted the launch of a Downtown Mobility study. Published in 2022, it found that 175 removal was a level one priority project that deserved a true comprehensive study from FDOT, which controls the roadway. The city found that removing 175 could be feasible from a traffic standpoint if we would also be able to convert the 8th/MLK and 3rd/4th street pairs back to two-way traffic as they once were. FDOT did indeed fund a feasibility study, the 175 Action Plan, which is under way and will conclude in the spring of 2026. The feasibility of a boulevard, a viaduct, and a no-build option were to be explored. After waiting nearly a decade, we are now in what feels like the final stretch of endless studies.

If you’ve been around the last year, you know that transportation projects have been making headlines. You’ve surely seen FDOT, at the direction of Trump and DeSantis, remove the rainbow crosswalks and the black history murals. The first bus rapid transit system in the region, the Sunrunner, will be losing part of its dedicated lane in the coming weeks, a move spearheaded by Representative Linda Chaney.

In the spring of 2025, a few short months after the 175 action plan had launched, FDOT quietly rewrote its guidebook at the request of politicians in Tallahassee. These new guidelines declare that no interstate can be reduced in level of service. This change effectively deleted 175 removal from the scope of work of the current feasibility study. This new political climate erased almost a decade’s worth of progress. While cities across the U.S. have already removed their inner city highways and are reaping the rewards, this option is now nearly impossible in Florida. Not completely impossible, just much harder.

However, some members  of the community think we can keep the vision alive.
Reimagine 175 is a volunteer organization that was formed in 2024 by a group of neighbors living in the south side of St. Pete. Advocating for removal of the freeway and its conversion to a boulevard, they’ve been working for the last two years, engaging with the community and meeting with key stakeholders and residents. They have signed position statements of support from five neighborhoods and are continuing to connect with neighborhoods, faith leaders, and businesses.

175 is nearing the end of its life. After 45 years of service, it is only at 40 percent capacity, its eight lanes mostly empty. It occupies a space nearly 500 feet wide. The construction of the interstate erased millions of dollars worth of generational wealth and displaced thousands. Business districts south of the highway, such as the Deuces and MLK St. South, were decimated and continue to struggle to this day due to the roadway. What was intended to save downtown during the urban economic downtown of the 1970s only led to the emptying out of the core neighborhoods. Communities that were once connected became divided from each other physically and psychologically.

The price of maintaining interstates isn’t cheap. Replacing overpasses and redecking can cost tens of millions of dollars. Viaducting costs in the hundreds of millions. A land bridge or cap could cost in the hundreds of millions, and then the interstate itself must be maintained. Maintenance on land bridges can cost in the millions of dollars per year. Removal and replacement with a connected street grid is the most affordable option and it allows for land reclamation that can be used for housing and businesses, a huge return on investment that fulfills the promise of the Gas Plant redevelopment. Neighborhoods that have been apart for nearly half a century will be reconnected again.

The mayor is expected to accept a bid from a developer on or after February 3. One redevelopment proposal features a pedestrian “land bridge” over I-175 as a symbol of connection. The problem is that once this bridge is built, the highway becomes untouchable. A bridge does not eliminate separation; it formalizes it. For a community that already endured irreversible decisions, that should give everyone pause.

Reimagine 175 supports a “Plan First” approach. The mayor should not sell this public land to a developer until after a formal citizen-led master plan has been conducted. We want 175 removal and reconnection of the street grid to be a part of that master plan discussion.