ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The City of St. Petersburg wants to build a new trail on unused railroad tracks in downtown and will use a $6 million lease for Ferg’s Sports Bar to fund the $7 million land purchase from CSX.
“This will be a brand new trail,” said Cheryl Stacks, Transportation Manager. “It’s called the Booker Creek Trail.”
The section of rail corridor the city wants to purchase is .86 miles in length, between 5th Avenue North and 1st Avenue South, totaling about 7.8 acres. Part of those railroad tracks cut right through the Ferg’s Sports Bar property. The owner, Mark Ferguson, has offered $6 million to lease those tracks for 99 years, along with a section in a gravel lot he owns across Central Avenue, which was approved by the city council last Thursday…