ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The City of St. Petersburg is moving forward with a project that would turn unused railroad tracks downtown into a walking and biking trail.
“This isn’t something that just we are going to enjoy but this is something that future generations will get to reap the rewards of,” said Councilman Corey Givens at Thursday’s council meeting.
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The city started trying to buy a stretch of unused railroad property back in 2019. The property runs from 5th Avenue North to 1st Avenue South. Negotiators with the city said they were able to talk down the price from $88 million to $7 million.
“Anywhere they have a lot of trails, you just see big developments happening,” said Mark Ferguson, owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar. “You see warehouses turning into hubs for entertainment, for apartments, for retail.”$4 million of the project is being paid for by Ferguson’s 99-year lease with the city that he’ll sign for Ferg’s — which is built on top of the tracks…