Downtown Clearwater
Clearwater Invests In Downtown's Future
Downtown revitalization remains a core mission for
Clearwater in the coming year, as the city builds
on accomplishments achieved in 2020 amid the
COVID-19 pandemic.
It has been a busy year downtown and in the Clearwater
Community Redevelopment Area with plans for Imagine
Clearwater construction in motion, new art projects, design
plans for the Mercado Plaza, approval of an affordable
housing apartment complex and continued marketing of
Clearwater’s Opportunity Zone.
In June, the Clearwater City Council initiated the latest
step toward construction of the Imagine Clearwater project
by signing off on the location of a covered amphitheater
in Coachman Park. This has resulted in the final park
design for which initial infrastructure changes are currently
underway.
The Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency, which
oversees the Community Redevelopment Area, continued to
focus on promoting the arts downtown with another season
of the Sculpture360 exhibition, with three new sculptures
added last year on Cleveland Street and at the old City
Hall property on Osceola Avenue. It will continue to be an
exciting time for art in 2021, as the CRA will commission a
series of murals downtown at various locations to begin early
this year.
CRA officials also moved forward with the Mercado
project, obtaining design approval from the City Council.
The project is planned to be a hub for community activity
that includes a plaza at Cleveland Street and Gulf to Bay
Boulevard.
Approval for the construction of 171 apartment units at
Martin Luther King Jr. and South Washington avenues
was provided by City Council acting as both Council and
CRA Trustees. This workforce housing project received
funding support from Economic Development and
Housing Department’s HOME fund, provided by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, CRA,
Pinellas County Housing Finance Authority and Penny for
Pinellas IV’s Affordable Housing Fund.
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