Partner Partner Content Clearwater seeks bold vision for Main Library

In the core of Clearwater, the pieces are coming together for a downtown resurgence. 

At rebuilt waterfront Coachman Park, the playground and splash pad bring out families, while the monthly Market Marie and special events like the world’s largest rubber duck draw large weekend crowds. The park’s BayCare Sound has quickly earned a reputation as a top-notch outdoor concert venue. Trade publication Pollstar ranks it number three in the U.S. and the world for amphitheaters with a capacity of 10,000 or less.

Overlooking Coachman Park, the long-planned redevelopment of the downtown bluff is underway. A December groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction on The Ballad Hotel, a 10-story, 158-room hotel with retail and restaurant space on the ground floor and a bar and dining area on the top floor that’s slated to open in late 2027. This spring, construction is expected to start on an adjacent 400-unit, 28-story apartment tower with 10,000 square feet of retail opening in May 2028. 

At the corner of Pierce Street and Osceola Avenue, construction has begun on a 397-space parking garage with 12,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space across four storefronts. A roadway improvement project on Osceola Avenue from Court to Drew streets is scheduled to start in mid-2026. It will finish in early 2027 and includes smoother roads, wider sidewalks, drainage upgrades, landscaping, and on-street parking for businesses. East of Osceola Avenue, it’s been more than a decade since the retail space on the north side of the 400 block of Cleveland Street has been filled like this.

“We’re experiencing a once-in-a-generation transformation in the downtown with all the activity that’s happening,” says Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Jesus Niño. “We have all these developments that are about to transform the downtown. It’s just going to be completely different.”

New vision for downtown library

The next chapter planned in the story of downtown revitalization is to repurpose underutilized space in the Clearwater Main Library as an arts and cultural destination that complements the adjacent BayCare Sound, Coachman Park, and hotel, and generates business for shops and restaurants along Cleveland.

In 2025, the city invited museums, performing arts organizations, and other arts and cultural institutions to submit proposals for the library. The City Council eventually decided not to move forward with any of the three finalists: St. Petersburg’s Imagine Museum, the National Comedy Hall of Fame Museum, and the Wizard of Oz Museum. 

Vice Mayor Lina Teixeira first proposed that the city find an arts entity to occupy part of the library during a November 2024 workshop session.  Teixeira, an artist who lives downtown, says she feels none of the proposals the city received last year would generate the level of activity needed to fill a gap in downtown’s revitalization.

“Coachman Park and the BayCare Sound accomplished something I never thought I would see so quickly – young people of different ethnicities, diversity, walking in downtown,” she says. “I had not seen that in the 15 years before. But as time went by, I realized it accomplishes that for a very isolated time. Yes, it will bring 52,000 people downtown over a weekend for graduations. Yes, it will bring 9,000 people for T-Pain on a Tuesday night. Then, there’s nothing. So, I thought the library being underutilized, at great expense to the taxpayers, was a great opportunity to fill that gap, in other words, fill downtown throughout the day every day of the week. Performing arts alone will not accomplish that; it needs an interactive art component.” 

Teixeira thinks an immersive, interactive AI art experience – like “Dali Lives” and “Van Gogh Alive 360º” at The Dali Museum in St. Pete – has to be in the mix. She says it’s important to activate the library’s large patio with a café or other use that complements the BayCare Sound. 

Teixeira says the library’s location, adjacent to the amphitheater and waterfront park, “50 feet from a hotel,” and just across Clearwater Harbor from thousands of tourists on Clearwater Beach, combine for an “incredible opportunity.”

“It’s important to me that it’s an entity that’s been around many years and has proven ability to get that activation,” Teixeira says. “I’m looking for big institutions. For me, that’s very important. It’s a dealbreaker if it’s not a proven, successful entity that provides for continuous activation. It would have to be available during the day throughout the week, because that’s the gap that we’re missing.”

A different approach

This go around, the city is taking a different approach to spreading the word and generating interest in the library space. 

“The first time, we did a great job, but this time around, we’re trying to be more intentional in our approach,” Niño says. “We’ve formed an internal team to divide and conquer a long list of organizations we’re contacting. We’re interviewing some of them right now. It’s having more success because it’s a more diverse team effort. There are more individuals involved this time around, for example, our Public Communications team is involved.”

He says the city has also hired the firm RBOA (RB Oppenheim Associates) to market and brand downtown and help seek potential investors for the library project. 

This time, the city wants to attract interest from more arts and cultural organizations and give those organizations the time and framework they need to submit a successful plan for the library space. For that reason, the city has launched a pre-marketing process before sending out a formal request or invitation to submit proposals.

Assistant City Manager Alfred Battle, Jr. says it’s an opportunity for organizations to “kick the tires” on the library project, bounce ideas off city staff, share thoughts on how the city can position a project for success, and tour the property.  

He says one potential complication is that many museums and art organizations across the country are facing funding and fundraising challenges. At the same time, the right project can help create a “full cultural experience” in the city’s downtown core.

“Libraries around the country are being used in ways they were not used before that definitely go beyond checking out books or providing space where people can come study or read,” Battle says. “There are definitely some interesting uses, especially in larger urban cities where library space provides some great backdrops for organized events, concerts, poetry readings, and cultural experiences.”

Niño says city staff is talking to stakeholders, professional associations, developers, potential investors, foundations, museums, and other entities on what it will take for them or other interested organizations to submit a successful proposal.  He says the city is getting great leads on possible investors and potential partnerships involving multiple arts and cultural organizations. 

“Right now, one huge reason we’re having more success in this conversation is that there is construction already underway in the downtown,” Niño says. “The recent ground breakings have enticed more individuals to want to talk with us this go around. They see something is happening, and it’s not just talk. We have all these developments about to transform the downtown. Right now, we’re in a once-in-a-generation opportunity as far as what’s going to happen with this construction. That’s good for us because people want to talk more. They see there’s going to be more people, investment, and more activity downtown.”

Tipping point

Battle says in the evolution of a city, there comes a tipping point where stop-and-start progress and modest development activity pick up, and positive things start to happen. While it’s early, he thinks Clearwater is on the path there.

“The stars are aligning,” Battle says. “The future looks bright because of all these positive things happening at the same time. We definitely want to continue that momentum by marketing all the opportunities that we have. The thought is that continually concentrating on opportunities and encouraging development in that core area will help revitalize downtown Clearwater, and additional investment will follow. The momentum may not take off like a rocket and spike up the graph by 1,000 percent. But we’re in a good position to ride that wave of success for the next five to seven years.”