Pinellas Tables Light Rail Discussion

In November 2010, voters in Hillsborough County elected not to support a referendum allowing a one-cent sales tax that would fund the building of a light rail system. Pinellas County listened and watched, as they themselves planned a similar referendum for 2011. In the wake of the Hillsborough vote, Pinellas has decided to wait until 2012 or 2013 to place a similar referendum on the ballot.Pinellas Commissioner Karen Seel serves as the chairman of a Pinellas' transportation task force and says much of the decision to table the Pinellas referendum was partially a result of what happened in Hillsborough."I think part of it was prompted by the Hillsborough vote," says Seel. "There was a definite feeling that this is not a good time economically to go forward with a sales tax. Analysis and polls done on our side of the bay show that while Pinellas residents are interested in light rail, they feel that now is just not a good time."Seel says a proposed light rail plan would connect Pinellas and Hillsborough counties along the Howard Frankland bridge, as well as a line that would run from downtown Clearwater, through the Gateway/Carillon area and continue south to downtown St. Petersburg.Seel says she hopes that voters will ultimately vote for light rail for the sake of the region. "There's a real recognition among our young people that light rail is needed," she says."How do you attract bright minds when they can go to Charlotte and other metropolitan areas that have light rail and vibrant places to live, work and play. Right now we're just not competitive with other markets.The young and the restless of Florida need light rail."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Karen Seel, Pinellas County Commission

First Electric Car Dealership Opens In St. Pete

After selling cars for almost 40 years and keeping tabs on the car sales industry, Richard Nimphie decided to electrify his business for 2011. He opened an electric car lot at 2401 4th St. N. in St. Petersburg."For the past few years, every industry journal I read spoke of electric vehicles," says Nimphie. "This gives me the opportunity to get into an innovative end of the automobile business that will make a difference."Suncoast Electric Vehicles sells personal and electric vehicles, or EVs, that include the Wheego Whip for neighborhood drives, the Wheego LiFe for highway trips, two Vantage GreenVan models and two Vantage GreenTruck models. Nimphie says he believes he is the only dealer of all-electric cars and trucks in this part of the country."I've checked on the Internet, and to my knowledge we are the only dealer in Florida, or the Southeast that is dedicated to selling all electric automobiles and trucks."Because the cars are assembled in California and shipped to St. Petersburg, customers must reserve their car and wait for delivery. The dealership also will provide free charging to its customers at its solar-powered charging station. EVs take approximately eight hours to charge, and the highway car will run up to 70 miles per hour for the equivalent of 100 miles to the gallon. Each car at Suncoast Electric is sold with an adapter that allows cars to be charged from a 110-volt electric outlet.Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Richard Nimphie, Suncoast Electric Vehicles

Freefall Theatre Creates New Home In St. Petersburg

The freeFall Theatre Company will soon open its doors in new digs, a renovated church property near Bear Creek Park on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. Since 2008, the company's productions have been housed at other better-known theaters Studio@620 and American Stage.

1-1-11 Ushers In Promising Projects for Tampa Bay

Two high-profile projects are being celebrated on both sides of Tampa Bay on Jan. 11, 2011. Groundbreaking takes place on the University of South Florida's (USF) Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) in Tampa, and the new and improved Dali Museum opens in St. Petersburg.The Beck Group, a national firm that handles development, planning, architecture and construction projects throughout the United States, is both architect and general contractor for the CAMLS. The 90,000-square-foot building planned for downtown Tampa will house the first-of-its-kind facility in the nation for medical training in simulated environments. The facility includes surgical training suites, one of which contains a da Vinci robot. A virtual hospital, research and innovation lab, offices and a fully equipped interactive auditorium are also part of the project. The facility is expected to open in December 2011.Beck also built the 66,400-square-foot Dalí Museum on St. Petersburg's waterfront. The new building's exterior construction features a geodesic glass design as well as 18-inch-thick concrete walls and slab roof that are expected to withstand hurricane-force winds and flood waters. The museum's interior centerpiece is a three-story, 56-foot high spiral staircase inside a Daliesque space shaped like an egg.The new Dali and the CAMLS are expected to draw visitors from around the world and help spur additional economic development for the Tampa Bay region."Both of these buildings are iconic projects for the Tampa Bay area," says Ben Bard, a Beck Group project manager. "Both offer a global draw in terms of visitors -- healthcare professionals and art lovers. It's awesome to be part of it."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Mark House, The Beck Group 

St. Pete Pier Ponders New Approach

For a number of years now, metal structures have been separating underneath the St. Petersburg Pier that stretches into Tampa Bay. And, for a number of years now, this structural issue has prompted debate among groups invested in the future of this publicly owned icon. According to one city official, the first step will be addressing the stretch of road one must travel to get to the pier, a road that currently consists of sidewalk, two-way traffic lanes and a median."The important thing is to separate the icon from the roadway leading up to it," says Chris Ballestra, director of St. Petersburg's Downtown Enterprise Facilities. "We really need to look at the approach to the pier and activate that first. Then we can begin to look at the icon itself. Once we know what we're doing with the approach, we can then hopefully figure out what to do with what's at the end of it."Ballestra says there are myriad alternatives for the stretch of road that leads to the pier, ones that may include anything from a marketplace to a simple activity like a jogging path or a dog park. "It doesn't have to be retail," says Ballestra. "But that approach needs to engage people. We need to be creative and give people a reason to go out to the pier."According to Ballestra, Bernello & Ajanill, an architectural design firm in Miami, has been engaged to present ideas at an upcoming city council meeting, and then at a public meeting in February 2011 for input from residents and businesses.St. Petersburg's city council recommended in 2010 that the pier be torn down and completely rebuilt amid push-back from a number of people in the community. A task force was assigned in 2008 to address the pier's decline. In the meantime, visitors to the pier can enjoy its many amenities, including a new gallery, the Croatian Naive Art Gallery, that features reverse glass paintings.By: Missy KavanaughSource: Chris Ballera, City of St. Petersburg

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