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community portrait
St. Petersburg & Clearwater
More than just gathering data, we're trying to capture elements that make each community distinctive.
StrengthS & Weaknesses
» Biggest strengths
» Clearwater — World-class beaches; Phillies spring training facilities; Minor League baseball team, Clearwater Threshers; the city’s key business leaders have a long track record of working together for 20-plus years.
» Biggest needs
» Clearwater — City officials are working hard to redevelop downtown, which is surrounded mostly by lower middle-class neighborhoods, except for Harbor Oaks to the south; Scientology’s presence has deterred private-sector development downtown since mid-1970s; no first-run movie theater complex in the city.
» View from a Competitor
Florida Trend asked an economic development professional in a market that competes with Clearwater/St. Petersburg to assess the city’s strengths and weaknesses:
» Weaknesses: Many community leaders across the bay from Tampa have a lingering identity crisis. This is also true for many business and government leaders. If St. Petersburg/Clearwater is to be a breakaway region, it needs to exploit its proximity to Tampa, viewing those living and working across the bay as fellow inhabitants, thriving in one of the most powerful economic regions in America. The area has the opportunity to position itself as a place that honors tradition and invites innovation when it comes to its urban infrastructure, its leisure and lifestyle amenities, its neighborhoods and its civic architecture. Confidently reaching across the bay means that St. Petersburg/Clearwater is ready to reach for a better future, successfully completing and complementing the entire Tampa Bay region.