Last week, St. Pete’s City Council voted to authorize $450,000 for the creation of a new city park on a half-acre patch of underutilized land situated under an I-375 overpass at the corner of 5th Avenue North and Dr. MLK Jr Street North.

John Barkett, owner of Barkett Realty which is based in Historic Uptown, helped spearhead the idea of the park. “I originally pitched the idea to City Council member Gina Driscoll almost two years ago and she saw the value in it. For us, this was a way to bridge the gap between the two districts - Downtown St. Pete and Historic Uptown,” says Barkett. “This has been a long time in the making.”