St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman has announced plans for the city to begin the process to purchase the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum.



Kriseman made the announcement Tuesday morning at the museum, located at 2240 Ninth Avenue South. He said it's simply the right thing to do.



"If we’ve got cultural amenities in the downtown area or west St. Pete, we need to have them here in south St. Pete too," he said.



In January, St. Petersburg Housing Authority commissioners voted to sell off the museum against the pleas of volunteers, residents and city leaders.

The facility was created about 15 years ago. Last May, housing authority officials approached St. Petersburg College about taking over the facility.



SPC officials halted their involvement a short time later, saying the difficulties between the museum and the housing authorities made the college's involvement too problematic.



It remains unclear what the next step in the process will be.



Woodson was a black historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.



In January, St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Dr. Kanika Tomalin urged the commission to vote to keep the museum open.



"It’s our only African-American museum," she said. "Its location is critically important."