GUFLPORT, Fla. — In southern Pinellas County, 49th Street South historically has served as the line dividing Gulfport and St. Petersburg. But a group of residents, business owners and city leaders are working to change that and instead make it a place where the two cities unite. 

What You Need To Know

  • 49th Street South historically has served as the line dividing Gulfport and St. Petersburg

  • A group of residents, business owners and city leaders are working to change that and breathe new life into the area

  • The Fusion 49th Street Business District strives to be a walkable area with more restaurants and businesses

The group recently chose the name Fusion 49th Street Business District. The idea is to make it a walkable district with more restaurants, breweries and coffee shops. Gulfport Councilman Ian O’Hara explained the project has been in the works for a few years and they now have the funding, neighborhood cooperation and support from both cities to make it happen.

“The project started out with a handful of people very interested in moving forward - and moving not separately forward, but moving together,” O’Hara said. “That’s the whole point of fusion is coming together, two separate entities becoming one.”

There are 19 business owners and residents part of the planning group who believe Fusion 49 will become a bustling area for both cities. 

“It allows us as business owners to be more creative with the things that we’re doing,” said Nancy Dunham, owner of Fancy Nancy Professional Services. “It gets more people to be able to stop and patronize us in different ways. I’s also going to bring different things to the corridor for us — activities, festivities, art festivals — whatever it is that we want to have as the visual for the Fusion 49th. It allows us to create it all there.”

On Saturday, the group hosted a cleanup to begin improving the area and also get the word out about what’s coming.

Sierra Clark has lived in the 49th Street corridor her whole life, on the St. Pete side in Child’s Park. Clark is happy to see the two cities come together, something she thought she may never see in her lifetime. She hopes Fusion 49 serves as a catalyst for change beyond her own neighborhood.

“I love the fact that Gulfport and St. Pete are coming together because there’s a history there,” Clark said. “At one point (…) it was a sundown city, so to be over there at a certain time was really scary. Now to see us bridging this gap and coming together is a great, beautiful thing.”

Work on the Fusion 49th Street Business District will be done in phases. Later this month, the group plans to launch a nonprofit and appoint an executive director. After that, they’ll begin beautification and traffic calming projects and eventually add police and fire stations. Councilman O’Hara estimates the entire scope of the project could take up to five years to complete.