PINELLAS PARK — Pinellas Park leaders say the city is working to create an anchor for its arts district and achieve a more walkable community through a new City Center.

The project officially kicked off Monday as construction workers started installing upgrades at Davis Commons.

What You Need To Know

  • The city of Pinellas Park is working to create a more walkable community with a new City Center project

  • City officials say they worked with residents to achieve goals that strengthened local neighborhoods, increased transportation options, promoted economic growth and enhanced park options

  • The upgrades to Davis Commons officially started on Monday

  • As part of the project's master plan, City Hall will be relocated, a parking garage will be built, and restaurants and multifamily homes will be developed

“What you see here is the repurposing of Davis Field,” Pinellas Park Community Development Administrator Nick Colonna said as work got underway at the property.

As part of the project's master plan, City Hall will be relocated, a parking garage will be built, and restaurants and multifamily homes will be developed.

City leaders say they worked with residents to achieve goals that strengthened local neighborhoods, increased transportation options, promoted economic growth, and enhanced park options.

“Leisure services provide parks and tennis courts and fields to play in," Colonna said. "But what a park like this does, it’s more than that. It’s activities, it’s music, it’s areas to congregate your family."

Around 55,000 people currently live in Pinellas Park, and data show that many of those families earn less than the national average. City officials say they believe the project will provide new opportunities for underserved residents.

Tracey Schofield, a retired law enforcement officer who has continued the tradition of service through his nonprofit organization, the Police & Kids Foundation, said says the construction is bittersweet and exciting at the same time.

“My grandfather was a City Councilman here in the 60s," he said. "The Davis Field that they are tearing down, my grandfather helped build that."

At the same time, Schofield said the project will help his community.

“A lot of Park Boulevard hasn’t changed because it’s a thoroughfare between here and the beaches," he said. "What’s going to happen — I believe in the City Center — is that people are going to want to stop."

When they do arrive, Colonna says they will be greeted by plenty of history in an area that was once farmland.

“It’s respecting what has always been here, keeping that core community feel,” he said.

He believes it is possible to grow a community responsibly while still being true to the city’s unique qualities.

Citing the master plan, city officials said they expect redevelopment and construction to finish by 2042.