Midtown newsletter

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Midtown Mix

CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS Oral History Promotion Project going on now! Share your stories about the 22nd Street S community. Contact Steve Graves at (727) 455-5130 or email 22ndstreetredevelopment@verizon.net.

Check out the photography of Tom U. Gessler in “Verso: The Other Side of the Urban Vista.” The exhibit will run from April 24-May 13 at Studio@620, at 620 First Ave. S. Call (727)895-6620 or email info@studio620.org for more information.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Page 2 The Boys & Girls Club teams up with midtown’s Royal Theatre to educate youth on the arts.

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V O L U M E

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School gets green makeover It will be the city’s first environmentally certified building. BY SYBIL CROCETTI St. Petersburg—After decades of neglect and almost 10 years of planning, one former elementary school is getting a makeover. A “green” makeover to be exact. The building that once housed historic Jordan Elementary School, located on Ninth Avenue S near 22nd Street, will become the first city-owned building to be environmentally certified. The project has been on the city’s to-do list since 2001, but construction did not begin until funding and approval from the state were obtained, city officials said. The city needed permission to remove the 1948 addition, which sat in front of the original entrance. The plan is to restore the

original building using the latest in echo-friendly architecture and construction, planners of the project said. “This is probably going to be the first high-profile St. Petersburg “green” project,” architect Paul C. Palmer, 38, said. Palmer and partner Kathryn A. Younkin, 53, of Renker Eich Parks Architects, were chosen based on their historical restoration and environmental experience. The building will be evaluated using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. LEED focuses on key health and environmental areas such as energy efficiency, water savings

and indoor environmental quality, according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s website. In order to be certified, architects and contractors must adhere to LEED guidelines to earn a series of points. The ratings are divided into certified (29-36 points), silver (37-43 points), gold (44-57 points), and platinum (58-79 points). With a goal of 41 points, Palmer said the team hopes to be LEED silver. The $4.7 million project will include solar panels for water and electricity and a rainwater harvesting system that holds 5,000 gallons of water underground, Palmer said. Points are also earned through a form of air conditioning recycling called en-

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Editorial: Midtown has many ways to move and improve.

Page 4 Lorene’s Fish House feeds midtown with their fried fish, crab and even chicken wings.

An old classroom is cleared out during the renovation of Jordan Elementary School. It will be the city’s first environmentally certified building.

We’re on the web! www.stpetemidtown.com

Sybil Crocetti


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