StPetersburgBusinessNews.com | Economic Development | Updated September 10, 2026
Quick Answer
The Looking Glass Initiative is a $3.5 million adaptive-reuse project by developer John Barkett and his wife Julie that is converting long-vacant buildings on the 900 and 1000 blocks of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South into seven locally owned businesses, a teaching garden and a community center. Mayor Ken Welch has made a $325,000 funding determination through the South St. Petersburg CRA’s Economic Development Incentive Program, the first-ever use of that program, pending City Council approval. Storefront rents are set roughly 55% to 60% below comparable new space on Central Avenue, and the first tenant, CodeWiz, was expected to take occupancy by the end of September 2026.
What Is the Looking Glass Initiative?
The Looking Glass Initiative is a privately funded redevelopment of several neglected commercial properties on both sides of MLK Street South between 9th and 10th Avenues, at the threshold where downtown St. Petersburg transitions into the historically underinvested South St. Petersburg CRA. The name references Through the Looking-Glass and the developer’s goal of reversing expectations for what lies south of the bridge.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | 900 and 1000 blocks of Dr. MLK Jr. Street South, both sides (Roser Park area) |
| Developer | John Barkett (MAI, Barkett Realty) and Julie Barkett; self-funded |
| Private investment | ~$3.5 million |
| Proposed public funding | $325,000 via South St. Petersburg CRA Economic Development Incentive Program (mayoral determination; Council approval pending) |
| Properties | East-side retail strip; former Twigs & Leaves Nursery at 10th Ave S; former American Legion building at 927 MLK St S |
| Businesses | 7 total; 3 Black-owned |
| Status (Sept. 2026) | Under construction; first retail space turning over September 2026; garden next; community center in permitting |
| Community oversight | Community Focus Group of South St. Pete residents |
What businesses are opening at Looking Glass on MLK Street South?
Seven neighborhood-oriented tenants are planned, led by Café Ora, a Black-owned coffee shop and art gallery from Meiko and Simone Seymour in a restored century-old brick building, alongside a children’s coding school, a therapy space for children on the autism spectrum, a bookstore, a physical therapy practice and a 600-square-foot business incubator.
| Tenant | Type | Ownership | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Café Ora (also reported as Café Aura) | Coffee shop, art gallery, evening gathering space | Black-owned (Meiko and Simone Seymour) | ~1,600 SF; original brick and exposed beams; opening fall 2026; Thursday evening programming with beer, wine, jazz, comedy, spoken word |
| CodeWiz | Children’s coding and robotics education franchise | Franchise | First space to turn over, September 2026 |
| The Nest | Social-skills and therapy center for children on the autism spectrum | Local | East-side retail strip |
| Pages and Perks | Bookstore | Local | Announced tenant |
| Physical therapy and wellness practice | Health services | Local | Retail strip |
| Sober Roots (Monica Smith) | Incubator tenant | Black woman-owned | Space reworked from 1,000 SF to ~600 SF at $45,000 additional cost to fit the business |
| Garden Life | Teaching-garden operator, relocating from Atlanta | Black woman-owned | Within Healthy Roots Garden |
| Tech & Innovation Hub | Technology and entrepreneurship space | Sponsored by ARK Invest | Announced November 2025 |
Across the street, the Healthy Roots Garden & Community Center (rebranded from the earlier Wonderland Garden concept) will combine a teaching garden, a “Food Farmacy” produce stand, a Home Garden Network with a master gardener and peer mentors, and the rehabilitated American Legion building as a meeting, cooking-class, computer-access and eventual health-services facility. Barkett is in discussions with Orlando Health and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital about on-site services; Orlando Health has already contributed seed funding for the garden.
How much cheaper is commercial rent at Looking Glass than on Central Avenue?
Barkett told the CRA Citizens Advisory Committee that tenants will pay roughly 55% to 60% less than comparable new space about 1.25 miles away on Central Avenue, with substantially lower pass-through expenses, because rents are set to cover the project’s debt service rather than to match market.
| Factor | Looking Glass (MLK St S) | Central Avenue (new construction) |
|---|---|---|
| Rent basis | Debt-service coverage | Market |
| Relative rent | 55–60% below Central Ave | Benchmark |
| Pass-through expenses (CAM, taxes) | Substantially lower | Full market NNN |
| Typical space size | 600–1,600 SF | Varies |
| Tenant profile | Local, neighborhood-serving, majority minority-owned | Regional and national |
For a 1,000-square-foot storefront, a 55% to 60% discount to Central Avenue’s roughly $40 to $50 per square foot NNN asking range would imply base rent in the high teens to low $20s per square foot, before the additional savings on pass-throughs. Exact lease rates have not been published.
What is the South St. Petersburg CRA Economic Development Incentive Program?
City Council created the program in 2023 to finance private job-creating projects inside the South St. Petersburg CRA using tools that can include bridge loans, loan guarantees and low-interest or forgivable loans; the $325,000 proposed for Looking Glass would be its first award.
| Program Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created | 2023, by St. Petersburg City Council |
| Funding source | South St. Petersburg CRA tax-increment trust fund (FY 2026 budget) |
| Tools | Bridge loans, loan guarantees, low-interest or forgivable loans |
| Eligibility | Private projects that create jobs and support economic development within the CRA |
| Looking Glass award | $325,000; mayoral funding determination made; staff found the project reduces blight, revitalizes a commercial corridor and creates jobs |
| Approval path | South St. Pete CRA Citizens Advisory Committee (presented Sept. 1, 2026) → City Council vote |
Businesses inside the CRA considering expansion should note the program is now operational and that the city’s staff review criteria track the CRA plan’s goals: blight reduction, corridor revitalization and job creation.
What public infrastructure improvements are planned on MLK Street South?
The city’s proposed CRA spending pairs the private project with about $1.05 million for new crosswalks at 9th, 10th and 14th Avenues South, including crossings serving Looking Glass, and $175,000 for a study of potential lane changes on MLK between 9th and 18th Avenues South.
| Improvement | Proposed Funding | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Crosswalks at 9th, 10th and 14th Ave S | ~$1,050,000 | Pedestrian safety on a corridor where Barkett says motorists routinely exceed the speed limit |
| Lane-change study, 9th to 18th Ave S | $175,000 | Evaluate road diet or reconfiguration |
| Bus stop and sightline improvements | Part of project | Reconnect neighborhoods on both sides of MLK |
| Landscaping, pedestrian areas, parking (private) | Within $3.5M project | Per city rendering |
Construction has required full new plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems, storefronts, doors and wall sections; a single masonry and parking change order reached about $350,000.
Why does Looking Glass matter for South St. Petersburg businesses?
The project tests whether below-market, locally owned commercial space can anchor a corridor without displacing the surrounding community, in a neighborhood where Barkett cites a 16-year life-expectancy gap between MLK Street South and Central Avenue just nine or ten blocks north. It also gives the CRA’s incentive program its first live case for how public dollars leverage private capital.
- For entrepreneurs: small, affordable storefronts (600 to 1,600 SF) with a landlord explicitly recruiting Black-owned and neighborhood-serving businesses.
- For nearby property owners: Barkett argues the project “brings up values for everybody,” while Roser Park’s neighborhood association has raised displacement concerns at CRA meetings.
- For contractors and vendors: roughly $3.5 million in adaptive-reuse work, plus $1.2 million in city crosswalk and study contracts.
- For healthcare and institutions: a template for hospital-community partnerships (Orlando Health, Johns Hopkins All Children’s) in a medically underserved area.
Brian’s Take
Looking Glass is small money by St. Pete redevelopment standards, but it is the most interesting $3.5 million in the city right now because it inverts the usual math. Barkett, an MAI appraiser by trade, is deliberately setting rents at debt coverage rather than market, which means he is leaving 55% to 60% of potential income on the table to get the tenant mix he wants. That is not philanthropy; it is a bet that a corridor anchored by a coffee shop, a coding school and a therapy center will lift the value of everything around it, including the properties he owns. Appraisers understand externalities better than most developers.
The public side is the part to watch. The CRA’s Economic Development Incentive Program sat unused for three years; a $325,000 first award tied to $3.5 million in private capital is a 10-to-1 leverage ratio the city will want to repeat. If Council approves it and the crosswalk money follows, the precedent for MLK, 22nd Street South and the Deuces is that the CRA will now co-invest in private commercial projects, not just streetscapes. The displacement question raised at the June CRA meeting is legitimate, and the honest answer is that below-market rents protect tenants, not surrounding homeowners. The Community Focus Group and the community-center governance model are Barkett’s answer; whether the scaffolding can be pulled away, as he puts it, will take a decade to judge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Looking Glass Initiative located?
On both sides of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South between 9th and 10th Avenues South in the Roser Park area, a few blocks south of downtown St. Petersburg, inside the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area.
Has the $325,000 city grant been approved?
Not yet. Mayor Welch has made the funding determination and the project was presented to the CRA Citizens Advisory Committee on September 1, 2026, but City Council must vote to approve the award.
When will the first businesses open?
CodeWiz was expected to take possession of its space by the end of September 2026, and Café Ora is targeting a fall 2026 opening. The garden follows, and the community center is being prepared for permitting.
Who owns the businesses at Looking Glass?
Three of the seven are Black-owned, including Café Ora, the Sober Roots incubator tenant and Garden Life; the developer has described a deliberate effort to recruit within the Black business community.
How does the South St. Petersburg CRA fund projects?
Through tax-increment financing: property tax growth within the CRA boundary flows into a trust fund that pays for approved plan projects, including the 2023 Economic Development Incentive Program for private ventures.
Sources and Further Reading
- St. Pete Catalyst, “South St. Pete corridor the focus of economic initiative” (Sept. 8, 2026) — https://stpetecatalyst.com/south-st-pete-corridor-the-focus-of-economic-initiative/
- St. Pete Catalyst, “South St. Pete revitalization project takes shape” (Nov. 4, 2025) — https://stpetecatalyst.com/south-st-pete-revitalization-project-takes-shape/
- St. Pete Catalyst, “Developer unveils ambitious South St. Pete revitalization project” (Aug. 2025) — https://stpetecatalyst.com/developer-unveils-ambitious-south-st-pete-revitalization-project/
- St. Pete Rising, “Community-centered Café Ora to open this fall at Looking Glass Initiative in south St. Pete” (July 9, 2026) — https://stpeterising.com/home/community-centered-caf-ora-to-open-this-fall-as-first-business-at-looking-glass-initiative-in-south-st-pete
- WTSP 10 Tampa Bay, “After years of vacancy, South St. Pete stretch of MLK gets a new look” — https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/community/looking-glass-initiative-south-st-pete-mlk-john-barkett-roser-park/67-972e10f5-0594-4dd8-bcfb-3f67475904a8
- City of St. Petersburg, South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area — https://www.stpete.org/business/south_st_pete_cra.php
- Barkett Realty, John Barkett, MAI — https://barkettrealty.com/team/john-barkett
Reporting by Brian French. Project details reflect the developer’s September 1, 2026 presentation to the South St. Petersburg CRA Citizens Advisory Committee; the city contribution remains subject to City Council approval.
