and indoor environmental qual-ity, according to the U.S. GreenBuilding Council’s website.

In order to be certified, archi-tects and contractors must ad-here to LEED guidelines to earna series of points.

The ratings are divided into certi-fied (29-36 points), silver (37-43points), gold (44-57 points), andplatinum (58-79 points).

With a goal of 41 points, Palmersaid the team hopes to be LEEDsilver.

The $4.7 million project willinclude solar panels for waterand electricity and a rainwaterharvesting system that holds5,000 gallons of water under-ground, Palmer said. Points arealso earned through a form of airconditioning recycling called en-

St. Petersburg—After decades ofneglect and almost 10 years ofplanning, one former elementaryschool is getting a makeover. A“green” makeover to be exact.

The building that once housedhistoric Jordan ElementarySchool, located on Ninth AvenueS near 22nd Street, will becomethe first city-owned building tobe environmentally certified.

The project has been on thecity’s to-do list since 2001, butconstruction did not begin untilfunding and approval from thestate were obtained, city officialssaid.

The city needed permission toremove the 1948 addition, whichsat in front of the original en-trance. The plan is to restore the

original building using the latestin echo-friendly architecture andconstruction, planners of theproject said.

“This is probably going to be thefirst high-profile St. Petersburg“green” project,” architect PaulC. Palmer, 38, said.

Palmer and partner Kathryn A.Younkin, 53, of Renker EichParks Architects, were chosenbased on their historical restora-tion and environmental experi-ence.

The building will be evaluatedusing the Leadership in Energyand Environmental Design(LEED) Green Building RatingSystem.

LEED focuses on key health andenvironmental areas such asenergy efficiency, water savings

School gets green makeover

C I T Y O F S T .P E T E R S B U R G Midtown Mix

S P R I N G 2 0 0 9V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

Oral History PromotionProject going on now! Shareyour stories about the 22ndStreet S community. Con-tact Steve Graves at (727)455-5130 or email22ndstreetredevelop-ment@verizon.net.

Check out the photographyof Tom U. Gessler in “Verso:The Other Side of the UrbanVista.” The exhibit will runfrom April 24-May 13 atStudio@620, at 620 FirstAve. S. Call (727)895-6620or email info@studio620.orgfor more information.

An old classroom iscleared out duringthe renovation ofJordan ElementarySchool. It will bethe city’s first envi-ronmentally certi-fied building.

Sybil Crocetti

See SCHOOL, 3

BY SYBIL CROCETTI

It will be the city’s first environmentally certified building.

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E

Page 2

The Boys & Girls Clubteams up with midtown’sRoyal Theatre to educateyouth on the arts.

Page 3

Editorial: Midtown hasmany ways to move andimprove.

Page 4

Lorene’s Fish House feedsmidtown with their friedfish, crab and even chickenwings.

A C T I V I T I E SA N D E V E N T S

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

P A G E 2

Royal Theatre provides home for Boys & Girls Club

The Royal Theatre providesthree different programsthroughout the year: The ArtsAcademy, The AfterschoolArts Academy and The Sum-mer Arts Camp.

The Afterschool Arts Academyprogram is available for chil-dren and teenagers ages 5-18.

The program includes dailytutoring, and homework helpclasses. It also includes a com-plimentary 10 week SummerArts Camp with over 450members participating annually.

The camp includes weeklylessons in ballet, creativedance, jazz, tap, hip-hop, re-cording arts production,graphic arts, poetry/literaryarts and drama.

The Summer Arts Camp hasgrown over the years andGeorge “Naps” Carty, theartistic director of The RoyalTheatre, thinks that this sum-mer will mark milestones for

the center. Recently equippedwith two donated vans, theRoyal Theatre will be able toreach out into the communityand allow the students to per-form at different venues. Thisyear, the camp will havethemed recitals every twoweeks.

“The center likes to empowerthe children, so we allow thestudents to choose the themefor each recital and how theywill express the theme throughtheir art,” Carty said.

At the end of the summer, aperformance is put on thatintegrates all the programs.There is also an awards cere-mony. These awards are an-other way the center is tryingto reinforce empowerment inchildren.

The Royal Theatre is an or-ganization that focuses on theroot of the community--thechildren.

St. Petersburg—Once a movietheater for African-Americansduring the era of segregation,the newly renovated RoyalTheatre is the site of the Boys& Girls Club.

First opening in 1948, theRoyal Theatre, at 1011 22ndSt. S, was one of only twomovie theaters serving African-Americans. It was shut downless than 20 years later afterthe end of segregation.

Now a Boys & Girls Club, thefacility has undergone a com-plete renovation and after $1.2million, the Royal Theatre isnow equipped with moderntechnology.

According to their website, theRoyal Theatre’s mission is “toprovide a community theatrefacility and to encourage di-verse artistic, cultural and edu-cational activities that will en-rich the lives of children, adultsand the community.”

M I D T O W N M I X

The newly renovated facility encourages children to take an interest in arts.BY GREG KENNEDY

To learn more

For more information onthe Royal Theatre and itsprograms call (727)327-6556 or email royaltheater-midtown.com.

Sybil Crocetti

The newly renovated RoyalTheatre served as a movietheater for African-Americans during the daysof segregation.

Greg Kennedy

A student records anoriginal beat in the After-school Arts Academy.The program, which in-cludes daily tutoring andhelp with homework, ispart of three differentprograms offered at theRoyal Theatre Boys &Girls Club.

P A G E 3V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

supervisor at Pinellas SuncoastTransit Authority (PSTA), arecent survey conducted inPinellas County showed that75% of those surveyed wouldrather use public transporta-tion than pay for new roads.Lasher said this is especiallytrue due to the rising cost ofgas.

The fare boxes have countersin them, showing how manyriders each bus has. Routeswith a higher or lower num-ber of riders can have sched-ules adjusted.

“This way, if a route were tosuddenly show a greater fre-quency of riders, we wouldconsider scheduling a busalong that route every 15minutes to half an hour.”

Route 20, which runs nearDavis’s home, currently runsonce an hour. Davis said thathaving the buses run morefrequently would really helphim.

Lasher pointed out that the

PSTA is also responsible for theDemand Response Transporta-tion program (DART), which iscontracted out to United Taxi.This service is for those whosedisabilities prevent them fromusing the bus system.

For Lasher, going to groups,such as United Taxi, is an im-portant way to promote theservice. He welcomes groupsin the midtown area who wantto learn more about the pro-gram and encourages them tocontact him.

Alan Weatherilt, of UnitedTaxi, is enthusiastic about theDemand Response service. Hehas no problem finding driversto go into the midtown area.

“The fact that our hours ofoperation follow the samehours as the nearest bus routemakes this a non-issue.”

Weatherilt tries to utilize driv-ers in areas they are most fa-miliar with whenever neces-sary. “This way, both driversand clients feel comfortable.”

St. Petersburg—When talkingwith Walter Davis, one picks upon the complexities of the hu-man spirit. His voice is just asapt to quietly describe histhoughts on the subject at handas it is to ricochet into raucouslaughter.

Today’s subject is how the visu-ally impaired Davis, as well asmany of his neighbors in mid-town, navigates the streets with-out access to a car.

“I used to ride the bus when Iworked at Goodwill,” Davissaid. “I’d stand at the bus stopwith my white cane and thedrivers would stop. The driverswere real nice. That helped alot.”

Now retired, Davis still occa-sionally takes the bus, but a cabis his first pick.

While Davis finds his transpor-tation arrangements acceptable,there are numerous ways formidtown to move and improve.

According to Bob Lasher, a

Midtown on the move

Project planners use old pho-tos to restore Jordan Ele-mentary School. This photoshows the original entrance.

ergy recovery ventilation, hesaid.

The parking lot will also con-tain a narrow pond to absorbexcess rainwater to prevent itfrom ending up in the bay,Younkin said.

Other items on the LEEDchecklist include utilizing exist-ing parts of the building, install-ing energy efficient lighting,automatic faucets, and recy-cling facilities and using saferpaints, adhesives and finishes.The landscaping will includenative plants that can handle a

dry climate, Palmer andYounkin said.

At the site, contractors ofHennessy Construction helpearn points through recyclingwaste that normally ends up inthe scrap yard.

They also removed asbestosglue found behind blackboardsand lead-based paints on class-room walls to make way forcleaner finishes.

“We’re kind of mixing the oldconstruction with the new,”project manager Chris J. Rog-inski, 34, said of the LEED

project. “This is the next evo-lution of construction.”

The team said they hope tofinish the project by fall 2009,and once complete, federaldaycare program Head Startwill occupy the restored build-ing.

Jordan Elementary Schoolopened in 1925 as the city’ssecond school for African-Americans during the days ofsegregation. The schoolclosed in the early 70s.

Renker Eich Parks

SCHOOL continued from page 1

AN EDITORIAL BY ROBIN SHWEDO

See MOVE, 4

Look what’s popping upin midtown!

Job Corps, a training facilityfor young people, is almostcomplete. The facility, lo-cated at 22nd Street andFifth Avenue S, is set to becomplete in fall 2009. JobCorps provides training inareas such as mechanics,construction, health careand hospitality. The facilityalso provides opportunitiesfor students to earn a highschool diploma or GED.

Officials continue to negoti-ate plans for the first bank inthe midtown area. The cityhopes to open a full-serviceSunTrust Bank at 2240 18thAve. S. The three-storybuilding will include drive-though services and offices.

A new bike and pedestriantrail is in the works for mid-town. The Historic BookerCreek Trail will follow thenatural creek along Tropi-cana Field, through Camp-bell Park and into the his-toric Roser Park neighbor-hood. Planners hope to be-gin construction this sum-mer. Each area featured inthe trail will include outdoormuseum markers, providingan educational option fortrail-goers.

Pinellas County also has Medicaidcabs, as well as services from theMetropolitan Planning Organization(MPO). Both work heavily in mid-town.

While there are many ways for mid-town’s residents to get around, thereis always room for improvements.

Davis said that while he does use cabsmore now that he is retired, he’d“like to see a bus especially for theblind.”

“That’d make it a lot easier for me toget around. And maybe have thebuses come by more often.”

MOVE continued from page 3

To Learn More

For more informationon the DART programcontact (727)540-1800or visit the PSTA web-site at www.psta.net.

Midtown Eats: Lorene’s Fish HouseBY ALEXIS DOKKASt. Petersburg—From the outside, Lorene’s FishHouse looks like it belongs in New Orleans. Butthere is something about this 22nd Street hang-outthat is so uniquely midtown St. Petersburg. Since1993, Lorene Office has fed hungry patrons and haskept them coming back. But don’t let the namedeceive you: their most popular dish is their chickenwings, which you can get in buffalo or garlic flavors.The fried fish sandwich is another popular choice.Paris Lovett, who has been the cook for the pastfive years, also recommends their crab. He makes iteither spicy or garlic flavored. For your drink youcan choose from their lemonade, punch or sweettea--all homemade. The eat-in space is closed forthe time being, but the take-out area is a cozy placeto wait for your order. Don’t miss a chance to stopby!

Come to Lorene’s!

929 22nd St. SOpen Monday-Fridayfrom 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.and Saturday fromnoon to 6 p.m.

Sybil Crocetti

Riders board a bus at the Central Plaza bus terminal on Central Avenuenear 34th Street. In addition to the PSTA, Medicaid cabs and services fromthe Metropolitan Planning Organization work heavily in the midtown area.

Alexis Dokka

Paris Lovett, the cook at Lorene’s Fish House, takes a breakfrom the kitchen. Lovett recommends Lorene’s chicken wings,which he makes with either garlic or buffalo flavors.