Pinellas County could put $2.225 million in tourist-development tax revenue toward a $33.7 million first phase of the Morean Art Center and Chihuly Collection redevelopment, helping finance a new five-story arts complex planned for downtown St. Petersburg.
The proposed funding agreement, which goes before county commissioners Sept. 24, includes new cost and construction details for the Central Avenue project between Seventh and Eighth streets. WJ Architects is designing the 42,150-square-foot first phase, which would bring the Morean Art Center and Chihuly Collection under one roof at an estimated construction cost of about $793 per square foot.
Visitors would enter through a ground floor with a 4,100-square-foot exhibition gallery, 2,000-square-foot gift shop, three retail spaces totaling 5,200 square feet, a glass studio and support area and a 2,400-square-foot multipurpose room. The Chihuly Collection would occupy much of the second floor before the building gives way to classrooms, artist galleries and common areas and administrative space on the upper floors.
The preliminary estimate from St. Petersburg-based Create Building Company budgets $1.7 million for a specialty staircase and $680,000 for museum lighting, along with $510,000 each for museum flooring and ceiling finishes. The $5.25 million exterior curtain-wall system is the largest individual construction item listed, contributing to a building shell estimated at $8.36 million, compared with $6.19 million for interiors and nearly $5.98 million for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and other building systems.
Create Building Company also included $2.64 million in design and estimating contingencies, $3.55 million for construction-cost escalation and $2.37 million for architectural and engineering services as the preliminary design advances toward an anticipated 2027 construction start. The first phase is expected to take about 18 months, with a second phase projected from 2028 through 2030.
Pinellas County would reimburse Morean up to $2.225 million after the organization completes and pays for eligible work, leaving Morean responsible for costs above the county contribution. The tourist-tax funding, anticipated in fiscal 2030, would not cover engineering or design expenses.
In exchange, Morean would provide Visit St. Pete-Clearwater with 10 years of tourism and marketing benefits, including recognition of the county contribution, joint advertising and promotions, event space and visitor-data collection. The agreement also calls for Morean to promote local lodging, allow visitor-tracking devices to measure foot traffic and provide annual tourism-marketing reports to the county tourism agency.
Morean originally sought $15.17 million through Pinellas County’s Capital Project Funding Program, while Crossroads Consulting recommended $1.135 million during its review — roughly half the amount now proposed for the project.