AN INNOVATIVE CITY-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP:
The 2020 Plan to reduce poverty
by 30% by the 2020 Census in
South St. Petersburg
CITY OF ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
A Core Challenge in High-Poverty Communities
Many CRAs & cities prioritize investment in physical infrastructure to eliminate blight. These
investments are essential, but in isolation cannot repair market dysfunctions that lead to
sluggish economic growth, particularly in areas of intergenerational poverty.
The City of St. Petersburg’s experience is a prime example of this reality. Despite the fact that
since 2001 in South St. Petersburg (the largest concentration of poverty in both the City and
Pinellas County), the City has led……
 600,000+ sq ft of commercial construction, renovation & historic preservation
 3,100+ housing units constructed, rehabbed & demolished (since 1994)
 $21 million in streetscaping, infrastructure, land assembly,
clearing and environmental remediation ……
Yet, the poverty population has remained
at break-even for two decades running.
The City of St. Petersburg has led or
anchored public-private investments
of over $207.2 million in development
projects since 2001; yet the poverty
rate and poverty population haven’t
budged since then.
PERFECT PICTURE OF
THE PROBLEM:
A recent development
project created 100 new
jobs at a cost of $9.5+
million in public-private
investments. It is expected
to help an est. 33 parents to
exit poverty.
Net, net, the project has
the potential to reduce
the community’s poverty
population by only a
fraction of 1 percent
(.4%).
Since 1994, the City of St. Petersburg has led one of Florida’s most aggressive and
sustained redevelopment programs; yet the poverty population has not diminished.
The poverty population has grown in size &
population share since 2000
Poverty rates by race/area in St. Petersburg
29.1%
25.4%
+2.3
9.5%
+3.7
+2.4
18.7%
21.4%
11.8%
White poverty
Black poverty
2000
2012
South St. Petersburg
The poverty population spread, migrating to
larger concentrations throughout the City
SOURCE: Pinellas County, Economic Impact of Poverty Report 2012 and 2013
2000
2009
Growing realization that commercial development is
only part of a viable poverty reduction strategy
The key to reducing poverty is increasing employment income. Commercial development is
one of the most expensive ways to do that. Workforce development solutions can offer costeffective routes to increasing employment income for the poor.
$495,000* VS $7,635
Per-new-job created by
commercial development
completed in South St.
Petersburg since 1999
(*figure uses City reported
investment total)
Per-new-job created as a
result of the Career-Edge
model of investing with
employers to close worker
skills gaps, and accelerate
promotions, hiring and job
creation in the process
&
$8,300
Per-new-job created by
microenterprise
development and lending
programs that – nationally
– see an average 1.8 jobs
created by each business
served
Commercial development
can……
 Improve aesthetics and instill hope
 Reflect momentum, with each groundbreaking and grand-opening
 Stimulate investor interest, and over time,
attract added development projects
 Generate new income for local vendors,
during and after construction
 Bring new permanent jobs
But commercial development
cannot reduce the poverty rate by any
measurable degree. Even if we sustained the
same aggressive pace of development
through 2024, the number and types of jobs
created would only reduce the poverty rate
in South St. Petersburg by an estimated 2.1
points to roughly 19.7%.
BEFORE AFTER
Renovation of the Manhattan Casino is a prime example of the
aesthetic and economic impact of commercial redevelopment efforts
Over the next 5 years, the City and
Community are working together to
build on the successes of the past, while
evolving our focus from “places” to
“people.” The aim is to get people
employed in decent paying jobs, and
active with their children, families and
community.
Growing clarity about poverty spending
New research pinpoints taxpayers’ cost of poverty in
South St. Petersburg at $670 million per year, and finds
that an overwhelming 93% of all public poverty
spending goes to manage poverty, while only 7% goes
to interventions that can prevent or reduce poverty.
Spending on poverty management vs poverty reduction since
2001 (est.)
$507 million
$375 million
$280 million
$170 million
$85 million
$20 million
Prison
Jail
Extra policing
Juvenile crime
Creating jobs via development
$6.5 million
Adult workforce services
Youth employment
$670 million
The amount
spent on
poverty in the
community is
over 13
times the
amount
invested in
economic
development,
including city
& county
budgets, plus
state
incentives.
$48.8 million
Examples of how we invest too little to reduce poverty
Estimates of Public spending since 2001 in South St. Petersburg
We've spent 72 times more on
policing neighborhoods than on
strengthening neighborhood &
business associations
We've spent 65 times more to
imprison & jail Southside residents
than to improve fathers' involvement
in their families
We've spent 26 times more to
manage juvenile crime than to
increase youth employment
$170,851,595
$882,632,400
$280,153,280
$3,900,000
$13,500,000
$6,500,000
Growing consensus about the roots of the problem
One ex-offender father, employed in
a decent paying job, reconnected
with his family and active in his
children’s lives ……..
Saves taxpayers as much as $1.2 million
in subsidized services to single
mothers & fatherless children
New data-driven focus
2020 identifies the absence of fathers in the
lives of children and their mothers as the single
most powerful factor in the perpetuation of
poverty in South St. Petersburg.
Increase in African Americans in
poverty since 2000
2,576
Why? Because the status of black men fuels
the fact that the number of people born into
poverty or who fall into poverty continues to
grow as fast as the system can counteract
with poverty-reduction initiatives.
Incredibly, black men account for 100% of
the increase in poverty among African
Americans in prime career-building ages
(18 to 44).
Since 2000, the
number of black men
in poverty in St.
Petersburg nearly
doubled to at least
5,360
845
137
Black men
Black women
Black children
2020 targets labor market dysfunctions for men esp.
The school-to-prison pipeline has slowed
 School arrests are down and the number of black youth admitted to the
juvenile assessment center fell by 46% from 2008 to 2012
Meanwhile the high school graduation rate for black students in South St.
Pete schools has risen sharply and college enrollment of black students
rose 104% from 2000 to 2012
Yet, not enough black men are entering the workforce
Black men’s education gains are not translating into employment and
earnings gains. Unlike black women, whose education gains correlate
with earnings gains at every level, black men show a stark divide
between those who are college-educated, and those who are not.
Though the number of black men with a high school diploma rose 31%,
the number of black men earning $20K to $29K (the pay range of people
with a high school credential), fell 12%, while the number earning under
$20,000 grew 14%.
Many men continue to turn to the “underground economy” for work,
which employs nearly 5% of all black men age 16+ in the City,
contributing to the fact that the number of black men in prison from St.
Petersburg grew from an estimated 1,447 in 2001 to 1,750 in 2013.
Disability is another major detractor from the labor market; an estimated
6% of black men in the City are disabled and unemployed.
Black women’s education gains
translated to earnings gains;
black men’s have not
3504
2454
2421 2395
673 574
Black Men
Black Women
Increased # with high school or higher
education
Increased # working full-time
Community, city, county, state and federal leaders are
converging efforts behind the 2020 Plan strategy
The 2020 Plan Formula
2020 Plan Focus (Example Actions)
# 1 Reduce poverty by increasing incomes: Since
poverty is defined by income, 2020’s focus is to
increase incomes through full-time, part-time and
self-employment.
Stimulate, search out & stream opportunities
 Recruit 100 corporate, business and community partners to
channel jobs & enterprise opportunities
 Invest with employers in “skills gap closing” projects to
accelerate promotions and hiring
Bridge workers into decent & good paying jobs
 Recruit post-secondary schools to enroll 1,000 parents-inpoverty into certification training & degree programs.
Attract new jobs
 Partner with the Chamber and City to re-cast the
community image; and invest more in staff, travel and tools
in business recruitment/retention to bring new jobs
Create New Jobs
 Raise public-private capital to seed 500 micro & small
business and support an added 200,000 s.f. of development
# 2 Target parents, especially dads: 2020 targets
employment primarily to parents-in-poverty
because for every parent who exits poverty, an
average 1.4 children do too. The goal is for 70% of
parents served (2,450) to remain on track by the
2020 Census.
# 3 Strengthen families : In addition to job training,
placement and retention support, 2020 combines
wrap-around family services, to help parents
become active in their children’s success.
Historic City & Community Partnership
City leaders entered an innovative
partnership with community
leaders to fully integrate the CRA
& 2020 plans; the City was also an
anchor investor, committing
$250,000 in pilot funding and
allocations of time by 5 staffers,
while Mayor Rick Kriseman,
Deputy Mayor Dr. Kanika
Tomalin and Urban Affairs
Director Nikki Gaskin-Capehart
have lent their convening power to
the effort; and Economic
Development staff Dave
Goodwin, Rick Smith and Brian
Caper have led a series of
planning, community engagement
& education and resource
development milestones for over
two years.
Southside CRA Plan
Land Use
and Transportation
Infrastructure (Roads,
Utilities, etc)
Parks and Trails
The 2020 Plan
Social Enterprise Development
Closing the Health Gap
Commercial
Development
Strengthening Families
Housing &
Neighborhood
Revitalization
Urban Affairs
programming
Business Recruitment &
Retention
Business
Development
Wealth Building
Capital Formation
Capacity Building
Education & Workforce Training
Facts about the Southside CRA/2020 connection
 The creation of the new Southside CRA was
inspired by the founders of the 2020 Plan; they
spearheaded the Agenda 2010 project in 2009,
which asked City leaders to adopt new strategies,
including a new CRA with community leadership
 County Commissioner Ken Welch and City
Councilman Karl Nurse were instrumental in
leading their peers to adopt the CRA
 The CRA makes history as the first CRA with TIF
districts to be located in a low-income area of
Pinellas County
 It is believed to be 3rd largest CRA in the state and
will replace & retire 3 smaller CRAs.
 The CRA is a core building block of the 2020 Plan.
The CRA’s Community Redevelopment Plan (CRP)
will contain plans for 3 of the 10 parts of the 2020
Plan.
The Southside CRA encompasses roughly 7.4
square miles and is home to about 33,600
people with a poverty rate of 32.9%
Partners in the Vision: “Yes, We’re Willing to Help”
Dozens of partners have said “Yes, we’re willing to help” In addition to 40 employers who’ve said
they’re willing to make their hiring process more open to ex-offenders, the 2020 Plan Task Force is
working to solidify specific roles and action plans that channel the resources of organizations
willing to help.
Pinellas County Urban League R’Club Louise Graham Regeneration Center Mt Zion Progressive
MB Church Mt Zion Human Services WAS Collaborative/Childs Park YMCA Sanderlin
Neighborhood Family Service Center St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce – multiple initiatives
St. Petersburg NAACP Bethel Community Foundation & Bethel Community Baptist Church
Pinellas Technical College Pinellas Ex-Offender Re-Entry Coalition Service Employees
International Florida Public Service Union Duke Energy University of South Florida St Petersburg
Family Study Center St. Petersburg College – multiple campuses and initiatives St. Augustine
Episcopal Church United Way Suncoast Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County City of St.
Petersburg – multiple departments All Children’s Hospital Seven x 7 Parent Support for Education
Council The St. Petersburg Sustainability Council Pinellas Opportunity Council Neighborhood
Housing Solutions Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corporation Dewey & Associates
Community Development & Training Center CareerEdge Funders Collaborative Spirit of Truth
Ministries Bethel AME Church Florida Front Porch Council ASPEC at Eckerd College Center for
Community & Economic Justice Faulkner & Associates The Power Broker magazine & others
About 2020, Inc.
2020, Inc. is a new entity created to carry on with the work of the PACT, a group forged in 2007 to
harness the power of collective action for communitywide renewal with the historic agreement of 300
community leaders.
Nearly 2,000 community advocates and volunteers have supported the PACT’s work. Early efforts
included helping to organize Seven x 7, the largest faith coalition ever formed in South St. Petersburg;
The 50-50 Challenge which raised private funds to increase summer youth employment; and Agenda
2010, a collective advocacy effort to ask City leaders for new policies and investments to solve
Southside poverty, including the creation of a new community-led Community Redevelopment Area
(CRA), coupled with a Revenue Trust Fund.
Our 3 core functions are to:
• Help raise and secure the millions in resources needed to fully implement the 2020 Plan strategies
• Help organize the collective strategies and initiatives toward the 2020 goals
• Help transform the public discourse and approach to poverty reduction
Who’s leading the 2020 Plan
EXECUTIVE TEAM:
Carl Lavender, Jr., Taskforce Co-Chair
Harvey Landress, Taskforce Co-Chair
Gypsy C. Gallardo, CEO, 2020, Inc.
Dr. Yvonne Scruggs, Planning Director
STAFF TEAM:
Brother John Muhammad, Coordinator
Gershom & Pacherrah Faulkner, Program
Directors
Dr. Angela Horvath, Research Director
Pastors Chloe & Ernest Coney
ADVISORS
State Representative Darryl Rouson
County Commissioner Kenneth Welch
School Board Member Rene Flowers
City Councilmember Karl Nurse
City Councilmember Amy Foster
City Councilmember Darden Rice
City Councilmember Wengay Newton
(Spokesperson – 200 Youth Jobs)
The 2020 Plan Taskforce
MEMBERS
Pastor Louis M. Murphy, Sr.
Deborah Figgs-Sanders
Nikki Gaskin-Capehart
Larry J. Newsome, Sr.
Watson Haynes
Emery Ivery
Winnie Foster
Dr. Marie Nelson
Dr. Kevin Gordon
Lounell Britt
Pastor Frank Peterman, Jr.
Pastor Deborah Greene
Randolph Lewis
Dr. James McHale
Lisa Negrini, MSW
Trenia Cox
Delquanda Turner
Carolyn King
Pastor Manuel Sykes
Gwendolyn Reese
Askia Aquil
Rick Smith (Chief of Staff,
FL Public Service Union)
Rick Smith (CRA Manager,
City of St. Petersburg)
Sharon Joy Kleitsch
Art O’Hara
Shahra Anderson
Chitra Naidu
Michael Jalazo
Charlotte Anderson
Pattye Sawyer
Eleanor Brooks
Dr. Ron Sheehy
Alfredo Anthony
Ann McMullen
Albert Lee
Dick Pierce
Pastor Martin Rainey
LaSalle Turnquist
Jabaar Edmonds
Deborah Scanlan
Jan Johnson
Eleanor Brooks
Frances Cato
Chris Steinocher
Kelly Kirschner
Kurt Donley
Father Robin Whitlock
Jewel Murphy
James & Joyce Robinson
Glenn Wilder
Cherin Stover
Rachel Garafalo
Attorney Jacqueline Hubbard
Ebony Miller
Dewey Caruthers
Questions?
Comments?
Connections?
For more
information:
GYPSY GALLARDO
Lead Designer, The 2020 Plan
727-459-7663
[email protected]
RICK SMITH
City of St. Petersburg CRA
Coordinator
727-893-7106
[email protected]