Pinellas Transportation Company Seeks $ 34 Million Clearwater High Tech Terminal Grant • St Pete Catalyst

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority is moving full steam ahead with its plan to create a new terminal in downtown Clearwater for its electric fleet.

The organization has applied for a grant to rebuild America’s infrastructure with sustainability and equity (RAISE). PSTA is requesting $ 25 million through the RAISE grant, formerly known as the BUILD and TIGER grants.

The new 75,000 square foot, $ 34 million transit hub would be located on a city-owned site at Court Street and Myrtle Avenue. It would replace PSTA’s current Clearwater facility, called the Park Street PSTA Terminal, which serves 14 bus routes but is obsolete and cannot accommodate electric buses.

A rendering of the southeast view of the new terminal. The photo was provided by PSTA.

PSTA has 88 hybrid buses and six fully electric buses. By the end of the calendar year, PSTA plans to have 90 hybrids and eight electric buses in its fleet.

The new facility would also have a solar panel roof and charging stations thanks to PSTA’s partnership with Duke Energy.

The site is also next to a CSX railway line, which was previously used to transport printed products for the Tampa Bay Times and aggregate for a plant.

“We [the city] bought this property because of the CSX line… The DFO [Metropolitan Planning Organization] considered purchasing the CSX line as a potential location for the light rail. It was a handy fruit, there were only two trains a week – one carried newsprint to the Tampa Bay Times and another aggregate haul for a concrete batching plant, ”David Allbritton, PSTA board member and Clearwater board member. said Monday at a working meeting of the city council. “The problem was, CSX wanted to sell the entire Tampa Bay area line, which didn’t just include Pinellas County, and there was no desire from the area to buy the entire line.”

A spokeswoman for PSTA said the new facility would likely be able to accommodate a possible future light rail if it ever materialized.

A rendering of the platform inside the new terminal. The photo was provided by PSTA.

Meanwhile, the city is looking at PSTA’s current land on Park Street to build a future town hall house.

The land exchange agreement is being finalized between PSTA and Clearwater, a PSTA spokeswoman said.

A rendering of the northwest view of the Clearwater Terminal. The photo was provided by PSTA.

PSTA is working with Boston-based engineering and construction company CDM Smith Inc. on the design. The remaining $ 9 million needed for the PSTA in addition to the $ 25 million grant would be funded by the municipalities.

The organization will hold a press conference Thursday morning at 710 Court Street in Clearwater to discuss the grant and project details.

PSTA plans to begin final design in summer 2022, begin construction in 2023, and start operations in fall 2024.