For six years, a local food company has worked on a proposal to purchase the formerly state-owned National Guard Armory in Clearwater’s North Greenwood neighborhood.

The business, Yo Mama’s Foods, lobbied the state for support last year, records show. And its CEO, David Habib, said at a meeting this week it spent more than $150,000 on predevelopment costs for the project.

But people in the community didn’t know it was happening. Though residents have fought for years to secure greater input into the neighborhood’s redevelopment, they say they only recently got word of the plan on the eve of a critical vote.

“I was disappointed and disheartened to find out about your proposal, David, as late in the game as we did,” the chairperson of the neighborhood’s Citizens Advisory Committee, Kinard Robinson, said at a meeting Wednesday. “I truly believe that had this been a more community-focused effort, there might have been a little bit of a better response.”

Frustrated residents who spoke at the meeting said the lack of outreach was a reminder of the city’s past wrongs in a neighborhood that once thrived with Black-owned businesses.

Pinellas County designated North Greenwood a Community Redevelopment Area in 2023 after a lengthy campaign by the Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition. That designation allows property tax revenue from rising values and new development to go toward projects that address blight and provide economic opportunity.

To make sure the Community Redevelopment Area’s plan for development is “implemented in continuous collaboration with the community,” the city created the Citizens Advisory Committee of five members, according to the redevelopment plan for the neighborhood. The committee didn’t learn about Yo Mama’s proposal for the historic building until after it had been submitted, members said.

Yo Mama’s effort to obtain the property was no secret to those in on the talks, including the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and economic development staff. But Clearwater officials didn’t include the neighborhood.

“When we started this, we had people say to us ‘you can’t trust the city,’” said the executive director of the Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition Gloria Campbell. “We really felt like we had a relationship with the city. People are saying to us now, ‘Didn’t we tell you?’”

The City Council on Monday, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, is scheduled to vote at 1 p.m. on whether to accept the proposal. At the special meeting Wednesday evening, the advisory committee unanimously approved a motion asking the city to open the property up to other proposals.

North Greenwood residents: “We’re never asked”

Yo Mama’s has been in Clearwater since 2017 and moved its headquarters to property neighboring the armory in June 2019. It has 30 employees and sells pasta, pasta sauces, condiments and dressings.

The company is seeking the armory, located at 706 N. Missouri Ave., as part of its campus, which already includes two buildings on Eldridge Street.

The armory has been in the North Greenwood community for decades, and neighbors emphasized their strong connection to the building Wednesday.

“I’m all about moving forward with progress, but don’t remove the people who have been here forever,” said LeeDrilla Jenkins, who was born and raised in North Greenwood. “That National Guard Armory, that’s (where) I learned how to play checkers and cards.”

The city started leasing the armory site from the state in 2005, said Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Jesus Niño. The parks and recreation department used it for storage and offices, and it’s been tax exempt for decades.

In August the state transferred ownership to the city. The city then gave it to the Community Redevelopment Agency in January.

On Feb. 22, the city provided public notice the property was open for redevelopment. Proposals were due March 24. Yo Mama’s was the only bidder.

Despite publicly advertising, no one in the community was aware it had been opened up for development. And residents said they felt more work could have been done to solicit community input.

“We’re never asked,” said Patriva “Triva” Mack, a member of the Clearwater Colored Cemeteries Society. “You just talked about so many years of preparation for something, and then it’s put out for 30 days and kept a darn secret.”

A neighborhood left in the dark

Yo Mama’s proposal makes plain the company’s steps to acquire the property since 2024. That year, the company asked the city if it could put a truck well and loading dock at the armory.

“The City’s economic development team has been working with Yo Mama’s to expand its existing business in the North Greenwood district,” the request states. “The economic development team identified the Armory as a possible location.”

In 2025 the director of Pinellas County Economic Development, Hancock Whitney Bank and two Pinellas County commissioners sent letters to the governor’s office in support of the state transferring control of the armory to the city so Yo Mama’s could redevelop it.

“The proposed project would not only expand a thriving local business but also bring meaningful investment, job creation, and revitalization to an historically underserved area of our community,” Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala wrote.

The neighborhood’s Citizens Advisory Committee held meetings Dec. 3 and March 4th. The armory proposal wasn’t brought up either time.

Assistant City Manager Alfred Battle said after the meeting Wednesday the process of approving the proposal didn’t line up with the committee’s meetings, but there was “nothing intentional, no sleight of hand.”

“I take responsibility,” Battle told the audience. “We should have come to you with the proposal earlier.”

During the meeting, Habib pleaded his case to a room full of community members.

He said the company has put more than $3.5 million into the neighborhood through the rehabilitation of the Eldridge property, has partnerships with outreach organizations in the region and does not plan to demolish the armory. He is also planning to add 20 to 30 more jobs if the property is acquired.

Habib was part of the steering committee for the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment plan in 2022 and is a board member of the city’s chamber of commerce.

“We’re not a foreign entity,” Habib said. “We’re invested here.”

The advisory committee and residents peppered Habib and his team with questions about the company’s plans for increasing the number of employees from the neighborhood and for giving back to the community.

Although Habib reiterated his connection to the area, multiple people said they had never seen him.

The Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition first brought up the idea of a redevelopment agency for North Greenwood in 2019.

“We are disappointed, and we are heartbroken (at) the fact that this community has worked so hard for seven years to really revitalize this community,” said committee vice chairperson and coalition member Marilyn Turman.

“We want development, but we want to be included in it.”