Clearwater officials apologize to North Greenwood residents over historic armory sale process

CLEARWATER, Fla. - City of Clearwater officials apologized to North Greenwood residents Monday after neighbors said they were blindsided by the pending sale of the historic National Guard Armory to a local food manufacturer.

The backstory:

Clearwater City Council accepted Yo Mama’s Foods proposal for the redevelopment of 706 N. Missouri Ave., and approved staff negotiating an agreement for development, as well as the purchase and sale of the site, at Monday’s meeting. The state of Florida transferred the property to the city in August 2025.

Kinard Robinson, chair of the North Greenwood Citizens Advisory Committee, was among other residents that said they only learned of the city’s intent to sell the property days before Monday’s vote.

What they're saying:

"There's been a history of a lack of communication," Robinson said. "And because of that lack of communication, there's also a history of a lack of trust."

While city leaders said they followed legal protocols, Robinson and other residents argued the process lacked the moral standard of community engagement. Some residents had hoped the armory would be transformed into a community event space or a job resource center.

It’s within the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area, established in 2023. This allows for property tax revenue from new developments to go towards projects like road improvements that better the North Greenwood community. Right now, Clearwater Parks and Recreation uses it as an office space and storage area, and it doesn’t generate any tax revenue.

"There was a lack of investment in the North Greenwood area. So, therefore, in the creation of the CRA, the citizens advisory committee was put in place as a buffer, I guess is the best way to say it, between the city and the community," Robinson said.

At a special meeting called by the citizens advisory committee last Wednesday, members recommended that the city allow other organizations to submit competing proposals for the site.

"We want to be sure that the community has a voice in the conversation," Robinson said.

According to city staff, there was a public notice issued on Feb. 22, inviting proposals for reuse of the site. Yo Mama’s Foods was the only response. Residents say they didn’t hear about it until right before the vote.

Local growth vs. community concerns

David Habib, the Clearwater-native, founder and CEO of Yo Mama’s Foods, said his company followed the city's established procedures and intends to be a good neighbor.

Yo Mama’s Foods has been in Clearwater for nine years and in its North Greenwood location, that neighbored the armory for six years.

The company, which produces pasta sauces and dressings, plans to use the armory and its existing facilities across the street for manufacturing and distribution.

Habib noted that the project will create 20 to 30 jobs and expressed a commitment to prioritizing applicants from the North Greenwood and Bay Area.

"This is a very passionate community, and we have every effort to want to keep on growing here," Habib said. "We followed the process that we were given."

 "There are a lot of us that feel that it's not enough to just simply say, you know, ‘We're going to create X number of jobs, and they're going to be X number jobs for people in the community,’" Robinson said. "And not saying that they would do this, but you know, those promises are easily forgotten, or they can simply say we made a good faith effort, but you don't, there was no one in the community that was qualified for that."  

"So, in order to be sure that, you know, the job numbers for the community are real, and a strong effort is made, maybe we have some sort of training program that's in the community that people can participate in and get maybe [an] operations or logistics certificate. And because the company is invested in that program, they know for a fact that the things that these individuals are learning are directly related to the skillset they'll need for that particular job," Robinson said.

Habib said his company has a North Greenwood Community Taskforce that was already established before this, and welcomes neighbors to talk with him about how the company can be a good neighbor.

The other side:

Despite the approval of the next steps for the project, city council members acknowledged the process felt flawed. 

Councilmember Mike Mannino noted that while staff acted legally and followed precedent, the lack of dialogue was problematic.

"For me, this process did not feel right," Mannino said.

 Mayor Bruce Rector took personal responsibility for the friction during Monday's meeting.

"I want to apologize to you because it's on me, just like it's on all of us," Rector said. "We need to do better, and we'll do better."

What's next:

Neighbors said they plan to attend Thursday’s city council meeting to continue voicing their concerns.