ST. PETERSBURG - Midtown remains one of the city's poorest enclaves, besieged by burglaries, homicides and drug abuse, despite a $100-million investment of government funds in the area over the past decade.

Mayor Rick Baker, who pledged to improve the economically depressed area when he took office six years ago, acknowledges that there is more to be done but stresses how far Midtown has come during his tenure.

"The objective of the Midtown plan has always been to make the city seamless so you don't feel like it is a place you don't want to be," he said. "I would be the last one to say we are finished. We've got work to do. But we are not giving up."

Yet, even though the seamlessness Baker promised has not arrived, it is unclear who should be held accountable.

The social and economic problems that Midtown faces are similar to the issues of inner cities across the United States, and community leaders acknowledge that it is difficult to pinpoint where government obligation ends and community responsibility begins.

"The issue of crime, drugs and violence disproportionately affects Midtown because of the fact that so many of the young folks there don't have the basic tools that a high school degree precludes," said County Commissioner Ken Welch, whose district includes Midtown. "The mayor has done a fantastic job of partnering schools with businesses, but we still have a long way to go with the School Board, the parents and the community."

Midtown, between Fourth and 34th streets and Second Avenue N and 30th Avenue S, was marked for special city attention after racial unrest in 1996. Dubbed the "Challenge Area" by former Mayor David Fischer, Baker renamed the area Midtown soon after he was elected in 2001 because the former label was "negative," he said.

Slowly, the city found pioneers willing to set up shop in Midtown. Since 2001, the area has seen the arrival of the James Weldon Johnson Branch Library, Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center, Sweetbay Supermarket, a full-service post office and the city's first drug treatment center.

National chains including Wendy's, Quiznos and Family Dollar, and two new shopping plazas, Twin Brooks Commons on 34th Street S, and Tangerine Plaza on 18th Avenue S, also have opened.

Baker also says other long-awaited amenities including a bank, gas station and Job Corps Center, a skills training initiative, are on the way.

But community leaders debate whether the quality of life of the average Midtown resident has improved, and small business owners say they are still struggling to stay afloat.

The unemployment rate has remained steady at 7 percent in Midtown. But the average household income in Midtown is $28,688, about half the citywide average of $55,310.

"Mayor Baker has done a great job doing some things that brought needed improvement and attention to Midtown, but to a large extent, he brought us social programs, he didn't bring us wealth," said Darryl Rouson, a Midtown-based attorney. "We want seamless prosperity, seamless opportunity. Things are slow in terms of placing black professionals and the sons of the community in real positions of power throughout the city."

While violent crime has gone down by 18 percent in Midtown since 2002, Midtown still has more than 30 percent of the city's violent crime arrests and only 10 percent of the population. Of 26 homicides in St. Petersburg this year, 12 occurred in Midtown. Another seven happened in Child's Park. Nearly half of those homicides are unsolved.

Lillian Bryant resigned as president of the Wildwood Heights Neighborhood Association in November because she said she was frustrated that city officials did not take her complaints about violence seriously. Bryant's home was broken into twice in a three-month span. She is wary of allowing her 10-year-old son to play outside because of neighborhood drug dealers.

"It's almost like pulling teeth to get things done," she said. "The crime is still unnoticed."

Rouson said the area is also struggling to attract businesses other than the basic nail and hair salons.

"How come we can't get a Panera Bread or a Starbucks or a Macaroni Grill?" he said.

The Manhattan Casino has been vacant since the historic African-American community center was renovated in 2005. The city has tried to reach out to well-known African-American restaurants like Sweet Georgia Brown of Detroit and Sylvia's soul food of Harlem, but those discussions did not pan out.

The city will most likely not be able to sign on a retailer until after the neighboring Job Corps campus is constructed, Baker said.

"I know there is frustration about the casino," he said. "People don't understand how long it takes to do things, but if it was easy, it would have been done a long time ago."

In a community long accustomed to hearing promises, some residents are growing impatient.

"People have heard enough talking. They want to see something done," said council member Wengay Newton, whose district includes Child's Park and Midtown. "With Job Corps, the biggest perception is that it is not going to happen. As far as a bank, there is not a bank. There is a bank sign."

David Welch, a former City Council member and owner of Welch Accounting Services on 16th Street S, said too many outside business interests "come into the Midtown area and they make lots of money. But they don't reinvest that money into the community."

The city has also had little success in changing the public's perception on what Midtown has to offer, he said.

"People look at Midtown as a place that is a separate entity, as a place that is all black, that is all crime," he said. "But that's not true. You have the most integrated areas of St. Petersburg on the south side. There are beautiful neighborhoods down here."

Home buyers have begun to take notice. Neighborhoods such as Campbell Park and Bartlett Park have become racially and economically diverse in recent years as professionals looking for a good deal have moved in.

Mike Tobias, a white man, moved to Campbell Park three years ago, intrigued by the area's history, and bungalow and craft style homes. He loves his new home, but wishes the city was more integrated. He doesn't understand why when he tells people where he lives they ask why he chose such a poor, black neighborhood.

"It just seems like even if no one says it, the barriers are still there," he said.

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.