St. Petersburg City Council voted unanimously Thursday to support selling city land to allow a private group to revitalize and reopen the long-shuttered St. Petersburg Science Center, which the city currently owns.

St. Pete for STEAM, the group working to reactivate the Center , had already entered into an agreement with the city to pay $1.6 million for the Science Center site.

The vote came after passionate comments from Council members who took issue with Mayor Ken Welch’s administration’s assertion that a land sale is not feasible due to possible future waste water resource needs.

At issue is a feasibility study the city commissioned in which the Science Center was identified as the most feasible site for a new water reclamation facility — which is not currently planned or

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