A stretch of Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg has reopened after a broken water pipe led to the partial collapse of a street and building Thursday.

The burst pipe created a hole at the southeast corner of Central Avenue and Seventh Street that grew to about 50 feet wide and 20 to 25 feet deep. It caused a partial collapse of the building at 670 Central, which was recently rented by Underground Network, a nonprofit collection of small Christian ministries.

While Central is back open, Seventh Street remains closed.

Officials considered demolishing the building but said Friday the owner will assume responsibility for the structure and all resources that were used to stabilize it.

"The building owner and engineer feel that they can salvage the damaged structure and reconstruct the building back to its original form," St. Petersburg police said in a statement. "At this point, the building is being treated as a construction site and the building owner will move forward with the stabilization and rebuilding of this project."

The building owner declined to go on camera, saying only "the community will be fine" and that he plans to rebuild.

It's good news for those who spent hours Thursday shoring it up.

"It's always a good thing, a positive thing," Lt. Steve Lawrence said. "Especially for a building that's been in the city this long."

The burst pipe was a 12-inch line that was 50 to 60 years old. Plans had been in place to replace the line, which is supposed to have a 100-year lifespan.

City officials learned of a leak Thursday morning when part of Seventh Street began to crumble. Around 9 a.m., a chuck of the building fell. The building was unoccupied, and no injuries were reported.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, about a half-dozen religious groups were using the space, during everything form dancing to working with the homeless. The Underground Network will remove its furnishings and look for new space.

"It makes us homeless, so that's OK, because we work with a lot of the homeless so we kind of enter into that kind of journey and that frustration and that kind of trial, but for now, those ministries have to go back to square one," said Jeremy Stephens, associate director of the Tampa-based Underground Network.

Central Avenue is closed between Sixth and Eighth Streets, although it expected to reopen Friday.

The cause of the water main break is not yet known.