St. Petersburg consultant favors Sugar Hill, Hines-Rays' Tropicana Field plans
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In less than two weeks, St. Pete residents will find out which plan the mayor would like to move forward with for redeveloping the Gas Plant District. Four plans were on the table and a consulting firm announced Thursday it favored two of them.
In a 78-page evaluation, the firm explained why they chose Sugar Hill Community Partners and Hines/Tampa Bay Rays as the two best options that fit the city’s wants and needs. That does not mean the other two proposals by 50 Plus One and Restoration Associates are not being considered. All four proposals are still on the table.
St. Pete wants to know what you think about the Trop redevelopment proposals
The proposals have been submitted and the plans have been made public. Now, the city of St. Pete wants to know how residents feel about the Tropicana Field redevelopment project and the final four proposals - which go beyond just building another baseball stadium.
IN-DEPTH LOOK: What's in the final four proposals for the Gas Plant District?
"There’s a lot to digest here, it’s a big project, it’s got a lot of moving parts, and we think the mayor and his staff made the right decision by bringing someone like HR&A in," said David Curlock from Sugar Hill Community Partners.
The city hired HR&A Advisors on Dec. 8, paying them $73,000 to look at all four plans and match what they think the best proposal for the city would be.
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"We’ve been working at this for more than two years," Curlock said. "Of the four firms that are participating this time around, we’re the only one who participated in the RFP process under Mayor Kriseman, and so, two-and-a-half years of listening to the community, developing a vision that includes housing, green space, a variety of community benefits that we think can be very impactful."
Residents can submit their feedback online: www.stpete.org/gasplant. Each proposal can be found at this link. Comments must be in by Monday, Jan. 23.
The city is also offering a "Feedback Pop-Up" at six facilities until Jan. 23. At each location, the proposal summaries and renderings will be available for review. Feedback will need to be submitted online.
- Campbell Park Recreation Center, 601 14th Street South
- Childs Park Recreation & Fitness Center, 4301 13th Avenue South
- J.W. Cate Recreation Center, 5801 22nd Avenue North
- South Branch Library, 2300 Roy Hannah Drive South
- Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Avenue South
- North Branch Library, 861 70th Avenue North
Last summer, Mayor Ken Welch restarted the proposal process all over again to find the right fit for the downtown area. He said the city's priorities changed over the years, and he wants to ensure a project of this scale will be in line with the city's future needs.
To that end, he asked developers to submit proposals with a greater emphasis on affordable and workforce housing. Mayor Welch said his vision is to create an 86-acre neighborhood that's more than just a stadium. Right now, the space is mostly black asphalt parking lots that surround the Trop.
Mayor Welch says the plans must include a baseball stadium, it must honor the Gas Plant District’s history, have green space and office space, economic development that benefits everyone, and have affordable housing.
That area used to be home to hundreds of Black residents, but were forced to relocate as city officials in the 1980s chose their neighborhood to build a stadium and attract an MLB team.
They were promised an economic return for their sacrifice, but that wasn't exactly fulfilled.
St. Pete mayor discusses Gas Plant District
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch grew up in Gas Plant. He has fond memories of learning the value of hard work and being held accountable as a child. It was a close-knit community that was promised an economic return when the city voted to demolish the neighborhood to build a baseball stadium. Those promises have yet to be fulfilled, but, he said, it's not too late.
LEARN MORE: Gas Plant District in St. Pete: One of the oldest Black neighborhoods razed for baseball
Mayor Welch said he will announce which proposal will move forward during his State of the City address on Jan. 30.
Last month, Tampa city officials released renderings of a one-of-a-kind baseball stadium in the proposed GasWorx District, which would link Ybor and Channelside. Tampa developer Darryl Shaw plans to turn 25 acres of industrial land into a so-called "GasWorx" District. The renderings show a stadium amidst the mixed-use development.
However, on Thursday, Shaw filed a rezoning request for Ybor Harbor and the renderings show no sign of a baseball stadium.
Unless there's a location the Rays haven't revealed to the public, it appears – at this time – that St. Pete will most likely remain their home.