St. Pete Chamber of Commerce endorses Tropicana Field proposal from Rays, Hines
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The mayor of St. Petersburg still has a couple of weeks to decide which of four proposals he will choose for redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District, where the Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field sits. The city's chamber of commerce, though, is ready to make its choice.
The chamber endorsed the proposal submitted by the Rays in cooperation with developer Hines.
Tropicana Field redevelopment: What's in the final four proposals for the Gas Plant District?
"We didn’t see that any of the other proposals were wrong, were bad, were evil, were unnecessarily unwritten," the chamber’s president and CEO, Chris Steinocher said. "They all were good proposals. There was only one proposal that brought the Rays to the table. Our chamber made it very clear, that was one of our requirements."
Steinocher said the vote was unanimous Wednesday, with six members out of 72 abstaining because they have a financial interest in one of the projects, or plan to. One of the six who abstained was a board member from the Rays.
LEARN MORE: Gas Plant District in St. Pete: One of the oldest Black neighborhoods razed for baseball
Steinocher said the Rays have been a part of the community and a part of the chamber for years. They hope to keep it that way.
Keeping the Rays in the fold
"You’re talking about really big deals and things that really matter, relationships matter," Steinocher said. "The Rays have been part of this community, have been part of this Chamber for 28 years and three months. Now, they’ve had 25 seasons here, so they know our community. They know those people who can help us and then they have the ability to get those like Hines and Gensler who are now looking at St. Pete and saying ‘Wow. What an amazing opportunity.’"
Steinocher said the chamber thoroughly read through the three other proposals.
"I understand why people don’t believe we looked at them all. That’s all I’ve been doing for the last 11 years is understanding how to do this, so I appreciate how people don’t understand just how we got to that, but I know we got to the right place," he said. "This is all about making sure our community gets it right. We’ve had a lot of stops and starts just like our pier, but we got our pier right after great conversations, so this one is about getting it right again and, to me, it’s all about relationships."
Chamber says Rays checked all the boxes
St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch asked that the proposals include affordable housing and space for a baseball stadium, plus honor the Gas Plant District’s history, much of which was displaced 40 years ago to build the Trop.
The Rays’ plan includes a 30,000-seat ballpark, 24% of the housing will be affordable and offers a $50 million equity commitment, in partnership with the South St. Pete community.
Rays’ President Matt Silverman sent a statement that reads as follows:
"Throughout this process, we have met with dozens of organizations and community groups across the city to explain the Hines/Rays vision for the Historic Gas Plant District and have incorporated that feedback into our plan.
"We are grateful for the Chamber's unanimous endorsement, and we very much appreciate their recognition that our proposal is financially viable, honors the history of the site and makes meaningful contributions toward our common challenges such as housing affordability, resiliency and social equity.
"As we continue along this journey, we will continue reaching out to residents and business owners in every corner of the city to seek their input and ensure the Historic Gas Plant District is re-imagined in a way that both honors the past and positions St. Petersburg for an even brighter future."
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.
Competing developers respond to endorsement
David Carlock, the development manager for Sugar Hill Community Partners, one of the other three companies to submit a proposal, said he wasn't surprised by the chamber's endorsement, but would have liked the opportunity to make a presentation to the board.
"Particularly in light of a meeting we’d had with Chris Steinocher in early December where we had left that meeting with the impression that was going to occur," Carlock said.
Monti Valrie, managing partner of 50 Plus 1 Sports, sent the following statement regarding the chamber's endorsement:
"It is clear that 50 Plus 1 Sports is a proponent for keeping the Rays in the Tampa Bay Area, and at the heart of St. Petersburg. However, the compelling difference between our proposed development plan and that of our competitors, however, is our unparalleled capacity, unmatched commitment, global access and proven track record for comparable development… Surely, the community deserves better, when considered on balance with the equally compelling fact that all other finalist also require City and or tax driven financial support for their proposed effort, with minimal project‘giveback’, most of which is actually project financed."
Read Monti Valrie's full statement by clicking here.
William Henry, the master developer for Gas Plant District Restoration Associates, the fourth and final group that submitted a proposal, said his group congratulates the Hines-Rays team on the chamber’s endorsement.
LINK: Restoration Associates' full proposal can be viewed by clicking here
Welch will choose one of the proposals by the end of the month.