Mayor Kenneth Welch has chosen two development teams to lead the next phase of the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment, advancing the city’s effort to redevelop the 86-acre site after the collapse of the Tampa Bay Rays stadium agreement.
Welch announced Thursday that the Pinellas County Housing Authority will develop an 80-unit affordable senior housing community on a city-owned parcel at 1659 Third Ave. S, while The Burg Bid team, led by Thompson Whitney Blake, will negotiate redevelopment of the remainder of the district.
The Burg Bid proposal calls for more than 3,600 affordable and workforce housing units, new streets and utilities, a public park featuring museums and cultural landmarks and a workforce training and small-business success center.
The Pinellas County Housing Authority proposal includes a seven-story building with 80 affordable apartments for seniors. According to the city, the development will serve lower-income residents, with an emphasis on very low-income seniors and a preference for people who formerly lived in the Historic Gas Plant neighborhood before residents were displaced during urban renewal.
The city reopened the redevelopment process after its previous agreement with the Rays and development partner Hines unraveled, returning one of the region’s largest redevelopment sites to the drawing board.
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Welch said community feedback, evaluations of the competing proposals, meetings with finalist teams and visits to completed projects helped shape the selections.
“The Historic Gas Plant District has held the promise of progress for St. Petersburg for decades and today we take an important step forward in turning potential into real, tangible progress,” Welch said in a statement.
The city will now negotiate development agreements with both teams before presenting them to the City Council for approval. The Burg Bid proposal will also enter the city’s Community Benefits Agreement process, which includes appointing a Community Benefits Advisory Council project committee and additional public engagement.
The housing authority proposal will bypass that process because it consists entirely of affordable and workforce housing.
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