‘Pausing all progress for yet another planning exercise’ would not serve residents well, Welch said.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch is firing back at an attempt to raise support for delaying a developer selection for the Historic Gas Plant District.
Welch sent a memo to St. Pete City Council Chair Lisset Hanewicz and the rest of the board reiterating his support for moving forward with development plans without further site studies.
“We know what the future of the Historic Gas Plant should look like, and what the beneficial impacts should be,” he wrote. “The community has told us, time and time again. Jobs, housing, economic opportunity and honoring the promises made to the community.”
Welch noted that “over the past decade and prior” there have been numerous “master plans, market analyses, CRA Redevelopment plans, and community conversations.”
He’s responding to a proposed resolution from City Council member Brandi Gabbard, who has said she plans to challenge Welch for re-election this year.
Gabbard’s resolution, which will be considered Thursday at the board’s regular City Council meeting, calls on colleagues to oppose any developer pitch related to the Historic Gas Plant District.
At issue is a 30-day submission window Welch opened last month for developers to pitch their ideas for the sweeping Trop site. The window closed Tuesday, and now the Welch administration will be tasked with reviewing proposals and determining which, if any, to move forward with.
Gabbard says the answer should be none — at least for now. Her proposed resolution, if approved, “requests that the City Administration pause any action to select, negotiate with, or advance a developer for the Historic Gas Plant District until a comprehensive planning framework has been completed.”
The resolution directly “expresses opposition to City Administration moving forward with any developer selection for the redevelopment” of the site prior to a study creating a strategic roadmap. By failing to ensure due diligence, the city “risks the omission of meaningful policy decisions and limits community input,” Gabbard’s proposed resolution reads.
But Welch described that stance as duplicative, pointing to terms previously approved as part of the now-canceled development deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and developer partner Hines.
“The Development agreement was detailed and thoroughly negotiated to meet our priorities,” Welch wrote in his memo. “If one of the new development proposals meets or exceeds the level of community impact and benefit that the Hines/Rays agreement entailed, then we should take the opportunity to finally move beyond planning and into impactful action.”
He also pushed back on claims that the process is moving ahead without the benefit of adequate planning.
“The planning has been extensive,” he wrote. “Over many years, the City and community have engaged in multiple planning and visioning efforts that inform the work before us today.”
Welch then went on to list several studies and planning initiatives related to the site, including a master plan from the firm HKS in 2016; a 2020 RFP process; the 2022 Historic Gas Plant Redevelopment RFP, which Welch launched after canceling the recommendations related to the 2020 process; and the 2024 approved proposal with the Rays and Hines.
“Pausing all progress for yet another planning exercise — after proposals have been submitted, risks repeating a familiar and painful pattern for this community: plans discussed, promises acknowledged, and action deferred,” Welch continued.
“St. Pete, including the families and descendants impacted by the original displacement (due to construction of what is now Tropicana Field), has already waited generations for meaningful progress. I do not believe further inaction serves them or the City.”
Nine proposals have been submitted to redevelop the site, or parts of it.
The Burg Bid LLC submitted the largest financial offer, proposing to purchase 58 acres for $275 million in cash. Blake Investment Partners led the development team with Related Group as a co-general partner and Elliott Investment Management as an investor.
The proposal outlines an estimated $8 billion mixed-use redevelopment and states that it would not rely on new public subsidies beyond CRA funds for infrastructure and park improvements. The group says it would post a $20 million deposit “at project commencement.”
ARK Ellison Horus LLC, a partnership of ARK Investment Management, Ellison Development and Horus Construction Services, submitted a proposal offering $202 million for the site.
The group’s bid includes a $50 million community benefits contribution to the city and $12 million earmarked for demolition of Tropicana Field, with the remaining $140 million going to land acquisition.
Foundation Vision Partners submitted a proposal focused on the phased redevelopment of the district, keeping the property under city control.
Other proposals are from Freedom Communities Company, Logical Sites Inc., the Pinellas County Housing Authority, The Reparations Land Trust and Development Authority, The Tampa Bay Boom Inc., and Tempo Novus.
The Welch administration has not yet announced a timeline for selection. And while the City Council could approve the resolution opposing any selection until after a study is complete, the move would be merely symbolic and would not force Welch to pump the brakes.
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