St. Petersburg is beginning its third attempt in six years to find a developer for its most talked-about tract of land: the Historic Gas Plant District, home to Tropicana Field.

The city published a notice Jan. 4, that gives interested parties 30 days to submit proposals for how they would redevelop 86 acres in the city’s core. Responses are due Feb. 3.

Mayor Ken Welch’s administration is attempting to bring certainty to a lingering open question: the future of Tropicana Field. Welch has staked much of his four years at City Hall on finding a resolution. Up for reelection next year, he has begun campaigning and fundraising but has not filed to run.

The process was triggered this time by an unsolicited proposal submitted Oct. 3 by the Ark Ellison Horus team. The proposal by Ark Investment Management, Ellison Development and Horus Construction includes market-rate, affordable and senior housing, a spread-out convention center and a land bridge to Campbell Park. Welch called it a “very strong proposal.”

The 30-day notice originally was scheduled to publish mid-November, right before Thanksgiving. Welch delayed it following pressure from City Council members and developers, including a political donor who said the city wasn’t giving enough time for responses.

In a November memo to council members, Welch said he didn’t believe reissuing a request for proposals was “necessary or beneficial.” He said the city’s priorities from its 2022 request for proposals that emphasized the need for affordable housing and opportunities for minority-owned businesses have not changed.

“By moving forward,” Welch wrote, “we will maintain consistent priorities and expectations and make long-overdue progress with clarity and purpose.”

Who’s interested?

The Ark Ellison Horus pitch wasn’t the first unsolicited proposal the city received for the Gas Plant. Hours after the Tampa Bay Rays announced they would not go through with their own stadium and redevelopment plans, local investor Thompson Whitney Blake offered $260 million in cash to purchase the entire Gas Plant site.

Blake has said he plans to submit a proposal to pay more than his original offer. His company, Blake Investment Partners, posted a video this month on YouTube and shared on social media titled “You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up” that questions other developers’ ability to redevelop the Gas Plant.

“Anybody can put a proposal down on paper,” the video said following depictions of unicorns and cotton candy-like trees on the Gas Plant site. “Only a few can execute.”

John Catsimatidis, the CEO of Red Apple Real Estate and the New York billionaire behind the Residences at 400 Central, St. Petersburg’s tallest tower, has said he is also interested in developing the Gas Plant land. In a letter, he asked Welch to extend the 30-day window to submit proposals. Red Apple Real Estate Inc. gave $25,000 to a political committee supporting Welch in May.

Troy Simpson, president of the mixed-use division of Delray Beach-based Kolter Group, also asked the city to extend its timeline. At least four other parties have inquired about submitting a proposal.

Lindsey Hutson, marketing manager for placemaking at Halff, an infrastructure consulting firm, sent an email to the city requesting information on the 30-day notice. University of South Florida English professor Thomas Hallock wrote to the city that he was interested in submitting a proposal.

Hutson said in an email that Halff “is not able to comment on potential proposals, redevelopment concepts, or partnerships related to the Historic Gas Plant District.” Hallock said he emailed the city as a “goof.”

“Of course I don’t have a plan for the Trop,” said Hallock, who also writes for Creative Loafing. “I’m not a multimillion dollar real estate developer.”

The city also received an email from Lance Moore, a spokesperson for a team interested in submitting a proposal. Moore did not respond to an email seeking comment. J. Mark Lawson, principal of Banyan Real Estate, a company registered in Georgia, emailed the city asking about the process. He told the Tampa Bay Times he may partner with other groups to submit a bid.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a difference,” he said.

Plan first?

Ron Diner, a former Raymond James executive who led a public campaign against the Rays and Hines’ plan to develop the site, is urging council members to slow things down.

Last week, Diner urged residents to email council members about adopting a plan for the Gas Plant site before choosing a developer. He also suggested creating a community advisory council to bring in experts and study the options.

Council members received at least 16 emails in favor of Diner’s ideas and one against. Diner, who said he was copied on more emails, said there are around 50 letters in support.

“Based on all the research I have done, smart cities plan first. They retain control. They generate and direct more than a billion dollars in public value of what matters most: housing, jobs, resilience and parks,” Diner said. “Doing it the other way gives that future away.”

While choosing a developer rests with the mayor, the City Council will have the final say on any deal.

“City Council should make it clear now that they will not approve deals that come forward before the planning process is complete,” Diner said.

Rays unlikely to submit a proposal

Welch said Dec. 17 that there have been no conversations with the Rays about an extension of the team’s time at the Trop, which expires after the 2028 season.

The club was sold a few months after former Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg pulled out of the deal to build a stadium on the Gas Plant site. At their inaugural news conference in October, the new owners said they were looking for a stadium site with at least 100 acres.

Welch said he has not had discussions with the new Rays owners about submitting a proposal to redevelop the Gas Plant.

The Rays reportedly are setting their sights on Tampa and Hillsborough to build a stadium there and are not expected to submit a bid to redevelop the Trop. One of its limited partners, Siddhartha Pagidipati, is the co-founder of Ellison Development, a partner in the Ark Ellison Horus team. The Ark Ellison Horus pitch repeatedly dumps on stadium-focused redevelopment.

Pagidipati is an officer of Sun Labs USA Inc., which donated $25,000 in June to the political committee supporting Welch.

As far as the Rays are concerned, Welch said the city’s focus has been on readying the Trop for the team’s home opener April 6 after Hurricane Milton’s destruction rendered the stadium unusable last year. The Rays played this past season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The city is required under its 1995 agreement to make the Trop playable.

“If it comes to a point where they want to talk about an extension, I’m open to it, as long as it makes sense for the city,” Welch said.