The Pinellas County Housing Authority submitted an offer to the city of St. Petersburg earlier this month asking to buy a parking lot at Tropicana Field to build an affordable housing community for seniors.
The unsolicited offer is for a city-owned lot at 1659 3rd Ave. S., which is part of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District.
The housing authority is asking to buy the lot from the city for $1 and other considerations. Its plan for the property calls for the construction of a seven-story, 80-unit midrise tower for lower income seniors.
In a letter to city administrator James Corbett detailing the proposal, the housing authority says there would be an “emphasis on very-low income (residents), with preference given to seniors who formerly resided in the Historic Gas Plant District.”
The Gas Plant District is a historically Black neighborhood leveled to make way for the construction of Tropicana Field and the construction of Interstate 175.
The city, which received another unsolicited proposal for the property earlier this month, says in a statement Tuesday that it would open up a process for other bidders to submit plans to redevelop the entire property or a portion of it.
The notice will be published in mid-November and bids will be due within 30 days, the city says.
The housing authority’s offer is dated Oct. 8 — just five days after a development team named ARK Ellison Horus LLC submitted a proposal (also unsolicited) for a $6.8 billion redevelopment of the district.
That plan covers 95.5 acres, including the 86-acres that make up the district.
The group is made up high-profile tech investor Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management; Casey Ellison, founder and CEO of Ellison Cos.; and Jonathan Graham, president of Horus Construction Services.
Its proposal for the property includes, along with other uses, 3,701 new homes including 1,776 market rate units; 444 workforce units for those making between 80% and 120% of the area median income; 863 units for those earning 30% to 80% of AMI; and 618 affordable units for seniors.
On Tuesday ARK Ellison Horus said through a spokesperson that it “is aware of the proposal submitted by the Pinellas County Housing Authority and plans to thoroughly review it to better understand what the plan entails.”
The redevelopment of the district seemed like a settled matter just a year ago. The Tampa Bay Rays and a development partner had won the right in 2023 to build out the Gas Plant property as part of a project that would include the construction of a new ballpark.
That deal fell apart earlier this year after the team, which was subsequently sold, backed out.
In the Oct. 8 letter to the city, Neil Brickfield, executive director of the housing authority, wrote that its offer could serve as “a catalyst and model” for future affordable housing development in the area and transform “an underutilized city property” into something that would benefit the community.
The authority worked with Ascension Real Estate Partners and STORYN Studio for Architecture on the proposal.