Pitches to develop part of the former Gas Plant neighborhood, where Tropicana Field stands today, keep coming in.
The city announced Oct. 21 that it will officially welcome more proposals next month.
The latest is from the Pinellas County Housing Authority, which on Oct. 8 submitted a proposal to St. Petersburg city officials to build a seven-story, 80-unit affordable senior housing building at 1659 Third Ave. S. That city-owned lot is east of Lot 3, which is used for Tampa Bay Rays games.
The project would target “lower-income seniors, with an emphasis on very-low income, with preference given to seniors who formerly resided in the Historic Gas Plant District,” the proposal read. The county Housing Authority is asking the city to convey the 0.58 acres for $1.
That offer came days after Ark Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood and developer Casey Ellison teamed up on an unsolicited proposal to buy and redevelop 95.5 acres of the Gas Plant property, an idea Mayor Ken Welch has called “strong” and “powerful.”
The city said it will open a 30-day window to invite alternative or competing proposals “for the lease, purchase or development of all or a portion” of the Gas Plant site. The city said the official notice will be published in mid-November, during the holiday season.
“Honoring the promises made to our community, including the residents of the Historic Gas Plant District, has been a top priority of my administration and we continue to explore ways to pursue impactful outcomes that reflect the needs and aspirations of our residents,” Welch said in a statement. “I intend to ensure that any redevelopment reflects the values and priorities of our entire community — honoring our history while creating pathways for inclusive progress and a thriving future for all in our city.”
The Ark Ellison Horus proposal includes turning the same block the Pinellas Housing Authority wants into 136 affordable housing units and a three-story parking garage in the first phase of development by 2028.
The second phase of development in Ark Ellison Horus’ proposal would include building 134 units of affordable senior housing next door, on Lot 3. That phase would wrap up by 2034.
Neil Brickfield, executive director of the Pinellas Housing Authority, told the Tampa Bay Times that its plan was already in the works when Ark Ellison Horus came to the agency with its own redevelopment concept.
The county Housing Authority and the St. Petersburg Housing Authority are included in Ark Ellison Horus’ proposal to handle that project’s affordable housing. Alen Tomczak, Ark Invest’s chief of staff, serves on the county Housing Authority’s board.
“I don’t look at us as competing, I look at us as complementing it,” Brickfield said. “I think this gives the city of St. Petersburg and Mayor Welch two great options.”
He pointed out that both proposals include senior housing, a high priority.
Two city spokespeople did not respond to an email and text message seeking comment for this story. City Development Administrator James Corbett, who received the county Housing Authority’s proposal, did not respond to a call and text message seeking comment.
Spokesperson Matt Borek provided a statement from Ark Ellison Horus that said the development team is aware of the county Housing Authority’s proposal and “plans to thoroughly review it to better understand what the plan entails.”
Ark Ellison Horus and the county Housing Authority could team up and apply under one application in that window, or tweak and resubmit proposals as they see fit.
Brickfield said the county Housing Authority was invited by Ascension Real Estate Partners to work on the senior housing project. They partnered with the same architecture firm involved in the Rays and Hines’ proposal to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District that fell through. Brickfield said his group mirrored the same offer the Rays made for the same piece of property in that deal.
The Pinellas Housing Authority proposed building apartments that would average 700 square feet and would accept affordable housing vouchers. It proposed focusing on serving seniors with fixed incomes that average 60% to 80% of the area median income. The development plan includes 12 surface spaces of on-site parking, ground-level and rooftop community spaces, and direct access to the Pinellas Trail.
It’s not clear yet how the financing would work on the mid-rise building, though Brickfield said the county Housing Authority would seek out grants. Brickfield said the city has not started negotiations.
“We would love to find a way to make this building a reality,” he said. “We think senior housing downtown would be an excellent addition to downtown St. Petersburg Historic Gas Plant District. We would try any and all ways to get this funded in a way that is beneficial to the community.”