One of the groups vying to redevelop Tropicana Field plans to launch two investment funds to raise billions of dollars for that project and others across Tampa Bay.
Last month, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest and St. Petersburg-based Ellison Development submitted an unsolicited bid to turn the Tropicana Field site into a mixed-use development with housing, green space, hotels, offices, a museum and more.
On Nov. 3, the group announced a new investment initiative aimed in part at giving locals the opportunity to profit off that $6.8 billion redevelopment.
“Everybody in this community is going to be a stakeholder in this project,” said Tom Staudt, president of ARK Invest. “We would like them to also be able to be a shareholder if they’d like.”
One fund — The ARK Ellison Community Growth Fund — would expand access to real estate investment allowing anyone to participate, whether or not they are accredited investors. Investment minimums will be as low as $500 and participation will be offered through app-based, tokenized and blockchain-enabled platforms.
This fund will focus solely on the 95-acre Gas Plant District, where the Trop is located.
“When you’re talking about an opportunity for a community defining project, that you want to have the ability for the community to participate in that and have ownership,” Paul Wilson, CFO of ARK, said.
The fund will have a $75 million limit. “If the community wants to invest more … we’ll certain find a way to accommodate above that $75 million level,” Wilson said.
The other fund — the ARK Ellison Urban Innovation Fund — will be for accredited, institutional investors and will focus on “opportunity zones.” These are distressed areas where developers and investors can receive federal tax breaks for making improvements.
The Tropicana Field site is in an opportunity zone. But the money raised through this fund will go toward a $9 billion pipeline of various developments across the region. This includes The Central — a development being built in St. Petersburg’s Grand Central district that will include a hotel, apartments, offices and retail.
Staudt said he hopes this fund will attract a significant number of local and regional backers, not just large, more-established investors.
ARK and Ellison’s pitch for Tropicana Field isn’t a done deal. At least two other groups have made bids for the site. The Pinellas County Housing Authority said this month that it wants to build affordable housing there. After the deal with the Tampa Bay Rays fell through in March, local investor Thompson Whitney Blake offered $260 million cash to buy the whole property. He wants to divide up the land and have different companies develop each piece.
Earlier this month, the city of St. Petersburg announced that it would open a 30-day window for new proposals sometime in November.
Staudt said ARK and Ellison will respect the process, but that if they are chosen, they will move to launch the two funds as quickly as possible.
Even if their bid is not chosen, Wilson said ARK will continue to look for opportunities to invest in Tampa Bay real estate.
“Our proposal stems primarily from our belief in the potential of this area,” he said. “We care deeply about what happens here. … I would expect us to be involved in one way or another.”