A prominent development firm has asked\u00a0St. Petersburg to extend its window for submitting Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment proposals. Some people are tired of waiting. <\/p>\n
Mayor Ken Welch announced Tuesday that, starting in mid-November, he would officially welcome proposals to reimagine the area around Tropicana Field, for 30 days. Troy Simpson, president of Delray Beach-based Kolter\u2019s mixed-use division, emailed council members and the city\u2019s procurement department Wednesday to request 90 days.<\/p>\n
The receipt of two recent unsolicited proposals did not trigger the process<\/a>, despite conflicting reports. State law requires local governments to provide at least 30 days\u2019 notice before entering into \u201cany contract to sell, lease, or otherwise transfer real property\u201d within a Community Redevelopment Area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Providing a much shorter window, compared to the previous two Trop site requests for proposals (RFP), sparked online discourse. Simpson echoed some of those sentiments in his brief email.<\/p>\n \u201cA proposal for a project of this significance warrants more than 30 days to evaluate and prepare,\u201d Simpson wrote. \u201cAs a consideration for St. Pete to attract a development team prepared to deliver a world-class project, we ask that (the) invitation window be extended.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kolter has built three luxury condo towers downtown: ONE St. Petersburg, Saltaire and Art House. City council members unanimously approved a land use change Oct. 16 that allows the firm to build up to 776 housing units<\/a> at St. Petersburg College\u2019s Allstate campus.<\/p>\n \u2018Let\u2019s move the needle\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Former Mayor Rick Kriseman opened a six-month RFP process in July 2020, eventually selecting Midtown Development. Welch provided a 90-day window when starting anew in September 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay Rays and global development firm Hines walked away<\/a> from that $6.5 billion redevelopment deal in March after over two years of negotiations. ARK Investment Management, Ellison Development and Horus Construction submitted a $6.8 billion vision for a new, similarly-termed \u201cworld-class\u201d project Oct. 3.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my standpoint, this land has been sitting and continues to sit,\u201d Council Chair Copley Gerdes told the Catalyst. \u201cEvery day counts for the people who are counting on us to fulfill the promises on that piece of land.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s announcement stated that the city is acting pursuant to Florida Statute 163.380<\/a>, which regulates the disposal of property in a community redevelopment area acquired through eminent domain. An unsolicited proposal received in March<\/a> did not trigger the same \u2013 or any \u2013 response.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPublic notice allowing an opportunity for competing or alternative proposals from private developers or other interested parties for the lease, purchase or development of all or a portion of the Historic Gas Plant District property\u201d is not an RFP or a solicitation. It is a state requirement before selling the land.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that\u2019s a hard timeline \u2013 thirty days is a short period of time in the development world,\u201d Gerdes said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got a responsibility to move both intentionally and quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n