\u201cThis is more than a development \u2013 it\u2019s a movement,\u201d said Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, in a prepared statement. \u201cWe believe this model will redefine how cities grow, how wealth is built and who gets to participate in that growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, moved her firm from New York to St. Petersburg in November 2021. Photo by Mark Parker.<\/p>\n
ARK, a registered agent with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will manage both funds. Ellison will oversee development of the group\u2019s Tampa Bay-focused real estate portfolio.<\/p>\n
A $9 billion pipeline of mixed-use properties will support the Urban Innovation Fund, \u201cstructured in part\u201d as a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund. Projects located within designated Opportunity Zones, including the Historic Gas Plant District\u2019s redevelopment, are eligible for inclusion.<\/p>\n
The announcement states that the fund will have a \u201clong-term investment horizon with periodic liquidity.\u201d ARK is targeting a 15-20% net internal rate of return (IRR) and a 2.5 multiple on invested capital (MOIC).<\/p>\n
The firm believes those target metrics align with \u201copportunistic and development-state real estate strategies.\u201d A $9 billion project pipeline will anchor the fund with \u201cready-to-execute developments that provide geographic diversification and phased cash flow stability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone inside and outside of St. Petersburg can invest in the Community Growth Fund. That will focus exclusively on the Gas Plant District\u2019s 95.5-acre redevelopment, which includes Tropicana Field.<\/p>\n
The $6.8 billion proposal includes an option for a new stadium, and the Tampa Bay Rays will remain at the Trop through the 2028 baseball season. Ark Ellison Horus would not demolish the ballpark until after 2033, if the team decides to leave, and has a plan<\/a> if they want to stay.<\/p>\n ARK will launch app-based, tokenized and blockchain-enabled platforms that \u201cprovide transparency, liquidity and long-term traceability\u201d to facilitate participation in the Community Growth Fund. The minimum investment is $500.<\/p>\n \u201cFor decades, access to wealth creation has been concentrated in the hands of institutions and the very wealthy,\u201d Wood said. \u201cARK was founded to change that \u2013 to democratize access to what we believe are the most transformative investment opportunities in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cJust as innovation in technology has reshaped industries, innovation in finance can reshape communities.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement noted that the Gas Plant\u2019s redevelopment represents a \u201conce-in-a-generation opportunity to transform nearly 100 acres of underutilized land\u201d in downtown St. Petersburg. Stakeholders agree that the long-awaited project\u2019s \u201cscale, location and civic significance make it uniquely positioned to anchor the region\u2019s next phase of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Many former Gas Plant residents and their descendants have clamored for the site to provide dedicated home and business ownership opportunities. The ARK Ellison Horus proposal outlines an innovation district with mixed-income housing, parks, \u201csmart infrastructure,\u201d advanced research facilities and a plethora of decentralized event spaces.<\/p>\n The latest proposal to reimagine the former Gas Plant community (left) pledges to \u201crepair past harm and reinvest in the community that was displaced.\u201d<\/p>\n Ark Ellison Horus expects the Gas Plant to create nearly 20,000 jobs<\/a> and generate a $28 billion economic impact over 30 years. However, the City of St. Petersburg has yet to select<\/a> the development team\u2019s proposal for a \u201cflagship project within a broader regional strategy for innovation-led growth.\u201d<\/p>\n During a subsequent media conference call Monday, officials at ARK said the fund\u2019s overarching goal is to provide \u201creal hope and optimism for the community to play a role\u201d in the historic project. They will immediately launch the platforms after receiving the city\u2019s approval and establishing construction timelines.<\/p>\n ARK will \u201clook for other ways to participate financially\u201d in the Gas Plant\u2019s redevelopment if the city moves in another direction, although that may not include an investment fund.<\/p>\n The Urban Innovation Fund will extend beyond the Gas Plant and focus on technology-infused mixed-use development throughout Tampa and St. Petersburg, one of the nation\u2019s fastest-growing metropolitan areas. \u201cNo other U.S. city has combined large-scale real estate development, innovation-district creation and community participation in this way,\u201d states the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cARK and Ellison envision building the foundation for The Innovation Coast, spanning Tampa, St. Petersburg and the broader Gulf Coast, a region where opportunity, capital and creativity converge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The general public could soon own equity in a $6.8 billion proposal to reimagine 95.5 acres of prime…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-31744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Gas-Plant-to-Redevelopment-_-Ark.jpg\")
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