{"id":328373,"date":"2026-07-03T12:49:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/328373\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:49:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:49:12","slug":"the-burg-bid-selected-to-redevelop-86-acre-historic-gas-plant-district-in-st-petersburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/328373\/","title":{"rendered":"The Burg Bid Selected To Redevelop 86-Acre Historic Gas Plant District In St. Petersburg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Plans are moving forward for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in St. Petersburg after Mayor Ken Welch selected Blake Investment Partners as the preferred master developer for the Tropicana Field site and surrounding publicly owned land. Led by St. Petersburg native Thompson Whitney Blake, the development team includes Miami-based Related Group and Elliott Investment Management. The proposal, known as \u201cThe Burg Bid,\u201d envisions an approximately $8.1 billion mixed-use district with residential, office, retail, hotel, cultural, and public open space components, representing one of the largest urban redevelopment opportunities in the Southeastern United States.<\/p>\n<p>The selection follows a competitive solicitation process launched after the collapse of the city\u2019s previous redevelopment agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines. Blake Investment Partners\u2019 proposal was chosen over three other shortlisted teams, including Ark Ellison Horus, Foundation Vision Partners, and the Pinellas County Housing Authority. The Burg Bid proposes purchasing approximately 58 acres of the district for $275 million, the highest land offer among the submitted proposals, while the city would retain ownership of roughly one-third of the Historic Gas Plant District.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40815\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3e2f7ff9257e-OeCcClKwv0usgnpKmy9sdOUmYR0-gigapixel-low-resolution-v2-4x.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"957\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Blake Investment Partners<\/p>\n<p>The master plan is organized around a 13-acre central park and calls for a long-term mixed-use district that would introduce new residential neighborhoods alongside office, retail, hotel, civic, and cultural uses. Public gathering spaces, pedestrian-oriented streets, and employment centers are also planned throughout the redevelopment. A museum row anchored by a new home for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida is envisioned as one of the project\u2019s defining civic features, with the museum expected to become the first building delivered. The proposal also includes the Legacy Link walking trail, intended to strengthen pedestrian connections between The Deuces and downtown St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40816\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7ea40eeddae9-ggzTzaglk7cz9TiUxxZ3FYxsHY-gigapixel-low-resolution-v2-4x.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"957\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Blake Investment Partners<\/p>\n<p>Housing forms a significant component of the proposal. Blake Investment Partners has committed to delivering more than 3,600 income-restricted residential units through a combination of rental and for-sale housing. Approximately half of those units would be located within the Historic Gas Plant District, while the remaining residences would be developed elsewhere throughout St. Petersburg, expanding the proposal\u2019s affordable housing impact beyond the project boundaries.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40817\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/28bfa16be400-Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-10.29.32-AM-gigapixel-low-resolution-v2-4x.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1708\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Blake Investment Partners<\/p>\n<p>The redevelopment would also ultimately reshape the future of Tropicana Field. The existing stadium is proposed for demolition as part of the long-term vision for the district and would eventually be replaced with a new ballpark. The Tampa Bay Rays remain under contract to play at Tropicana Field through 2028, though city officials have indicated that an extension may be necessary while negotiations surrounding the franchise\u2019s long-term stadium plans continue. The proposal follows the city\u2019s approximately $58 million investment to repair damage sustained by Tropicana Field during Hurricane Milton in 2024.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40820\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/100d9d970224-BIP-roundabout-gigapixel-low-resolution-v2-4x.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"990\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Blake Investment Partners<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the physical redevelopment, Blake Investment Partners intends to establish an advisory panel composed of approximately 25 local organizations to provide ongoing community input throughout the planning and construction process. The full buildout is expected to occur over roughly two decades as individual phases are designed, financed, and constructed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40819\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/078b363c9e43-WZ6sBjlcCp52tCN3tIU57wjpSQ-gigapixel-low-resolution-v2-4x.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"911\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Blake Investment Partners<\/p>\n<p>In addition to selecting Blake Investment Partners as the preferred master developer, Mayor Welch also selected the Pinellas County Housing Authority to develop a separate affordable senior housing tower on a city-owned site adjacent to the Historic Gas Plant District. The project is intended to complement the broader redevelopment while expanding housing opportunities for senior residents.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40821\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6353f12ffef1-U2Cx8mcrcE3sZp82orgPQjJ0m8-gigapixel-low-resolution-v2-4x.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"952\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Blake Investment Partners<\/p>\n<p>The selection marks the latest chapter in the city\u2019s decades-long effort to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District, a site named for the predominantly Black neighborhood that once occupied the area before it was cleared for the construction of Tropicana Field. Blake Investment Partners becomes the third development team selected for the property within the past six years. The city\u2019s previous redevelopment agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines received approvals in 2024 before unraveling after the Rays withdrew from the project in 2025, prompting the city to reopen the selection process.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40822\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e6e6ff94ac05-Screenshot-2026-07-02-091108-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"913\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Blake Investment Partners<\/p>\n<p>The current process began after an unsolicited proposal submitted by Ark Invest, Ellison Development, and Horus Construction prompted the city to solicit additional redevelopment concepts. Nine proposals were ultimately submitted, with four teams advancing to the final round before Blake Investment Partners was selected.<\/p>\n<p>The project will now move into negotiations between the city and the selected development team. Binding redevelopment agreements are expected to be prepared over the coming year before advancing to the St. Petersburg City Council for consideration. Final approval will be required before construction can begin on what is expected to become one of Florida\u2019s largest and most ambitious mixed-use redevelopment projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/hud0UH\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe<\/a> to YIMBY\u2019s daily e-mail<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https%3A%2F%2Ffloridayimby.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/google_preferred_source_badge.png\" width=\"245\" height=\"40\" alt=\"Make YIMBY preferred on Google\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/yimbygram\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Follow<\/a> YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/YIMBYFB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Like<\/a>\u00a0YIMBY on Facebook<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/yimbytweets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Follow<\/a> YIMBY\u2019s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/floridayimby.com\/category\/uncategorized\" rel=\"category tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Uncategorized<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plans are moving forward for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in St. Petersburg after&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-328373","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\/328373","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=328373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}