{"id":43255,"date":"2025-11-12T02:36:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T02:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/43255\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T02:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T02:36:15","slug":"mayor-will-extend-trop-site-proposal-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/43255\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor will extend Trop site proposal timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch will, somewhat reluctantly, provide developers with additional time<\/a> to submit their vision for a reimagined Historic Gas Plant District, currently home to Tropicana Field.<\/p>\n

Welch confirmed Tuesday morning that he will now open a 30-day window in January rather than in the coming days. Two high-profile development firms have requested additional time since the city announced Oct. 21 that it would formally welcome proposals in mid-November.<\/p>\n

The Tampa Bay Rays, now under new ownership, exited an arduously negotiated redevelopment deal in March. However, public interest in the roughly 86-acre site increased exponentially once the city began advancing long-awaited plans to transform the Trop and its sea of surface parking lots into a vibrant, mixed-use and mixed-income community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe development community has known about this for eight months,\u201d Welch told the Catalyst. \u201cBut given some of the council member comments, and given some of the development community\u2019s comments \u2026 I\u2019m going to extend our period.\u201d<\/p>\n

The submittal period\u2019s length will not change. Officials noted in a prepared statement Monday that, per Florida Statute 163.80, which governs the sale of Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) property, proposals \u201cmust be made within 30 days<\/a> after the date of publication of the notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welch will instead wait until January to publish the notice, \u201cbecause I don\u2019t want to get into the December holidays.\u201d Developers will then have over 90 days from the Oct. 21 announcement to create proposals, which he believes \u201cshould address any concerns that folks have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councilmember Richie Floyd recently added a resolution to Thursday\u2019s city council agenda that, if approved, would express opposition to the 30-day public notice process. He wants the administration to formally issue a request for proposals (RFP) and allow at least 90 days for submissions.<\/p>\n

The resolution\u2019s first aspect will likely garner near-unanimous support, as many council members have expressed a desire for more time. However, Chair Copley Gerdes has previously noted that the land \u201chas been sitting and continues to sit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welch similarly said Tuesday that \u201cthe development community, those who are interested, have had months to prepare, not just 90 days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to go the RFP route, though, because the 23 principles we laid out in 2022 are established,\u201d Welch continued. \u201cThey\u2019re confirmed by the community. It\u2019s jobs, housing, economic opportunity \u2013 that hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor will outline his evolving plan to the city council in an upcoming memo. Councilmember Gina Driscoll agreed with both decisions Tuesday.<\/p>\n

She noted that \u201canyone could look at\u201d the previous RFP<\/a> and discern the city\u2019s priorities. \u201cIt really hasn\u2019t changed, so I don\u2019t think we need to start from scratch,\u201d Driscoll said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes sense to extend this because that gives us more of an opportunity to get the very best teams proposing and, hopefully, working on this,\u201d she added. \u201cWhat we need is a team that is aligned with the values that were expressed through that RFP, and then let\u2019s build something from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welch\u2019s reticence to delay the process should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with his time in office. He campaigned on helping fulfill long-deferred promises of economic revitalization to members of the Black community that once called the Gas Plant home.<\/p>\n

During an interview in May<\/a>, Welch expressed his excitement to regain the site\u2019s development rights and begin advancing previously established plans. \u201cThat process would be near-term,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cStaff understands the priority there \u2013 how we want to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city received an unsolicited proposal from Blake Investment Partners in March, days after former Rays owner Stuart Sternberg walked away from a new stadium deal. However, the redevelopment saga entered a new phase<\/a> following an Oct. 3 submission from ARK Investment Management, Ellison Development and Horus Construction Services.<\/p>\n

Welch\u2019s administration referenced that $6.8 billion plan when announcing its intention to welcome \u201calternative or competing proposals.\u201d Gerdes previously said the proposal \u201cchecked a lot of boxes.\u2019<\/p>\n

Development firm Kolter requested a 90-day submission window Oct. 22, a day after the city\u2019s announcement. The mayoral administration did not budge.<\/p>\n

John Catsimatidis Sr., founder of the Red Apple Group, the New York-based development firm behind St. Petersburg\u2019s tallest tower, asked officials Nov. 7 to extend the submission period. While he said the city\u2019s \u201csense of urgency is understandable and commendable,\u201d he believes 30 days is \u201csimply not enough time for most serious master planners or developers to make a competitive pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welch said he and Catsimatidis discussed the process Monday.<\/p>\n

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