{"id":48922,"date":"2025-11-16T19:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T19:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/48922\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T19:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T19:13:09","slug":"st-petersburg-will-appraise-trop-site-after-selecting-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/48922\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg will appraise Trop site after selecting proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Petersburg will reappraise 86 acres of prime real estate, currently home to Tropicana Field, but not before selecting a new redevelopment proposal.<\/p>\n

Some City Council members expressed dismay over the timeline on Thursday. The most recent valuation is over two years old, and Mayor Ken Welch announced plans to advance the proposal process in October.<\/p>\n

Welch\u00a0will delay<\/a> the 30-day submission\u00a0window\u2019s\u00a0launch until Jan. 4. However, in a memo sent to the Council on Wednesday, he doubled down on his decision not to reissue a formal request for proposals (RFP) \u2013 the genesis for the subsequent debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be really blunt, I think if\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0going to be serious about this, start counting votes now,\u201d\u00a0Council member Gina Driscoll said to the administration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>An aerial view of Ark Ellison Horus\u2019 vision for the Historic Gas Plant District. Renderings provided.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0not comfortable with the process,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0probably not going to be comfortable with the proposal\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0brought\u00a0before us to vote on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

She and multiple colleagues believe the city should have conducted a new appraisal in the time between the Tampa Bay Rays, now\u00a0under new ownership<\/a>, exiting a new stadium deal in March, and\u00a0Welch\u2019s\u00a0Oct. 21 announcement that he would welcome additional proposals in mid-November.<\/p>\n

Officials received an unsolicited\u00a0$6.8 billion<\/a>\u00a0bid Oct. 3 from a group led by ARK Investment Management and Ellison Development. The city is acting pursuant to a state statute that mandates a 30-day window\u00a0before selling<\/a>\u00a0property in a community redevelopment area (CRA).<\/p>\n

Council member Lisset Hanewicz said an appraisal typically occurs before making a deal,\u00a0\u201cnot after the fact.\u201d\u00a0City Development Administrator James Corbett noted that St. Petersburg spent two years negotiating redevelopment agreements with the Rays.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0not going to wait for the appraisal until after we start negotiating a deal,\u201d\u00a0Corbett added.\u00a0\u201cIt will be before that. I also want to time the appraisal where\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not too dated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council member Brandi Gabbard said several constituents have expressed concerns over the\u00a0site\u2019s\u00a0unknown valuation. Ark Ellison Horus will pay the city\u00a0\u201cat least\u201d\u00a0$202 million for 94.5 acres.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The group believes its $2.1 million\u00a0per-acre offer<\/a>\u00a0reflects the\u00a0project\u2019s\u00a0\u201cpremier location and transformative potential.\u201d\u00a0The Rays planned to purchase 65 acres for $105 million \u2013 $1.6 million per acre \u2013 and offered $50 million in community benefits.<\/p>\n

Gabbard is among those who want a formal RFP process and additional time. She also reminded her colleagues that they approved her Oct. 16 request for a Committee\u00a0discussion on hiring<\/a>\u00a0the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to conduct an unbiased, professional study on the Gas\u00a0Plant\u2019s\u00a0best uses.<\/p>\n

Welch wrote that reissuing an RFP is neither necessary nor beneficial since the\u00a0project\u2019s\u00a023 guiding principles, established in 2022 and\u00a0\u201cconfirmed by subsequent community convenings,\u201d\u00a0remain unchanged. He also noted that developers previously had 60 days from the time of his announcement to submit proposals, and now have 105.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0understand this rush\u00a0for a win<\/a>\u00a0right now,\u201d\u00a0Gabbard said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The former Black community is home to Tropicana Field and a sea of surface parking lots. Image via Mark Parker.<\/p>\n

Council member Mike Harting is\u00a0\u201cgood\u201d\u00a0with not reissuing an RFP. He also credited Council member Richie Floyd for requesting additional time, and Welch for acquiescing.<\/p>\n

Municipalities prioritize the\u00a0\u201cgreater good\u201d\u00a0over profits, Harting continued, and the generational project will exponentially increase property tax collections. However, those benefits are hard to quantify.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0not going to sell the property for what\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0valued\u00a0at,\u201d\u00a0Harting said.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0going to sell it for less \u2026 And I get that, but I want to be comfortable with the logic \u2026 and what that looks like for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council member Deborah Figgs-Sanders said she thinks about\u00a0\u201cthat little girl whose church\u00a0was\u00a0totally\u00a0destroyed\u201d\u00a0when the city displaced thousands of Black residents in the 1980s to build the stadium. She took issue with people who call the process rushed or believe officials should maximize their financial return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0stand when people want to make decisions for other people like that \u2013\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0best for other people?\u201d\u00a0Figgs-Sanders said.\u00a0\u201cI\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0place value on letting some of the descendants of the Gas Plant area finally\u00a0see something<\/a>\u00a0done.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also questioned whether the ULI study would include locals who understand the\u00a0area\u2019s\u00a0history and importance. No one understands the\u00a0property\u2019s\u00a0worth better than the people who once called the Gas Plant home, Figgs-Sanders added.<\/p>\n

Gabbard said the ULI group could include experts from throughout the region \u2013 the organization has a Tampa office \u2013 the state or beyond. Community partners would work with people who\u00a0\u201cunderstand very complex projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corbett said the city would launch its community benefits process once officials and the selected developer establish a term sheet. Welch wrote that jobs, housing, equitable economic development, resilience, green space and\u00a0\u201cmeaningful recognition\u201d\u00a0of the Gas Plant community remain atop the priority list.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only material change from those principles is that the inclusion of a new stadium for the Tampa Rays, in partnership with\u00a0Pinellas County, is no longer instrumental in planning the redevelopment,\u201d\u00a0states his memo.\u00a0\u201cOur unified work to include the Tampa Bay Rays in the long-term vision of the Historic Gas plant, and their subsequent abdication, have provided more clarity for our city and the property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welch said he would no longer support offering Intown CRA tax-increment financing to help fund the project.\u00a0\u201cAny reconsideration by the new owners \u2026 regarding a future\u00a0new stadium development<\/a>\u00a0would require other funding sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Floyd withdrew his resolution that, if approved Thursday, would have urged Welch to launch a formal RFP and extend the submission deadline. However, he said it would be\u00a0\u201charder\u201d\u00a0to approve a proposal while disagreeing with the process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ark Ellison Horus\u2019 proposal would feature an elevated park that reconnects the Historic Gas Plant District and South St. Petersburg neighborhoods. Renderings provided.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Mark Parker<\/a> reports via St. Pete Catalyst<\/a>; republished with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg will reappraise 86 acres of prime real estate, currently home to Tropicana Field, but not before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[31409,31410,31411,31412,31413,31414,202,31415,204,203,199,31416,201,200,31417,31418],"class_list":["post-48922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-ark-ellison-horus-bid","tag-community-benefits-debate","tag-cra-property-rules","tag-gas-plant-district-appraisal","tag-ken-welch-proposal","tag-redevelopment-process-concerns","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-development-news","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-council-clash","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-trop-redevelopment-debate","tag-tropicana-field-site-value"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48922","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=48922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}