Tropicana Field Redevelopment / St. Petersburg

https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2023/03/10/editors-picks-for-march-10-2023.html March 10, 2023 $27 million: That's the amount Fitch says St. Petersburg plans to issue in additional governmental debt in the near term for infrastructure improvements, city facilities, and affordable housing programs. An estimated $27 million is planned for the current fiscal year. The city indicates that future borrowing may include financing improvements to the marina, a fleet facility and to support ongoing economic development projects planned or underway, such as the Tropicana Field redevelopment, Fitch said. _________________________________________________________ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/01/rays-proposed-stadium-redevelopment-plan-receives-support-of-st-petersburg-mayor.html St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch announced this morning he's selected the Rays' proposed plan for redevelopment of St. Petersburg's Gas Plant District (link via Colleen Welch of the Tampa Bay Times). The Rays had partnered with real estate development firm Hines for a proposed project, one of four such proposals submitted to the St. Petersburg Mayor's Office in early December. The selection does not represent a firm commitment between the Rays and the city of St. Petersburg for a new stadium. The organization still needs the approval of a term sheet by the city council, and Wright indicates that's not expected to be decided upon until at least the summer. The mayor's office selection of the Rays' proposal over the other three under consideration represents a step forward in those negotiations, however. Rays team president Brian Auld said Monday the team was "fully engaged" with St. Petersburg on negotiations but cautioned they're still in the very early stages of the process (link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). The Rays can continue to explore other long-term stadium possibilities until/unless a term sheet is agreed upon. While Welch expressed optimism the franchise would not do so, Auld indicated the organization was "continuing the dialogue" with the City of Tampa as well. The Rays/Hines proposal extends well beyond the construction of a new ballpark. The Rays promoted the plan as a project featuring "more than 5,700 multifamily units, 1.4 million square feet of office, 300,000 square feet of retail, 700 hotel rooms, 600 senior living residences, a 2,500 person entertainment venue, and various civic uses" as part of a press release last month. The proposed new stadium would be a 30,000-seat venue at the site of current Tropicana Field. Topkin notes the project comes with an estimated price tag in the $1.2 billion range and would require agreement from the Rays, St. Petersburg city council, and Pinellas County on funding -- highlighting the challenges still remaining in settling on finances in the coming months. While far from an endpoint, the mayor's decision represents some progress toward a potential agreement on a new stadium plan that'd keep the Rays in St. Petersburg. The franchise's lease at Tropicana Field runs through the 2027 campaign, which obviously places a sense of urgency on any negotiations that'd involve a massive construction plan for the organization's new venue (and associated projects). Hannah Dineen of WTSP chronicles some disparate responses among those within the St. Petersburg community regarding Welch's decision. ____________ https://www.tampabay.com/news/st-petersburg/2023/01/23/tropicanafield-stpetersburg-rays-tampabay-developer-stadium/ Get to know the developer who wants to renovate the Trop, not tear it down Restoration Associates are not a favorite among city officials to redevelop the Tropicana Field site. But they bill themselves as "the home team." A group of local business owners that includes influential philanthropist Kiran Patel is betting its Tampa Bay roots will help clinch the bid to redevelop Tropicana Field. But community ties may not be enough to make up for the team's lack of experience, according to feedback from the city of St. Petersburg. As other bidders have boasted relationships with big-name developers and flashy _______________-- https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2023/01/06/pinellas-real-estate-and-economic-development.html Jan 06, 2022 Cultural assets loom large in St. Petersburg development for '23 The Center for the Arts in downtown St. Pete will remain a heavily talked about item next year. One crucial asset of the area is moving forward with an expansion.St. Pete residents voted to allow the Salvador Dali Museum to use a strip of city-owned property to expand its facilities. Plans for the project show a permanent extension of the current building, which is expected to cost $55 million. The expansion will have areas for "education, conferences, events, galleries and a restaurant and terrace overlooking the downtown yacht basin," according to city documents. The Dali Museum is part of the Center for the Arts, which spans from First Avenue South to Fifth Avenue South (Dali Boulevard). The museum will have requirements to ensure its development project does not impact any stakeholders -- like the Mahaffey Theater and the Firestone Grand Prix. Members of the city council, as well as residents and leaders at the theater, expressed concerns that construction could lead to power outages at the theater and could restrict access to the venue. The construction also cannot impact the Firestone Grand Prix, as some of the property the Dali Museum leases is used yearly for the race. When discussed in April, members of the Public Service and Infrastructure Committee were told that the transformation of the Center for the Arts would anticipate renovations and expansions of both the Dali Museum and the Mahaffey Theater. Before a master plan could be created, several studies would need to be completed. Most-read stories of 2022 Tampa Bay Rays unveil vision for Tropicana Field redevelopment The Tampa Bay Rays announced in December they had partnered with global real estate firm Hines in a bid to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District. The move had been closely watched for months after Mayor Ken Welch required a ballpark be part of the proposals in his reissuing of an RFP for the site. Their plans include creating a neighborhood surrounding a new state-of-the-art ballpark for the team.Snell Isle home sells in record transaction An off-market sale of a home in Snell Isle set a new price-per-square-foot record for non-waterfront real estate in both Snell Isle and the surrounding 33704 ZIP code. The home sold for approximately $946.90 per square foot. Tierra Verde mansion sells for $9.95M A waterfront home in Tierra Verde sold in May for $9.95 million. The seven-bedroom, eight-and-a-half-bath home sits on 0.75 acres. This was one of a series of large residential waterfront transactions in Pinellas County that occurred in May. St. Pete considering transforming the Center for the Arts In April members of the Public Service and Infrastructure Committee discussed creating a master plan for St. Petersburg's Center for the Arts. The downtown waterfront property is home to the Mahaffey Theater and the Salvador Dali Museum. Early conceptual plans show major changes to the property including creating open green space, relocating the parking garage and creating a connection between Beach Drive and the downtown core. Two major St. Pete downtown waterfront properties on the cusp of a new future The city was considering a new future for the Center for the Arts and the Albert Whitted Airport this spring. As the city discussed starting a master plan for the Center for the Arts, Mayor Ken Welch announced at the start of his term he was having the airport studied so the city could "better identify the best use for the site."What I'm watching in 2023: How will the fate of the Tropicana Field redevelopment go The Historic Gas Plant District is on the cusp of a new future. Mayor Ken Welch is expected to select a developer for the 86-acre property in downtown St. Petersburg in January. This choice will impact development in the city for generations and will be one of the largest development projects in St. Pete's history. Welch reissued the RFP for the Trop site in August. Four respondents threw their hats into the ring: The Tampa Bay Rays and Hines, Sugar Hill Community Partners (one of the two finalists from the former RFP), 50 Plus 1 Sports and Restoration Associates. Once Welch selects his preferred developer the city has an aggressive timeline to get the project off the ground. According to the city's website, a term sheet will be completed with the preferred developer by May 2023 and a development agreement will be presented to the city council for approval by September or October 2023. _________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2022/11/29/trop-bidder-expands-affordable-housing-team.html Nov 29, 2022 A developer that wants to redevelop St. Petersburg's 86-acre Tropicana Field has expanded its development team and announced more details surrounding its proposal. Sugar Hill Community Partners will submit its response to the city's request for proposals on Friday -- the day they are due -- and will be "committing to a residential program where 50% of all units are affordable and workforce housing." The developer has added three companies to its development team to oversee its affordable housing initiative: Blue Sky Communities, Property Markets Group Affordable and the St. Petersburg Housing Authority will be the affordable housing development partners for the project. It is Sugar Hill's second run at redeveloping the property, which is considered one of the most attractive urban infill sites in the Southeastern U.S. The developer finished second to Miami-based Midtown Development after submitting a proposal under former Mayor Rick Kriseman's RFP. Mayor Ken Welch killed that RFP process in June and relaunched the bidding process with a significant emphasis on workforce and affordable housing. The new RFP requires developers to include a Major League Baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and rebrands the property to the Historic Gas Plant District. "We recognize that the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District offers a unique opportunity to meaningfully address the need for more affordable and workforce housing in St. Petersburg," Todd Chapman, president and CEO of JMA Ventures and master developer for SHCP, said in a release. "Our team has consistently challenged ourselves to aim higher and dig deeper for partners and concepts that will deliver a housing mix, both onsite and offsite, that addresses the increasing scarcity of attainably priced housing in the city." Chapman said the diverse expertise of Blue Sky Communities, PMG Affordable and SPHA has "contributed to a development plan that is both transformational in scope and achievable in its execution." Welch is expected to pick a developer for the site in 2023. Blue Sky Communities has developed 2,147 affordable housing units, more than 500 of which were in St. Petersburg. PMG Affordable is a part of PMG, a development firm that has delivered over 10,000 residential units. The SPHA was once the owner of Laurel Park, an affordable housing complex previously located in the Historic Gas Plant neighborhood. The organization currently provides housing to approximately 4,000 low-income households in St. Pete and the surrounding areas. The partnership with SPHA allows the development team to "deliver a meaningful portfolio of offsite affordable housing commitments on parcels SPHA owns and controls throughout the city." It will also allow the team to utilize SPHA's voucher program that assists with structuring and financing affordable homeownership. "The St. Petersburg Housing Authority has served our community for 85 years, which gives us a unique understanding of the importance of this generational project," Michael Lundy, SPHA president and CEO, said in a release. "It's a transformative time for both our agency and the Historic Gas Plant District." Sugar Hill will be "diverting a portion of the project's profits to perpetually supporting our partners' efforts to deliver quality affordable homeownership opportunities" for local residents. Other members of Sugar Hill's team involved in the workforce and affordable housing program include development partner Roy A. Binger, equity partner Rev. Louis M. Murphy Sr., Habitat for Humanities and West Pasco Counties and Carteret Management Corp. _________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2022/10/24/mayor-welch-outlines-priorities-for-development.html Oct 24, 2022 City-owned land presents the biggest challenges to developers in St. Petersburg: Since Welch took office, the city has thrown out a proposal to redevelop the Municipal Services Center, killed Dynasty Financial Partners' plan to redevelop a parcel near Tropicana Field and -- most notably -- restarted the RFP process to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District, which is home to Tropicana Field. _________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2022/08/26/st-pete-releases-historic-gas-plant-district-rfp.html Aug 26, 2022 St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has released his version of a request for proposals to redevelop the Tropicana Field property -- and this time, there's less land available to interested developers. Welch, who is renaming the property the Historic Gas Plant district, has set aside 17.3 acres for a Tampa Bay Rays stadium and opened up the remaining 58.89 acres for development. An additional 2.02 acres of developable land may also be included in the proposals. Former Mayor Rick Kriseman had asked developers to submit two master plan scenarios, with and without professional ballparks. Welch will only accept proposals that contain a ballpark. While Welch has spoken enthusiastically about the team's future on the site, the team has yet to publicly commit to a new stadium in St. Pete -- and Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred prefers Tampa over St. Pete. A Rays spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment Friday. The RFP comes nearly two months after Welch announced he was throwing out the final two proposals to redevelop the property, a decision that he told the Tampa Bay Business Journal was based more on community than economic growth. The sentiment holds true as the new RFP, which was published Friday, outlines the detailed and complex history of the Gas Plant District, explaining the unfulfilled promises made to the Black community that once called the district home before the area was demolished and rebuilt to later accommodate the stadium. There will be a pre-proposal meeting on Sept. 14 that will include an overview of the site and presentations from city leadership on topics like the site's history, environmental conditions, housing and private sector input. Nov. 14 will be the last day for questions. "This is a historic opportunity for our city to utilize a generational redevelopment opportunity to ensure equitable opportunity for all residents, visitors, businesses and stakeholders," Welch said in a statement. "With this new RFP, we are calling for a significant emphasis on affordable and workforce housing; arts and culture; research, innovation and education; recreation; open space, healthy and sustainable development; and intentional equity. We look forward to receiving and reviewing proposals as we prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Responses to the RFP are due Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. A release from the city said Welch "may select a proposal without discussion if it is determined to be in the public interest for intended site use." Midtown Development, the group Kriseman chose to redevelop the site, will not rebid, a spokesman said Friday. Kriseman's second choice, Sugar Hill Community Partners, intends to bid again. "We are looking forward to reviewing the new Historic Gas Plant District RFP and preparing a first-class response," a spokesman for Sugar Hill told the Business Journal. "St. Petersburg has a unique opportunity to fulfill the true promise of the site, and we look forward to developing and sharing our vision for the project." Here's a look at the major changes in the reissued RFP: RECOMMENDED RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE Pentagon official -- and lottery winner -- pays $8M for McLean mansion EDUCATION Hillsborough Schools' proposed tax increase still fails after recount CAREER & WORKPLACE Meet all of DBJ's 2022 C-Suite Awards winners Affordable housing The RFP has 23 guiding principles of development, and the document emphasizes that any proposals "must address the city's need for affordable housing." Developers are asked to provide "innovative solutions" to meet the city's housing goals and need to include a mix of residential that will provide for "very-low-income, low-income, moderate-income and middle-income households." The city said additional solutions, like providing affordable and workforce units off-site themselves, partnering with other groups to provide those housing options off-site, or financially contributing to the "construction of affordable units citywide" are also permitted. The RFP shows that the proposals will "substantially address the need" for affordable and workforce housing, with affordable housing comprising "at least 50% of the affordable/workforce housing mix." Office space The RFP said office space should be included in mixed-use developments and is a "high priority of the city." The proposals need to ensure their office components include incubator spaces for local small businesses and focus on the city's five target industry sectors: marine and life sciences, financial services, data analytics, specialized manufacturing, and creative arts and design. Office space "should be maximized and not subject to any pre-leasing requirements for development." The document shows the city would "prefer a proposal" with office users that are either expanding in the city or are new to town. The city also expects a portion of the office space to be reserved for "underinvested business and entrepreneurs." And it wants interested developers to spell out an estimate of how much of their total space they'll reserve for said businesses. Honoring the Historic Gas Plant district The RFP said the development must "honor the site's history and provide meaningful and significant opportunities for economic equity and inclusion." It details the need to incorporate the neighborhood's history into the development using "imagery, plaques, replicas of significant buildings and stories told through interpretive history." The Rays The Tampa Bay Rays' use agreement is in effect until 2027. As part of the 23 guiding principles for the RFP, the developer has to ensure that the project "will be a collaboration with the city, Pinellas County, Rays and the selected proposer" to develop the appropriate infrastructure for the project. Unlike the former RFP, Welch's version only wants proposals detailing a stadium plan. The former concept required two plans -- one with a stadium and one without. A release from the city said that based on the "community's need for clarity on the question of the Tampa Bay Rays' future in St. Petersburg, it is imperative that proposals provide certainty on the availability of space for Major League Baseball on the site for decades to come." Other elements The RFP also wants the development to incorporate an education/tech campus on the property with space for "education, research and innovation uses." The city said it is "especially interested" in seeing a partnership with local higher education institutions or Florida-based higher-education institutions for education space." Some examples are the University of South Florida, Eckerd College, John Hopkins, St. Petersburg College and Pinellas Technical College. The proposals are expected to include a major flagship hotel with conference space in their response. It must include at least one four-star property operated by a major chain, but the city said it prefers it be a five-star one. Open space components are encouraged and referenced, potentially having fruit trees or orchards and community garden space for public use. The Pinellas Trail and Booker Creek are also highlighted as things that need to be enhanced in the proposal. _________________________________________________________ Plans call for a five phase development. An exact scope of work has not been determined. The project will undergo a new RFP process for a developer in mid-August and a development team will be selected in the fourth quarter 2022. A construction timeline has not been determined. Tropicana Field, the current home of the Tampa Bay Rays, is an 86-acre property near downtown St. Petersburg that's a prime redevelopment opportunity. While the Rays explore splitting their season between Montreal and the Tampa Bay area, the city is moving forward with redevelopment plans for the site. Respondents to the requests for proposals were asked to imagine the property with and without a Major League Baseball stadium. Midtown Development $30 million devoted to public parks Hotel and convention space A partnership with the city to fund, design and build 1,000 low and moderate income, green-certified residential units Any environmental remediation needed Smart city technologies 34 public acres with a $175 million budget for development of roads, parks, etc. 13.5 acres used by ballpark

,, 12,000,000 SF - 250,000 SF. 2,700,000 SF. 8,500,000 SF. 350,000 SF. 200,000 SF.

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