Familiar faces tune in to pre-proposal meeting for Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 16, 2022

The city of St. Petersburg held a pre-proposal meeting Wednesday to guide interested developers through the city's priorities for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District, which is home to Tropicana Field.

The city held the meeting at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and simulcast the gathering on Zoom for those who couldn't make it in person. Mayor Ken Welch issued a new request for proposals in August after he canceled the original RFP from former Mayor Rick Kriseman.

According to the attendance list, there were 37 people in person at the event and 51 people registered on the Zoom call. The list showed there were members from development teams tuning into the presentation.

A spokesman from Midtown Development, the group Kriseman had selected to redevelop the property, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal in August they would not be rebidding. The other finalist, Sugar Hill Community Partners, had multiple representatives at the pre-proposal meeting. Development Manager David Carlock and former Sacramento mayor and Sugar Hill team member Kevin Johnson were among those from the team present at the event.

Other well-known faces — Miami-based PMG Properties and West Palm Beach-based SROA Capital— were also present.

SROA Capital's proposal was one of the seven considered under Kriseman's RFP. Via a partnership of three firms — SROA Capital, ARGO and Holabird and Root — the team proposed "canal communities" that branched off an expanded Booker Creek.

Representatives from PMG Affordable, the affordable housing division of PMG Properties, also registered for the event. PMG has a large presence in Tampa Bay and much of Florida. Most recently, the company partnered with Sarasota developer JEBCO Ventures to build an 18-story luxury condo tower in Sarasota called ONE Park Sarasota.

During the meeting, city personnel reviewed some of the city's priorities, like hiring minority contractors and addressing needs in the community like affordable housing.

The new RFP's language also emphasizes the need for proposals to have plans to honor the community that once lived in the former Gas Plant District.

Brian Caper, director of economic and workforce development for St. Pete, led the Q&A with attendees and said when developers put their proposals together, they should closely follow the 23 principles outlined in the RFP.

One unique attribute of Welch's RFP is the firm stance the city is taking on having a stadium be part of the development. Kriseman had asked developers to have plans both with and without a stadium. Welch has set aside 17.3 acres for the Tampa Bay Rays stadium in the RFP, which opens up the remaining 58.89 acres for development. An additional 2.02 acres of developable land may also be included in the proposals.

Brett Sherman, a principal of urban places at Stantec, asked Caper about the 17.3 acres and wanted clarification on how developers should approach enveloping that property into their proposals. Caper said the city may elect to do a separate RFP for the stadium land, or it may have that land folded into the larger development.

Proposals are due by 10 a.m. on Nov. 18.

The city plans to engage in community outreach. It has an internal review in November, and the strengths and weaknesses of the submitted proposals will be presented to Welch in December.

Welch is expected to select a developer by the end of the year. According to the city's timeline, in May 2023, a term sheet with the developer will be completed, and by September or October 2023, a development agreement will be presented to the city council for approval.