The race to reshape St. Pete: Nine visions compete for Historic Gas Plant District
Nine proposals for Gas Plant District
If the Rays move to Tampa what happens to the Gas Plant District is up in the air and Tuesday was the deadline for proposals. FOX 13’s Genevieve Curtis reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tuesday was the last day for interested parties to submit proposals to transform the Historic Gas Plant District.
It comes as the Rays are making their play to move across the Bay and leave Tropicana Field for a Tampa site.
The project is a chance to rewrite the narrative of the land once occupied by the Trop. While the proposals vary in scale and style, they all share a common goal: reshaping the city's skyline and its soul.
"The Burg Bid"
One of the most expansive offers comes from Blake Investment Partners, whose proposal is titled "The Burg Bid." Their plan emphasizes massive scale and historical reverence.
- Housing: 3,600+ units of affordable and workforce housing in partnership with the St. Pete Housing Authority.
- Cultural Hub: A "Museum Row" featuring a permanent home for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida.
- Legacy Link: A dedicated pedestrian trail winding through the district, specifically designed to honor the history of the Gas Plant residents who were displaced decades ago.
"The truth is that we have one chance to do this right," said Peter VanWarner, Vice President of Development at Blake Investment Partners. "These projects of this size only come around once every lifetime. We want to develop something where, a hundred years from now, people can say, 'They did it right.'"
Click here to visit the group's website.
The Tech Frontier: ARK-Ellison-Horace
The ARK-Ellison-Horace group, one of the first to submit back in October, envisions a district that doubles as a global tech hub.
- The proposal envisions a large-scale innovation district featuring more than 3,700 residential units, including affordable, workforce and senior housing, along with hotels, office space and cultural amenities.
- Innovation District: Centered around "Spark Labs," this plan aims to keep local university talent in St. Pete and to bring other founders to the region.
- Major Tenant: The team announced today that Moffitt Cancer Center’s AI team would join their hub if selected.
- Infrastructure: The plan includes an amphitheater, the Woodson Museum, and smart-city technology.
"It’s about incubating those startups coming out of our universities and allowing them to embed their technology into the infrastructure itself," said Becca Brown, CEO of Spark Labs by ARK Invest. "It’s an amazing opportunity to drive growth and long-term sustainable economic value for the region."
Dig deeper:
The competition doesn't stop there. Other notable submissions include:
- The Pinellas County Housing Authority: A proposal focused heavily on the residential needs of the community.
- Foundation Vision Partners submitted a proposal focused on the phased redevelopment of the district, keeping the property under city control.
What's next:
While the Mayor’s team prepares to review the nine proposals. There is expected to be some public forums for community input.
Developers told FOX13 they were excited about the chance to present to the public and get community feedback.
A potential roadblock is looming at City Hall.
An agenda item for this Thursday’s City Council meeting seeks to ask the Mayor to pause all movement on the development until an extensive study can be completed. However, Mayor Ken Welch has signaled he intends to move forward without delay.
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The Source: Sources for this reporting come from interviews with stakeholders from proposed projects, review of the proposals and past reporting.