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St. Pete city council to debate gas plant redevelopment project
The redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District—home to Tropicana Field—is at a crossroads following the collapse of the previous Rays-Hines deal.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District—home to Tropicana Field—is at a crossroads following the collapse of the previous Rays-Hines deal.
What we know:
Nine developers have submitted new bids to transform the site, but Councilwoman Brandi Gabbard has introduced a resolution to pause any developer selection until a "comprehensive planning framework" is established.
Mayor Ken Welch has countered that further delay risks repeating a "painful pattern" of inaction for the descendants of the families displaced from the land decades ago.
The backstory:
The 86-acre site was once a thriving black neighborhood known as the Gas Plant District before residents were displaced in the 1980s for the construction of what is now Tropicana Field. Promises of "equitable development" and jobs were made at the time but largely went unfulfilled.
Mayor Welch, a descendant of the neighborhood, launched a new request for proposal (RFP) in 2022 and selected a plan with the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines. However, that agreement unraveled in early 2025.
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The other side:
Councilwoman Gabbard argues the current process is "proposal-led," essentially allowing private developers to dictate the site's future based on their profit margins. She is pushing for the city to hire the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to act as a neutral third party in conducting a comprehensive land use study.
Gabbard believes this "best use" study will allow the city to decide if a plan truly matches the city’s needs and wishes for the multi-billion dollar project.
"We've had a lot of developers come to us with their own plans, which, quite frankly, any time a developer comes to you, it is based upon the yield that they're going to make on the property," Gabbard said. "I believe that this is an important step forward to making sure that we have voices at the table who have that experience but have no skin in the game."
But, Welch disagrees with this proposal, stating they've already spent funds on land surveys.
"Having an outside group come in and tell us what we should do with that property is inappropriate because that property is not just a blank slate: it has a history. The community knows that history. I know that history and that's why I'm determined to move forward on the redevelopment," Welch said.
By the numbers:
- The total acreage of the Historic Gas Plant District site is 86 acres.
- 9 developers submitted proposals as of February.
- The estimated cost of the independent Urban Land Institute study was $135,000.
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Big picture view:
This showdown serves as the unofficial kickoff to the 2026 mayoral race. Mayor Welch officially filed his re-election paperwork on February 2, 2026, while Gabbard has publicly stated her intent to challenge him.
While a vote in favor of an additional study could serve as a political barometer, the resolution is non-binding. This means that regardless of the Council’s vote, Mayor Welch maintains the legal authority to move forward with developer negotiations, which he tells Fox 13 he intends to do.
The Source: This report is based on interviews with and official city memos sent by Mayor Ken Welch to the City Council, public statements during city council meetings, and the formal resolution filed by Councilwoman Brandi Gabbard for the February 5 City Council meeting. Additional context regarding the developer proposals was pulled from the city’s official Request for Proposals (RFP) documentation and public records from the St. Petersburg City Clerk’s office.