Six months after restarting the request for proposal (RFP) process for the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has announced the selection of a joint bid from Hines and the Tampa Bay Rays to redevelop the 86-acre site.

In his annual State of the City address, which took place on the steps of City Hall, Mayor Welch announced the selection of Hines’ submission by commending the team for having the depth and expertise to execute on a multi-billion-dollar generational project of this scale.

He also noted the team’s commitment to community outreach and to the equitable development of the site.

This morning, the City of St. Pete released a new request for proposal for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Tropicana Field site, which is now being referred to by its historical name—the Gas Plant District site.

In June, Mayor Ken Welch recommended the process re-start after not selecting two finalists – Midtown or Sugar Hill – that were narrowed down under the previous mayoral administration.

The decision to re-start the request for proposal process for the redevelopment of Tropicana Field did not come lightly and follows a 15-year journey that began in 2007 when the Tampa Bay Rays announced a proposal to build a new stadium on the downtown St. Pete waterfront.

Yesterday, the City of St. Petersburg and Mayor Kriseman released seven submissions of the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site in downtown St. Pete.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Kriseman also reported on recent discussions the City has had with the Rays. Owner Stu Sternberg had pitched a plan to Kriseman in which city would transfer 50 acres situated to the east of Booker Creek to the team at no charge.

Sternberg also requested that the Rays retain 50% of the development proceeds for the remaining 36 acres located west of Booker Creek.

"If we were to accept this, we would have to reject all of the responses to the RFPs," Kriseman said. "Of even greater concern is the moment the city turns control over to the Rays, the city loses all ability and authority to ensure the community’s voice is heard."

Today the City of St. Petersburg officially kicked off planning for the public/private redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site with the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP is seeking submissions from developers to redevelop an 86-acre site in Downtown St. Pete which is currently home to the Tampa Bay Rays.

For years, city and county leaders have touted the site as a once in a generation opportunity to redevelop a large, publicly-owned tract of land in densely populated Pinellas County. Downtown St. Pete’s revitalization over the past decade has only made the site’s redevelopment potential even more attractive.

In 2017 the City contracted planning firm HKS to develop two vision concepts for the site – one with a Rays stadium and one without it. The plans are comparable but with different demand drivers and uses. These vision plans will likely guide developers in creating their redevelopment submissions.