City of St. Petersburg releases RFP for 86-acre Tropicana Field redevelopment site

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Earlier today, 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.

“This is an historic opportunity for our city to utilize a generational redevelopment opportunity to ensure equitable opportunity for all residents, visitors, businesses and stakeholders,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch.

The new 33-page RFP, which can be downloaded here, emphasizes the need for affordable housing, both on and off site, provides a 17.3 acre carve out for a state-of-the-art baseball stadium, and further provisions to honor the history and legacy of the Gas Plant community.

The RFP also addresses increased opportunity for youth employment, education, recreation, and career readiness and acknowledges future mitigation requirements related to Oaklawn Cemetery.

Specifically, the City is looking for responses to the RFP to include plans to accomplish the following new goals:

  • Inclusion of and connection to a state-of-the-art baseball stadium on 17.3 acres

  • Further honoring the history and legacy of the Historic Gas Plant District site and fulfilling past promises

  • Inclusion of principles and findings of the Structural Racism Study and Disparity Study

  • MBE and WBE inclusion

  • Adherence to Community Benefits Agreement principles

  • Emphasis on affordable/workforce housing availability on- and off-site

  • Acknowledgment of future mitigation requirements related to Oaklawn Cemetery

  • Inclusion of guiding principles from results of the Community Conversations sessions and other community engagement efforts

  • Acknowledgment of evolving workforce and office space demand

  • Opportunities for local, under-invested businesses 

  • Flexibility for convention space tied to evolving demand

  • Opportunities for shared parking for public and ballpark use

  • Adherence to connectivity guidelines as described in the Downtown Mobility Study

A competitive response to this RFP must also include plans to accomplish the following goals consistent with the previous RFP:

  • Robust job creation opportunities

  • St. Pete CRA resident priority hiring, both during construction and for post-development operations

  • Mixed-use development

  • Connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods

  • Emphasizing Booker Creek as a potential water feature

  • Activation of the Pinellas Trail within the site

  • Emphasis on open space

  • Opportunities for office, housing, retail and entertainment

  • Smart City technology

  • Health equity

  • Healthy/sustainable building design

  • Opportunities for SBEs, local small businesses, and historically under-invested businesses

  • Adherence to the city’s Complete Streets plan and opportunities for multi-modal transit

  • Inclusion of research, innovation and education opportunities and space

  • Significant opportunities for arts and culture

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.

While those plans didn’t pan out, the City of St. Pete ultimately released an RFP find a master developer to lead the redevelopment of Tropicana Field in 2020. Interested development groups were asked to provide two scenarios, one with a ballpark and one without a ballpark.

The RFP garnered seven responses which were narrowed to two finalists. Mayor Kriseman announced his selection of the Midtown proposal just before his term ended in late 2021.

Upon Mayor Welch’s inauguration in early 2022, the new Mayor promised to review the previous mayor’s recommendation. Ultimately, Mayor Welch decided to reopen the RFP with a re-tooled list of requirements.

Sugar Hill is expected to re-submit a new proposal; however, finalist Midtown has previously indicated they will not be submitting a new proposal.

Proposers are invited to respond to the new RFP as private developers or as part of a development team. Responses are due November 18, 2022 at 10:00am. 

All qualified proposals will be presented to Mayor Ken Welch for consideration and selection based on criteria defined in the RFP.

The tentative schedule for proposal consideration includes a pre-proposal meeting on September 12, 2022 to include an overview of the site and relevant planning efforts and brief presentations from City leadership.

“As we move forward with this process, it is imperative that we continue to respond to the needs of today and take time to ensure we are getting this project right,” said Mayor Welch in a video accompanying the release of the new RFP. “The development of these 86 acres is a project that will affect our entire community for generations to come. The decisions we make today will affect not only our current residents but young people and future generations who will one day make up the fiber of this great city.”

The City hopes to select a new proposal by the end of the year. A term sheet is expected to be completed in Spring or early Summer and a development agreement submitted to City Council for approval in the Fall.