the Gas plant district occupies an 86-acre site in the heart of downtown st. petersburg | st. pete rising

Later this month, residents will have a chance to take a closer look at proposals that could shape the future of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Petersburg.

The site is currently home to a swath of surface parking lots and Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays have played since 1998.

The City of St. Petersburg is hosting a public open house on Thursday, April 30th, where four shortlisted development teams will present their plans and answer questions from the community.

The event will take place at The Coliseum, located at 535 4th Avenue North, beginning at 5 p.m.

The open house will give attendees an opportunity to meet the developers, review proposal materials, and ask questions ahead of formal presentations, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

A question-and-answer session will follow.

The four teams selected to move forward include Ark Ellison Horus LLC, The Burg Bid, Foundation Vision Partners, and the Pinellas County Housing Authority.

The coliseum at 535 4th Avenue North will host next week’s open house | city of st. pete

For those unable to attend in person, the city will offer a virtual participation option via Zoom. The event will also be recorded and made available afterward on YouTube and SPTV.

The open house is part of a broader selection process that will continue over the coming months.

Following a 30-day public input period, city administrators are expected to complete a strengths and weaknesses analysis of the shortlisted proposals in May.

That same month, applications will open for the Community Benefits Advisory Council’s project committee, a non-partisan board that advises city leadership on major development projects and community benefits.

Mayor Welch is expected to select a proposal, or proposals, in June after reviewing staff analysis and public feedback.

The selected plan(s) will then move through additional review by the Community Benefits Advisory Council and City Council.

In July, the advisory council is expected to host two meetings, including one with public comment.

Feedback from those meetings will help inform negotiations between the city and the selected development team(s) before a final agreement is brought to City Council for approval.

More information, including virtual meeting details and the full proposals, is available on the city’s website.