St. Pete to invite new proposals for redevelopment of Historic Gas Plant District

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St. Pete to invite new proposals for redevelopment of Historic Gas Plant District

The City of St. Petersburg is once again preparing to solicit proposals for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Pete, the same site where the Tampa Bay Rays’ future stadium and a new mixed-use district have long been envisioned.

This morning, the City announced plans to publish a notice in mid-November inviting private developers and other interested parties to submit proposals within 30 days for the site’s redevelopment.

The move follows an unsolicited proposal submitted earlier this month by a development team led by Casey Ellison, CEO of Ellison Companies; Cathie Wood, founder of global investment firm ARK Invest; and Jonathan Graham, president of Horus Construction.

Their 98-page, $6.8 billion proposal outlines a sweeping vision for a new mixed-use district anchored by innovation, housing, cultural institutions, and world-class event venues spanning 95.5 acres of downtown St. Petersburg, including the Historic Gas Plant District.

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St. Pete prepares to sell former Science Center with support from City Council and community

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St. Pete prepares to sell former Science Center with support from City Council and community

The once-cherished Science Center in west St. Pete, attracting more than 20,000 students each year from 1959 through 2014, is on the verge of a major comeback.

At the end of September, St. Petersburg City Council voted unanimously to move forward with selling the Science Center property at 7701 22nd Avenue North to St. Pete for STEAM, a local team led by The St. Petersburg Group (SPG).

The group made an unsolicited offer to buy the property in 2023 and now plans to acquire the four-acre site for $1.6 million, transforming it into a modern hub for science, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Mayor Ken Welch, who had recently reconsidered the sale in favor of using the site for an expansion of the city’s wastewater facilities, now supports the sale again and has directed his staff to identify alternative locations for expanding the Northwest Water Reclamation Plant.

“I appreciate that the Council expressed willingness to support higher-cost options, including the potential relocation of the brush site, in order to advance the Science Center redevelopment,” Welch wrote in a letter to City Council.

“I believed that the project could have gone forward on another non-city parcel, while still utilizing the federal and state support promised over the years,” Welch continued.

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City moves forward with affordable housing and retail development on 22nd Street South

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City moves forward with affordable housing and retail development on 22nd Street South

Mayor Ken Welch has selected Green Mills Group, a South Florida-based affordable housing developer, to redevelop a historically significant city-owned property at 951 22nd Street South.

The selection follows a Request for Proposals (RFP) process that launched in August 2024, which drew three submissions from Green Mills Group, Tall Cotton, and Alexander Goshen/Goode Van Slyke Architecture.

Under Green Mills’ proposal, the vacant 0.68-acre site would be transformed into a $20 million mixed-use development, called Heritage Grove, featuring 54 affordable apartments and 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

City Council is expected to vote on a negotiated ground lease and development agreement next Thursday, October 16th.

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St. Pete announces reopening date of the reimagined President Barack Obama Main Library

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St. Pete announces reopening date of the reimagined President Barack Obama Main Library

After four years of renovations and construction delays, St. Petersburg is finally ready to welcome the community back to its reimagined 61-year-old library.

The City has completed a $16.8 million renovation of the President Barack Obama Main Library at 3745 9th Avenue North.

Mayor Ken Welch will lead a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 27 at 9 a.m., followed by the public reopening at 10 a.m.

The library was originally designed in 1964 by noted St. Pete architect William Harvard.

In February 2018, the City announced the library would be renamed in honor of President Obama, and a sign was unveiled in February 2021.

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