St. Pete investor offers $260 million to buy 86-acre Tropicana Field site
/
Prominent Tampa Bay investor Thompson Whitney Blake is offering the City of St. Petersburg $260 million in an all-cash deal to buy the Gas Plant District following the Tampa Bay Rays' abrupt announcement of abandoning the stadium agreement.
"We, along with all of the other residents in town, have listened to a decade of dialogues, debates, pundits, and prognosticators, lawyers, and talking heads... In our opinion, this project needs someone to do what my mom has always said, 'put your money where your mouth is.' So, here we go," Blake, CEO of private equity firm Blake Investment Partners, wrote in a letter to Mayor Ken Welch and the St. Petersburg City Council.
The offer letter was sent on Thursday, March 13, shortly after the Tampa Bay Rays announced on social media that they were withdrawing from the $1.37 billion deal to build a new stadium in downtown St. Petersburg. The team cited unforeseen challenges from back-to-back hurricanes and prolonged negotiations as reasons for their decision.
Read More
A new sensory play studio designed for young children will open in Pinellas Park next month.
Willow & Wonder will celebrate its grand opening Sunday, November 1st, at 6541 44th Street North, Unit 6004, near the recently opened Sprowls Horizon Sports Park.
The 1,700-square-foot studio is designed for children ages 0 to 7 and will offer a lower-stimulation alternative to traditional indoor playgrounds.
During 90-minute open-play sessions, children can move at their own pace between a play area, rotating sensory stations, and an art studio.
Each visit will include themed sensory bins and a process-art activity, and children will leave with a craft.
The woodland-themed studio will contain a collection of custom-made wood furnishings, including a play cottage, mud kitchen, dollhouse, children’s tables and chairs, and a crawler area for infants.