The City of St. Petersburg is releasing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of the portion of the Historic Gas Plant site. This area is currently home to Tropicana Field and affiliated parking, totaling approximately 86-acres. The RFP calls for emphasis on fair redevelopment, a 17.3-acre carve out for a baseball stadium, and specific requirements for affordable and workforce housing
“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. “With this new RFP we are calling for a significant emphasis on affordable and workforce housing; arts and culture; research, innovation, and education; recreation; open space, healthy and sustainable development; and intentional equity. We look forward to receiving and reviewing proposals as we prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The Historic Gas Plant Distric
Nearly forty years ago, members of the Historic Gas Plant community were displaced by the desire to have Major League Baseball in the area and eventual construction of Tropicana Field. While the move brought St. Pete the Tampa Bay Rays, then known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, residents and businesses were forced to relocate with the promise of jobs, opportunity and equitable development. This ultimately did not materialize.
With this RFP, St. Pete has the opportunity to fulfill those unrealized promises and bring to the area attainable housing, equitable business opportunities, office space, meeting space, open space and overall impactful economic development.
The City held several Community Conversations resulting in over 1,000 engagements with residents and stakeholders to get to this new RFP. These conversations laid out a clear vision for community goals and priorities for this site.
Related: Hidden History: Gas Plant District
One of the biggest changes in this RFP as compared to the previous request issued in 2020, is a specific requirement for affordable and workforce housing.
Successful proposals will prioritize housing affordability and maximize the number of affordable and workforce units on site. Innovative solutions to address the City’s housing goals should address the need to supply low-income households. Proposers are encouraged to look towards additional solutions, such as providing affordable and workforce units off-site; partnering with other entities to provide additional units off-site, including rental and ownership product; and/or making a financial contribution to the construction of affordable units citywide.
More RFP instructions
Proposers are invited to respond to this 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 Kenneth T. Welch for consideration and selection based on criteria defined in the RFP. Mayor Welch may select a proposal without discussion if it’s determined to be in the public interest.
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 regarding the history of the site; equitable economic development; transportation; public works; environmental conditions; housing; sustainability; development services; private sector input; questions and answers; and site information.
The final day for proposer questions during the RFP process is November 14, 2022.