St. Petersburg officials announced on Mar. 31 a detailed timeline for selecting a developer to lead the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment, with Mayor Ken Welch expecting a final proposal to be chosen in June.
The decision is significant as it will determine the future of an 86-acre site surrounding Tropicana Field, which has drawn multiple competing proposals from development teams. The process involves public input sessions and advisory reviews over several months before any final selection is made.
City reviewers have already scored project submissions and recommended three main contenders: ARK-Ellison-Horus, The Burg Bid led by Blake Investment Partners, and Foundation Vision Partners. According to city officials, these evaluations will now be sent to Welch for further consideration. They also outlined upcoming steps that include launching an Urban Land Institute study in April to combine previous research with community feedback and technical analysis.
A public meeting at the Coliseum will give residents the opportunity to meet short-listed developers and ask questions about their plans. This event will be followed by a 30-day session designed to gather additional resident feedback. In May, city administrators plan to conduct a formal strengths-and-weaknesses analysis of each proposal while establishing a project committee under the Community Benefits Advisory Council during a City Council Committee of the Whole meeting.
Welch said he intends to select the final proposal in June after all reviews and public input are complete. Once selected, the winning project will undergo further vetting by both the advisory council and City Council before contract negotiations begin in July. Officials stated that additional steps beyond July would be announced later this year.
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