Redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site took another step Thursday, when Mayor Ken Welch selected a St. Petersburg developer.
Negotiations now begin with Blake Investment Partners. It submitted the Burg Bid, which includes 3,600 affordable and workforce housing units, with half to be built off-site.
Developer Thompson Whitney Blake would also build a new Woodson African-American history museum to honor the mostly Black neighborhood leveled in the 1980s to build the Trop.
"The community's been waiting 40 years for a promise to be kept. We don't take that lightly," he said during a news conference at Campbell Park. "The Historic Gas Plant was a real place, real people, real churches, real businesses. Our project begins with honoring those people."
Welch said their proposal offered the most affordable housing units. He said he's keeping a promise made decades ago to the Gas Plant residents who were dislocated.
"The fact that this is truly a hometown group that understand the importance of it, the highest price for the land, the most affordable and workforce housing, the commitment to true workforce opportunities, career opportunities," said Welch. "There's a whole generation of folks that this is so vital to, and it's going to bring all those economic benefits, turning those 58 acres of pavement into jobs and housing and all the things that we need in this community."
The proposal states: "We are valuing the site at $405,000,000 – nearly 4x the value of all prior bids. We offer to purchase 58 net acres for $275,000,000. Outside of using the CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) funds to construct new public infrastructure and build Samuel Davis Park1, the largest new park in 119 years showcasing a new 'Historic Gas Plant Museum Row,' we are not depending on any public funding to accomplish this $8 billion dollar project."
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Here are some of their proposals:
- No commitment to job creation; plans to build a workforce training hub called "the Collaboratorium;" vision for attracting jobs in tourism, hospitality and healthcare;
- Build 3,600-plus "income-restricted" housing units, with 1,800 units within the district; part of a mixed-income district with market-rate housing;
- Estimated $20 million deposit by the city; request for CRA funds to build 18.5 acres of park space;
- Creation of "museum row" with the permanent relocation of the Woodson African American Museum, Museum of Public Art and Discovery Center; nine bridges over Booker Creek; and establishment of a volunteer-based advisory committee to provide ongoing community feedback.
The Tampa Bay Rays have a lease that allows them to play at the Trop through at least the 2028 season, although they have the option to extend that on a year-by-year basis.
The team had signed a deal to redevelop the site, but backed out after Hurricane Milton shredded the dome's roof and pushed back their plans. The team is now actively negotiating to build an indoor stadium in Tampa.
This only starts the process of replacing the Trop. The city has to now enter into negotiations and ultimately bring it before the city council for approval.
In February, city council members asked to pause negotiations, after they expressed concerns about a lack of guidance in what they're looking for. Some council members said they felt Welch bypassed them in the negotiations.
And if Welch is not re-elected this fall, his successor might choose to start it all over again. That's what happened when Welch succeeded Mayor Rick Kriseman and jettisoned his plan.
