It's been at least 17 years of back-and-forth proposals and eight months since a deal was outlined for a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.
The St. Petersburg City Council will host its first workshop Thursday on the proposed redevelopment of Tropicana Field.
The proposal outlines how the 65-acre property around the stadium would be transformed. Hotels, restaurants, affordable housing and a new African American history museum have been outlined for what is now an sea of asphalt parking lots.
Council members will get to comment on a 351-page document outlining the benefits to the community, after presentations by Mayor Ken Welch and the Hines/Rays team, which would oversee the project.
The cost would be split between the Rays and the city and Pinellas County, which would be responsible for about $600 million. Some of that would come through taxes on hotel stays.
The council plans to meet again on May 23 to discuss the $1.3 billion stadium. The Pinellas County Commission has not yet scheduled their meetings.
Plans call for a 30,000-seat "pavilion-style" stadium, which would include three seating levels and walls that open to let fresh air inside during cooler weather.
The Rays have a lease on their current home at Tropicana Field until 2027.
Including affordable housing and opportunity for low-income residents has consistently been touted by Mayor Ken Welch. He worked as a child at his grandfather’s woodyard on Fifth Avenue and 16th Street South. That Gas Plant neighborhood - named for giant natural gas tanks located there - was bulldozed in the 1980s to make way for what would become Tropicana Field.
“My story is a story of thousands who lived and worked and worshiped in this place, in this neighborhood,” Welch said in 2023. “That community was promised a stake in the economic benefits that would come from the redevelopment of this land. And the agreement that we have forged with the Hines-Rays group will finally honor that promise.”
Here's some details of the proposed development agreement:
Overview: Community Benefits
- Intentional Equity
- Economic Development
- Certified Businesses
- Disadvantaged Workers
- Woodson African American Museum of Florida
- Sustainability & Open Space
- Childcare & Transportation
- Monitoring & Compliance
- Substitute Obligations
Development Plan - Target Development
- Residential: 5,400 units (including 600 senior living)
- Affordable/Workforce Housing: 1,250 units (at least 600 units must be on-site)
- Hotel: 750 keys
- Class A Office/Medical/Medical Office: 1,400,000 gross square feet
- Retail, including opportunities for small retail businesses: 750,000 gross square feet (including 20,000 gross square feet grocery store)
- Entertainment: 100,000 gross square feet
- Civic/Museum Uses: 50,000 gross square feet
- Conference, Ballroom, and Meeting Space: 90,000 gross square feet
- Daycare, Childcare, Preschool or similar facility
- Library and/or incubator space
- Open Space: 14 acres
Minimum Development
- Residential: 3,800 Units
- Affordable/Workforce Housing: 1,250 units (at least 600 units must be on-site)
- Commercial, Office, and Retail Uses; Arts, Recreation, and Entertainment Uses; Education, Public Administration, Healthcare, and Institutional Uses:
- 1,000,000 gross square feet, of which at least 500,000 gross square feet will be Class A Office/Medical/Medical Office, and at least 50,000 gross square feet will be Civic/Museum
- Hotel: 400 Keys
- Conference, Ballroom, and Meeting Space: 50,000 gross square feet
- Open Space: 10 acres (i.e., the Initial Open Space)
- At least one daycare, childcare, preschool, or similar facility
Affordable and Workforce Housing - Units, AMI (Area median income) and On-Site Requirements
- 1,250 Affordable/Workforce Housing units comprised of the following:
- 120% AMI: 500 units
- 100% AMI: 100 units
- 80% AMI: 350 units
- 60% AMI: 300 units
- A minimum of 600 units must be on-site, with at least 100 units at 80% AMI or below and 100 units at 60% AMI or below.
- At least 100 of the 600 on-site units will be age-restricted (55+) independent living and must commence construction by Dec. 31, 2028.
Community Benefits - Sustainability and Open Space
Hines/Rays commits to the following sustainability initiatives:
- Targeting sustainable construction methodologies;
- Restoring and protecting Booker Creek;
- Promoting active transportation and enhanced air quality;
- Waste management and recycling; and
- Designing office and residential developments to achieve LEED, WELL Building Standard, Energy Star, or other market-appropriate standards.
