Florida Construction News staff writer
The Pinellas County Housing Authority and The Burg Bid will redevelop separate parts of the site, St. Pete officials announced recently.
The other two shortlisted developers, chosen from nine proposals submitted to the city for the district, were Ark Ellison Horus LLC and Foundation Vision Partners.
“The Historic Gas Plant District has held the promise of progress for St. Petersburg for decades and today we take an important step forward in turning potential into real, tangible progress,” said Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. “As we enter the next chapter for the Historic Gas Plant District, I want to thank every development team for submitting intentional and thoughtful proposals.
“The quality of competition made this a better process and allowed us to re-envision the potential opportunities for this land.”
Community input guided the selection and proposals were evaluated against the community’s priorities of supporting jobs, housing, economic opportunity.
The Pinellas County Housing Authority proposal includes a seven-story, 80-unit affordable senior housing community. Targeting lower-income seniors with an emphasis on very low-income seniors, the development will give preference to seniors who formerly resided in the Historic Gas Plant District.
The Burg Bid development team, led by Thompson Whitney Blake, was selected for the larger portion of the 86-acre site and the proposal includes construction of more than 3,600 units of affordable and workforce housing, new public infrastructure, a large park dedicated to showcasing museums and other cultural landmarks, and a workforce training and small business success center.
City staff will begin negotiations, develop a term sheet, and bring agreements to City Council for approval. A final agreement must be approved by City Council before ground can be broken on the site.
The Burg Bid proposal will also be reviewed through the City’s Community Benefits Agreement Program (CBA) which will include the selection of a Community Benefits Advisory Council Project Committee (CBAC) as well as opportunities for public engagement and feedback on the development’s proposed community benefits and impacts.
The Pinellas County Housing Authority proposal will not move through the CBA process because the project is 100 percent affordable and workforce housing. However, the final agreement with the Pinellas County Housing Authority is still subject to approval by City Council
The full proposals and more information are available here.
