Seven New Visions for Trop Site Development The Tropicana Field site, 86 acres in the heart of St. Petersburg, will undergo a potentially $3 billion redevelopment in the next few years. The city will sift through seven potential development plans with a mix of recreational, commercial and residential blueprints. Each proposal has two plans, with and without a stadium. “When you see these submissions, I think you’ll quickly realize that the future has never been brighter,” St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman told press on Tuesday, January 26. This will take months of Kriseman’s team weighing the pros and cons of each possibility before his administration, which ends in January of 2022, even completes a shortlist. “We’ll listen very carefully to the community and see how we can knit this together,” St. Petersburg development administrator Alan DeLisle said. “Once we get through that process the mayor has a very big decision to make.” What the Rays Want In the mix of Kriseman’s final verdict is the shaky but continuing correspondence between the city and the Tampa Bay Rays, who declined the city’s offers to be included in any of the upcoming proposals. The Rays want more than 50 percent of the revenue that is
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Portman Holdings, Third Lake Partners envisions a garden bridge connecting to Campbell Park, along with Gas Plant District memorials.
produced from the site, stadium or not, and control of over 50 percent of the property, Kriseman confirmed at the Tropicana site press conference. This increase in revenue would also be paired with the team splitting their season between St. Petersburg and Montreal.
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“Look, I want the Rays here, but I cannot allow the city and the community to lose control over the site,” Kriseman said. “I hope there is a way forward to ensure that the team stays.” The Possibilities Futuristic style apartments intermingled with urban beaches and waterways head some of the proposed plans for a redeveloped Tropicana Field site. Most proposals feature hotels, convention centers and living space, but the costs and designs vary. Unicorp National Developments With more than 200 pages in their proposal plan and a track record of successful, Orlando-based properties such as ICON park, Unicorp National Developments would completely reconstruct the 86-acre site. Expanded green space would coexist with apartments, conference centers, office space and a 400-room hotel.
theGabber.com | February 4, 2021 - February 10, 2021
