The long-vacant Commerce Park property, valued at $4.525 million, sits directly across 22nd Street South from the Manhattan Casino. All images: City documents.
Mayor Ken Welch’s administration has revived nearly 20-year-old plans to activate several parcels along the historic Deuces corridor in South St. Petersburg.
The city issued a request for proposals (RFP) on April 6 for the Commerce Park site. Officials are seeking a developer to create a mixed-use and income housing development on the 3.03-acre property at the intersection of 22nd Street South and 7th Avenue.
The land, which encompasses 19 city-owned parcels, is just north of I-275 and directly across from the Manhattan Casino. Former Mayor Rick Baker’s administration began assembling the property in 2007 to create a job-generating manufacturing and industrial complex.
Former Mayors Bill Foster and Rick Kriseman subsequently took over the project, with the latter securing a development contract with St. Petersburg Commerce Park LLC. The group planned to build a marine supply manufacturing facility and a motorcycle dealership.
Construction stalled, and some of the property went to the Deuces Rising Townhomes project in 2019. The city also gave five acres to the Woodson African American Museum of Florida that year.
However, Welch and museum stakeholders believe the institution should have a long-awaited permanent home in a reimagined Historic Gas Plant District. What currently remains of the Commerce Park site is still vacant.
“The city’s primary goal for redevelopment is to deliver a high-quality, mixed-use development that activates 22nd Street South through commercial and retail uses, provides mixed-income housing with both rental and homeownership opportunities, and maximizes allowable density,” states the RFP.
“Due to the property’s cultural and historical significance as a community asset, the City encourages proposals that honor the community’s heritage and promote equitable partnerships, including meaningful opportunities for small, minority, and women-owned businesses.”
An aerial view of the 3.03-acre site.
The RFP notes that the surrounding Deuces Live and Warehouse Arts Districts are “experiencing renewed investment from the city.” Valued at $4.525 million, the Commerce Park site is “positioned to serve as the focal point of the corridor.”
The abutting Deuces Rising development is nearing completion, and the city will soon reopen the Manhattan Casino following a $4.8 million redevelopment project. Commerce Park is approximately a quarter of a mile north of St. Petersburg College’s Midtown Center and less than a mile southwest of the Historic Gas Plant, currently home to Tropicana Field.
Welch’s administration hopes to make up for lost time. Interested developers must “have the capacity to construct this project immediately upon award,” states the RFP.
City officials are open to leasing or selling the property, and developers must have confirmed or verifiable construction funding sources. They prefer a proposal that is consistent with the “historic uses and vitality” of the Deuces corridor.
The city will also prioritize proposals that offer affordable commercial space and those that include a voluntary commitment to utilizing small, minority, and women-owned businesses. Additional preferences include energy efficiency and conservation elements, a development schedule that allows the timeliest occupancy of the site, and a project that does not require rezoning.
Interested applicants have until May 6 to submit questions. Proposals are due by 10:00 a.m. on May 22. Welch will make the final selection, and the city council must approve of any development agreements.
The property is adjacent to the Deuces Rising Townhomes development.
Share Your News with Us
To share news with the Power Broker, connect with reachout@powerbrokermagazine.com. To sign up for our twice-weekly e-newsletter, visit www.powerbrokermagazine.com; and to join our online conversation, subscribe to our YouTube channel at Power Broker Media Group – YouTube.
