Skyrocketing rent prices and years of unfulfilled promises by city officials have caused mixed opinions from St. Pete residents about economic security and what will come of the historic Gas Plant site that Tropicana Field, surrounded by a giant parking lot, sits atop.
About 200 residents plus city officials, including Mayor Ken Welch and Deputy Mayor Stephanie Owens, gathered for the first of three historic Gas Plant District redevelopment community conversations at the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg Tuesday evening.
The 86 acres were once home to the Gas Plant district founded in 1890 as “Cooper’s Quarters.” As the second oldest Black neighborhood in St. Pete, the name was eventually changed to match the two large gas cylinders at the location.
Mayor Ken Welch announced on June 29 that he was issuing a new Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Gas Plant District redevelopment site because the environment has changed since the initial RFP was issued in July of 2020. Although he was impressed by the efforts of the two finalists in the old RFP process — Sugar Hill Community Partners and Midtown Development — he believed it needed some updating.
The mayor cited the need for more affordable and workforce housing and less office space along with the need for intentional equity and equitable development highlighted by the city’s Disparity Study and the Structural Racism report, which were completed after the issuance of the initial RFP.
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