In the late 1980s, an African-American neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Fla., known as the Historic Gas Plant District, was the victim of displacement by the city to make way for the construction of the Tropicana Field stadium.
Fast forward to September 19 of this year, when the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team announced that it had reached an agreement with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County on a $6.5 billion, 86-acre mixed-use development that will include a new 30,000-seat ballpark and an array of office, housing, hotel, retail, and restaurant space totaling 8 million sf. (The stadium will be between 850,000 and 950,000 sf.)
The first phase of this project’s 20-year buildout is scheduled to begin construction late next year and be completed by opening day of the 2028 baseball season.
The developer Hines, through its Historic Gas Plant Partnership, is the master developer on this project, which will occur on land currently occupied by Tropicana Field. Hines’ involvement includes a $50 million commitment to equity initiatives with South St. Petersburg that encompass affordable housing, employment and business support, education programs, and minority/women owned business enterprise hiring.
Part of Entertainment District trend
This project can be placed within a larger development trend for entertainment districts that are proliferating around the country. Among the metros where entertainment districts have been proposed, or are currently under construction, are Miami, Gainesville, and Pompano Beach, Fla.; Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo.; Anaheim, Calif.; Norman, Okla.; Clarksville, Tenn., and Springdale, Ark. In many cases, as in St. Petersburg, these districts are positioned as vital pieces of larger urban revitalization and economic growth campaigns.
The St. Petersburg project, when it’s completed, will increase the number affordable housing units built by the Partnership to 1,200, with at least half of those units to be built within the redeveloped district.
The project will include 4,800 market-rate housing units, 600 senior-living units, 1.4 million sf of office and medical space, 750,000 sf of retail, 750 hotel rooms, 100,000 sf of performance/event space that include a 3,000- to 4,000-seat concert hall; 100,000 sf of conference and meeting space, 50,000 sf of cultural and community space that encompasses the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum of Florida; 14 acres of public open space, and 14,000 parking spaces.
The Rays will pay more than half of the $1.3 billion cost to build the new ballpark, and the city and county will contribute an aggregate $600 million.
“Hines … is honored to bring this transformative, city-defining project to life,” said Michael Harrison, Senior Managing Director with Hines, in a prepared statement. “Our goal is to create St. Petersburg’s next great place to live, work, and play.”
The public approval process by the city and county is expected to start this fall.
Tampa Bay Rays, Hines finalize stadium-anchored multiuse district in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
10% of world's skyscraper construction on hold
Emporis, the largest provider of global building data worldwide, reported that 8.7% of all skyscrapers listed as "under construction" in its database had been put on hold. Most of these projects have been halted in the second half of 2008. According to Emporis statistics, the United States had been hit the worst: at the beginning of 2008, "Met 3" in Miami was the only U.S. skyscraper listed as being "on hold". In the second half of the year, 19 projects followed suit.
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
New website highlights government tax incentives for large commercial buildings
Energy Retrofit Group (ERG), the subsidiary of 40-year-old, award-winning Adache Group Architects, Inc., has announced the creation of their new energy conservation web site: www.energy-rg.com.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
The Joule Hotel
Dallas, Texas
The Joule Hotel in Dallas, designed by local firm Coburn & Smith, was constructed in 1927 as the Dallas National Bank Building. Originally one of the finest examples of gothic revival architecture in Texas, it had had most of its gothic elements removed over the years after being converted into an office building and later abandoned. What was left had fallen into disrepair.
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, WATG top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest hotel design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Hotel Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
