Officials from the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines, its global development partner, presented to the St. Petersburg City Council Thursday the agreement negotiated with Mayor Kenneth T. Welch and his administration for the Historic Gas Plant District Development project. Members of the Hines Historic Gas Plant District Partnership development team discussed details of the agreement and answered questions from the City Council, which is expected to vote on the agreement this summer.

Joining officials from the Rays and Hines were other members of the development team from Best Source Consulting, EDSA, Gensler, Storyn Studio for Architecture, and Gwendolyn Reese, president of the African American Heritage Association of St. Petersburg. The presentation at the council’s committee of the whole meeting included new renderings of the development and several refinements to the agreement, including an increase of affordable/workforce housing to 1,250.

Since Mayor Welch selected the Hines and Rays proposal nearly 16 months ago, the development team has incorporated input from business groups, community organizations, nonprofits and former residents of the Historic Gas Plant neighborhood and their descendants. The Historic Gas Plant Development project has widespread support as reflected in a scientific opinion poll, dozens of letters of support, and backing from groups such as the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP.

“Many of the residents and descendants of the Gas Plant and Laurel Park neighborhoods have been gathering to renew old acquaintances, share stories and celebrate their past,” said Reese. “We have also had several meetings with Hood Design Studio, one of the landscape architectural firms associated with the redevelopment. Hood is specifically engaged to help us capture the history and incorporate it in the redevelopment. We have shared our stories which heavily influenced the ideas brought back to us.”

The Historic Gas Plant District Development plan’s targets include:

• 5,400 residential units
• 1,250 affordable/workforce housing units
• 750 hotel rooms
• 1.4 million square feet of Class A office/medical/medical office space
• 750,000 square feet of retail space, including opportunities for small businesses and a grocery
• 90,000 square feet of conference, ballroom and meeting space
• 4,000-6,000 seat concert/entertainment venue
• 14 acres of green/open space

Also included in the development is a new 30,000-35,000 capacity ballpark for the Rays, which is expected to cost $1.3 billion. The Rays will pay for more than half the cost of the ballpark and all cost overruns, which will be the focus of another City Council committee meeting in the next several weeks.

“We appreciate all of the time and effort Mayor Welch, his administration and the City Council have devoted to this agreement, and we look forward to making a positive impact in the city we love, our home,” said Tampa Bay Rays President Brian Auld. “The approach to placemaking, to community gathering, to the environment, to workforce development and job creation, to intentional equity are all best in class; the product of some of the smartest, most thoughtful, and caring people in the world working together to do something special.”

“The Historic Gas Plant District will be a magnet for activity and commerce, and a destination for recreation and relaxation,” said Tampa Bay Rays President Matt Silverman. “It will be a place where children, families, recent college graduates and senior citizens alike can all call home. Also, the generous central plaza in the heart of the district will be the gathering place for the community 365 days a year.”

“Our mission is to create a great place for St. Pete,” said Hines Senior Managing Director Michael Harrison. “Placemaking is more than combining office, apartments and retail into the same block. It is creating a place that focuses on the human experience. We believe that it is a place that embraces the local culture and is authentic. Most of all, it is about creating a place that people want to come to shop, eat, play or just hang out - whether it’s a Rays game day or a Tuesday in February.”

“We are excited that the barrier currently created by the parking lots at Tropicana Field will be transformed into a space for all to enjoy,” said Gensler Managing Partner & Principal Dawn Gunter. “It will be an open invitation to all races, ages, fans and income levels to join us at the new Historic Gas Plant District to live, work, play, thrive and heal.”

“Placemaking is a process that creates areas where all demographics want to eat, work, rest, play and learn,” said Storyn Studio for Architecture Founder and Principal Everald Colas. “The Mayor's 23 Guiding Principles establish a unique opportunity to have both design and policy work hand-in-hand. The principles create placemaking strategies that will be custom to St. Petersburg and that will serve as an exemplary case study for environmental stewardship.”

The Hines and Rays team also discussed with council members the $50 million commitment to intentional equity included in the agreement. That total includes $15 million for restorative ownership, $16.7 million for restorative employment initiatives, $7.5 million for restorative education initiatives, and $10 million toward construction of a new Woodson African American Museum of Florida.

“Our pledge of $50 million of intentional equity is not only an opportunity to address the promises unfulfilled from nearly 50 years ago, but to truly plant the seeds of growth towards a pathway of generational wealth for the citizens of South St. Petersburg,” said President & CEO of Best Source Consulting Anddrikk Frazier.

As part of the Community Benefits Agreement, the project has also added a goal of 15 percent of construction hours worked to go toward Disadvantaged Workers.

The Hines and Rays team is committed to maximizing the participation of Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) and Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) in the project. The development team has contractually pledged to achieve at least 10 percent participation from these firms. Through dedicated intentional equity programs, which are designed to help these businesses grow and scale, the team has set a long-term goal of 30 percent participation for the project as a whole. The Hines and Rays team will regularly track and publicly disclose the participation rates on a quarterly basis throughout the duration of the project.