The St. Pete City Council will finally get a say in the proposed Rays stadium

It’s been at least 17 years of back-and-forth proposals and eight months since a deal was outlined for a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.

On Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council will hold its first workshop on the proposed redevelopment of Tropicana Field.

The proposal outlines how the 65-hectare estate surrounding the stadium would be transformed. Hotels, restaurants, affordable housing and a new African-American history museum were designed for what is now a sea of ​​asphalt parking lots.

Council members will be able to comment on a 351-page document outlining community benefits, following presentations by Mayor Ken Welch and the Hines/Rays team, which would oversee the project.

The costs would be split between the Rays and the city and Pinellas County, which would be responsible for about $600 million. Some of that would come through taxes on hotel stays.

The council plans to meet again on May 23 to discuss the $1.3 billion stadium. The Pinellas County Commission has not yet scheduled their meetings.

Heaven Lebron

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WUSF public media

The plans call for a 30,000-seat pavilion-style stadium, with three seating levels and walls that open to let in fresh air in cooler weather.

The Rays have a lease on their current home at Tropicana Field until 2027.

The inclusion of affordable housing and opportunities for low-income residents has been consistently touted by Mayor Ken Welch. He worked as a child in his grandfather’s lumber yard at Fifth Avenue and 16th Street South. That area of ​​the gas plant – named for the gigantic natural gas tanks located there – was bulldozed in the 1980s to make way for what would become Tropicana Field.

“My story is a story of thousands who lived, worked and worshiped in this place, in this neighborhood,” Welch said in 2023. “That community was promised a stake in the economic benefits that would flow from the redevelopment of this land . And the agreement we have made with the Hines-Rays Group will finally deliver on that promise.”

Here are some details of the proposed development agreement:

Overview: Community Benefits

• Intentional equality
• Economic development
• Certified companies
• Disadvantaged workers
• Woodson African American Museum of Florida
• Sustainability & Open Space
• Childcare and transportation
• Monitoring and compliance
• Replacement obligations

Development plan – Goal development

• Residential: 5,400 units (including 600 senior housing)
• Affordable/Workforce Housing: 1,250 units (at least 600 units must be on-site)
• Hotel: 750 keys
• Class A Office/Medical/Medical Office: 1,400,000 gross square feet
• Retail, including opportunities for small retail businesses: 750,000 gross square meters (including 20,000 gross square meters of supermarket)
• Entertainment: 100,000 gross square feet
• Civic/Museum Use: 50,000 gross square feet
• Conference, ballroom and meeting space: 90,000 gross square feet
• Daycare, childcare, kindergarten or similar facility
• Library and/or incubator space
• Open space: 14 hectares

Minimal development

• Residential: 3,800 units
• Affordable/Workforce Housing: 1,250 units (at least 600 units must be on-site)
• Commercial, office and retail uses; Use of arts, recreation and entertainment; Education, public administration, healthcare and institutional use:
  • 1,000,000 gross square feet, of which a minimum of 500,000 gross square feet will be Class A office/medical/medical office, and a minimum of 50,000 gross square feet will be civil/museum
• Hotel: 400 keys
• Conference, ballroom and meeting space: 50,000 gross square feet
• Open space: 10 hectares (i.e. the initial open space)
• At least one daycare center, childcare center, kindergarten or similar facility

Affordable and Workforce Housing – Units, AMI (area median income), and site requirements

• 1,250 Affordable/employee housing units, consisting of the following:
• 120% AMI: 500 units
• 100% AMI: 100 units
• 80% AMI: 350 units
• 60% AMI: 300 units
• There must be a minimum of 600 units on site, with at least 100 units having an 80% AMI or lower and 100 units having a 60% AMI or lower.
• At least 100 of the 600 units on site will be age-restricted independent living (55+) and must begin construction before December 31, 2028.

Community Benefits – Sustainability and open space
Hines/Rays is committed to the following sustainability initiatives:

• Focused on sustainable construction methods;
• Restoration and Protection of Booker Creek;
• Promotion of active transport and improved air quality;
• Waste management and recycling; And
• Designing office and residential developments to meet LEED, WELL Building Standard, Energy Star or other market-based standards.

Hines and Tampa Bay Rays

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Politeness