St. Petersburg City Council approves Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment plans

The saga is finally over.

After decades of talk, the St. Petersburg City Council finally approved plans for the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment. Before the vote, council members faced hours of public comment from those both in favor of and opposed to the $6.5 billion project.

Eventually, officials voted 5-3 to guarantee at least another three decades of Rays baseball in shiny new Burg digs. The team’s current lease at Tropicana Field expires in 2027, and is planning to move into its new home the following year.

The ballpark will cost an estimated $1.3 billion, of which $430 million will come from the City of St. Pete. The only part of funding left to figure out will be determined by Pinellas County commissioners later this month. They will vote on whether to spend ~$313 million of local hotel-bed tax to fund the project.

But baseball wasn’t the only thing on the agenda. The project also includes parking garages, hotels, and office space. A new Woodson African American Museum of Florida was also approved, as were affordable housing units, and upgraded infrastructure.

Mayor Ken Welch, responding to those who raised issues like homelessness, rising living costs, and flooding risks as reasons to allocate tax dollars elsewhere, said, “you’ve got my commitment [in this] administration that this just moving to the next phase. And the promises mean nothing if we don’t get those community benefits and all those other promises moved from concept into implementation.”

Get used to the sights and sounds of construction. The full project is expected to take 20-30 years to complete.