The Tampa Bay Rays baseball team and Houston-based international real estate firm Hines have reached an agreement with the city of St. Petersburg, FL, and Pinellas County on a plan to redevelop a portion of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District for mixed uses that would include 600 units for senior living.
“Hines, in partnership with the Tampa Bay Rays, is honored to bring this transformative, city-defining project to life,” Senior Managing Director of Hines Michael Harrison said in a statement. “Our goal is to create St. Petersburg’s next great place to live, work and play for all of St. Petersburg, while also generating one of the most exciting mixed-use placemaking destinations in the world. We consider it a privilege to partner with the Rays, the city and the community to make this vision a reality.”
The proposal by Hines and the Rays was among four submitted to the city, the McKnight’s Business Daily previously reported.
The city’s 2022 request for development proposals, which had been due Dec. 2, called for 17.3 acres to be set aside for a new baseball stadium. Other requirements included affordable housing, office space, arts and recreation space. The Hines / Tampa Bay Rays plan features hotels and an entertainment venue as well.
Overall, the project will invest more than $6.5 billion in St. Petersburg over 20 years and will be the largest mixed-use development project in Tampa Bay history, according to Hines. The agreement increases the number of affordable/workforce housing units from the original proposal to 1,200, with at least half of that amount to be built on the Historic Gas Plant site. It also adds on-site affordable units for older adults.
Among Hines’ previous senior living projects include a joint venture with real estate investment trust Welltower in Manhattan as well as a MorningStar Senior Living project in Texas, where it was a co-investor.
In addition to residential units, the new development will include medical and commercial office space, retail, hotel rooms, entertainment space, a new home for the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, a ballroom and meeting spaces.
The new Tampa Rays ballpark will have a capacity of approximately 30,000 fans for baseball, with the ability to accommodate up to 35,000 people for other events. The Rays will pay for more than half of the $1.3 billion ballpark and be responsible for any cost overruns. Pinellas County and the city of St. Petersburg will combine to contribute approximately $600 million “in equal amounts,” according to the press release.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2024.
