The Tropicana Field site redevelopment project that stretches across 86 acres of publicly-owned land in the middle of downtown St. Pete, Florida, is a development opportunity unlike any other currently happening in the Southeast. Anticipation has been growing as the project was announced, and proposals were received in late January. After receiving nine proposals and releasing seven to the public, the city has now narrowed the proposals down to a shortlist of four potential Trop Site Development partners.
There was a diverse mix of local and national developers who responded to the original RFP that the City of St. Petersburg put out, however, the City selected the final four shortlisted partners based on adhering best to the criteria contained in the RFP and having a proven track record of previous large, mixed-use projects.
The four final shortlisted development teams are:
JMA Venture/Sugar Hill Community Partners — JMA Ventures is based out of San Francisco but will be working with many local organizations like Backstreet Capital. Their proposal consists of a convention center, two hotels, a ballpark, a technology campus and an 11-acre park.
Midtown Development — Midtown Development team is comprised of 15 different firms varying from across the US. Their proposal consists of smart city technologies, low/moderate income residential units, hotel and conventional center, land used for the ballpark and also $30million towards public parks.
Portman-Third Lake — Portman-Third Lake is an Atlanta, St. Pete team that proposed park and recreation space, an amphitheater, parking, a hotel and meeting space, and a 30,000 seat stadium.
Unicorp National Development — Unicorp National Development based out of Orlando has teamed up with local partners to prosose nearly 3,000 residential units, retail space, office space, a hotel and also a conference and innovation centers.
With these final four selected they have been asked to submit further details of their proposals pertaining to the RFP requirements, and will undergo a public engagement phase of the application process. For anyone looking to get involved there will be three ways for residents to provide feedback on the proposals; first is to attend a meeting (being offered virtually and in person), second is to visit a showroom that will be located in various locations downtown, and the third is to leave a comment on the City’s website (stpete.org/trop).