ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Pete City Council is releasing some last-minute changes to the Rays Stadium deal and the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. It has also postponed a workshop and vote on the deal.
One of the new requirements is a fresh food and produce retailer, or grocery store, that must be at least 10 thousand square feet. In the original agreement, the grocery store was considered a development goal. Now it's a requirement.
That's likely due to concerns from council members about access to fresh food. The caveat to that is the store wouldn't have to be built until 2045. Some other changes requested by the council include a requirement to build a daycare, child care or preschool facility that would be able to service the families who will live there. That would need to be in place by 2035.
While these dates may seem far away, developing this entire district along with building the stadium will take years.
The development already includes A minimum required 600 affordable housing units, although they are promising to at least double that, an African American History Museum, along with an entire entertainment district of restaurants, shops and hotels.
The entire cost of the development right now is estimated at $1.3 billion. The city of St. Petersburg would put up nearly $287 million, while Pinellas County would contribute about $312 million. The Rays would cover the rest.
The city will hold a workshop on July 16 and a vote at its regular meeting on July 18. Pinellas County has not scheduled a vote yet.
The Rays are hoping to get this agreement wrapped up quickly so they can begin construction on the new stadium in 2025 in order to be open in time for the 2028 baseball season.