Pinellas County Approves Hines' $6.5B Gas Plant District

The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in Pinellas County has cleared the way this week for the Historic Gas Plant District development in St. Petersburg, a massive $6.5B mixed-use project that will be built around a new MLB ballpark.

The BCC approved in a 5-2 vote on Tuesday a partnership with the City of St. Petersburg, the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines. That will include a new downtown stadium for the MLB club surrounded by 5,400 residential units, a 6,000-seat entertainment venue, 750 hotel rooms, 1.4M SF of office space, medical and commercial space and 750K SF of retail.

The development also will include a new Woodson African American Museum of Florida.

The county’s approval comes two weeks after the St. Petersburg City Council approved a 30-year development agreement for the project, which will be built on the 86-acre site of Tropicana Field, the Ray’s venue since 1998.

The project, originally submitted by Hines in response to a 2022 RFP issued by the city, is known as the Historic Gas Plant District for two immense natural gas storage cylinders that towered over the neighborhood until they were torn down to make way for the Rays’ stadium.

The redo will surround a new 30,000-seat MLB ballpark with parking for 14,000 vehicles. According to the development agreement announced in September, the Rays will pay for more than half of the cost of the new stadium.

Construction on the new ballpark, to be located just east of Tropicana Field, will begin in January 2025 and be completed in time for Opening Day 2028.

The Rays will pay $700M toward the $1.3B ballpark, with St. Petersburg contributing $287.5M and Pinellas County contributing $312.5M. The team will pay for any construction cost overruns, and it will be responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of the ballpark.

The stadium will be owned by Pinellas County, and the Rays have committed to a 30-year lease, with two five-year renewals. There also is a separate non-relocation agreement that commits the Rays to remain in St. Petersburg for the duration of the lease.

The pavilion-style design of the ballpark will include a fixed roof that peaks over the playing field and slopes toward the street.

St. Petersburg will contribute a maximum of $130M toward infrastructure including roads, drainage and sewers for the Historic Gas Plant District Development. The partnership between Houston-based Hines the Rays will contribute more than $51M toward infrastructure and cover any additional infrastructure costs.

“Hines is thrilled to join the Rays in this model public-private partnership to create the largest mixed-use development in the southeast United States,” said Michael Harrison, Hines senior managing director, in a statement.