Who Should Lead the Redevelopment?

St. Petersburg is about to make one of the most important public policy decisions in its history.

Who should lead the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District—one of the most valuable public properties our city will ever own?

What We Learned from Studying Successful Redevelopment Projects

For the past several months, HomeRunsMatter has been studying how cities across America have successfully redeveloped major public properties—and how some have not.

Our research has included successful redevelopment projects, projects that struggled, discussions with experienced planners and urban development professionals, and a review of how major public assets have been planned, managed, and developed over time.

One conclusion has consistently emerged from that research:

Cities should plan. Developers should develop.

Successful cities lead. Developers build.

The Current Approach

Mayor Ken Welch has chosen a different approach by selecting a development team before the City has established its own comprehensive vision and master plan for the Historic Gas Plant District. 

The Mayor has argued that the City has already done extensive planning and that the community has already identified its priorities: affordable housing, jobs, economic opportunity, and honoring commitments to the Historic Gas Plant community. He has said that developers are not defining the vision because “the people of St. Petersburg already have.”

I respectfully disagree. Those priorities are important goals, but they are not a master plan. They do not answer questions such as where parks should be located, how streets should connect surrounding neighborhoods, where civic spaces belong, or how the district should function as part of downtown. Those are planning decisions that, in my view, should be made by the City, with the help of a community advisory council and national planning experts, before selecting developers.

Because the City Council will not consider a final redevelopment agreement before the upcoming elections, voters have an opportunity to understand where every candidate stands before they cast their ballots.

Why the Election Matters

Before the City Council considers a final redevelopment agreement, St. Petersburg voters will elect a new mayor and two new City Council members. The primary elections will take place in mid-August, making this the right time for candidates to explain where they stand before voters begin casting their ballots.

That raises an important question:

Do the candidates agree with the current developer-led approach, or do they believe the City of St. Petersburg should lead the planning and redevelopment process before selecting developers?

The Purpose of This Series

The purpose of this series is not to advocate for or against any particular developer. It is to examine why successful cities retain leadership of the planning and redevelopment process, protect control of major public assets, and maximize their long-term value. I also hope it encourages every candidate for mayor and City Council to clearly explain where they stand before Election Day.

Vision. Control. Value.

Over the coming weeks, this series will focus on three fundamental issues that lie at the heart of the Historic Gas Plant debate.

Vision: Why the City should establish its own vision—including streets, parks, transportation, housing, public spaces, and other community priorities—before selecting developers.

Control: Why the City should retain leadership of the redevelopment process, rather than transferring responsibility for planning and redevelopment to a master developer.

Value: Why a city-led approach is more likely to protect and maximize the long-term value of one of St. Petersburg’s most important public assets for the benefit of its taxpayers.

Every Candidate Will Have an Opportunity to Respond

At the conclusion of the series, I will invite every candidate for mayor and City Council to explain where they stand on these issues. Their responses—or their decision not to respond—will be published so voters can compare their positions before the primary election.

Coming Next

The next article begins the first section of the series—Vision—by examining one question that should be answered before any redevelopment proposal moves forward:

What should be the future of I-175, and who should make that decision?

Related Reading

If you’re new to the Historic Gas Plant redevelopment debate, these articles provide additional background and context:

• Understanding the Historic Gas Plant Redevelopment Debate – A comprehensive guide to the issues surrounding the redevelopment.
• 10 Cities That Got It Right – Examples of successful city-led redevelopment projects and the lessons they offer.
• 6 Cities That Got It Wrong – What happens when major redevelopment projects fail to meet expectations.
• Why Sell Before Creating Value? – Why planning and creating value before selling public land can produce better outcomes for taxpayers.
• The Mayor Has Selected The Burg: My Perspective – Why I believe the central issue is not which developer is chosen, but who should lead the redevelopment process.