As reported by St. Pete Rising, two downtown St. Petersburg properties totaling just 1.8 acres sold for $32.5 million—about $18 million per acre.
That price didn’t happen by accident. It reflects the value of property within a thriving urban neighborhood where streets, utilities, parks, public spaces, businesses, housing, and decades of public and private investment have already created a place where people want to live, work, and invest.
That’s why these 1.8 acres recently sold for $32.5 million. Buyers weren’t just purchasing land—they were purchasing a place whose value had already been created.
The Historic Gas Plant District Can Create Similar Value
Now imagine what the Historic Gas Plant District, just a few blocks away, could become—and what its individual development sites could be worth—if the City first creates the vision, lays out the streets, builds the parks, installs the infrastructure, and reconnects the district to the rest of downtown. It creates the same kind of place where people want to live, work, and invest. Private developers then compete to build individual projects within that framework, purchasing sites after the value has been created.
That is the approach used successfully in cities across the country.
St. Petersburg Is Considering the Opposite Sequence
Instead of creating value, the Mayor has said he intends to select one of two developers and, subject to City Council approval, transfer development rights for the entire 86-acre district for less than $300 million. (There is a third proposal, but it does not seem the Mayor is seriously considering it.)
Under either proposal, the City would be obligated to pay for the streets, parks, utilities, and other public improvements – estimated cost – $300 million.
Who Captures the Value?
Under the Mayor’s Proposal
The City would pay to create the neighborhood by building the streets, parks, utilities, and other public improvements.
One developer would then control approximately 60 acres of developable sites (after allowing for streets, parks, and other public uses) and could sell or develop those sites over time.
No one knows what those sites will ultimately be worth. But if values eventually approached those seen just a few blocks away, the developable land could be worth well over $1 billion.
Under a City-Led Approach
The City would first create the neighborhood and then offer individual development sites through competitive proposals.
Instead of transferring that future value to a single developer, the City would have the opportunity to capture much more of the value its planning and public investment helped create—and invest those proceeds in parks, infrastructure, affordable housing, workforce development, and other public priorities.
Why This Matters to Every Resident
The City has one opportunity to maximize the value of one of its largest public assets. If it creates the neighborhood first, it creates value that can later be invested in parks, infrastructure, housing, workforce development, programs for children and families, and other public priorities.
Every additional dollar of value the City creates and captures can be invested back into St. Petersburg.
Our community faces enormous needs: aging sewer and stormwater systems, affordable housing, neighborhood improvements, parks, workforce development, programs for children and families, and many other priorities. The State is also considering changes that could further pressure local government finances.
If thoughtful planning creates more valuable development sites, the public—not private developers—should benefit from that additional value.
A Better Way Forward
The city doesn’t need a master developer to decide where the streets go, where the parks belong, or how the neighborhood should connect to downtown.
And once the city creates that public framework, individual development sites can be offered through competitive proposals, allowing developers to compete while paying market value for those sites.
The Mayor Should Pause
The Mayor should pause the current selection process. The City should lead the planning effort, create the public framework, and only then decide how and when individual development sites should be offered to private developers.
Question for Readers
Why would St. Petersburg sell its most valuable public asset before it reaches its full potential value?
Related Reading
- Understanding the Historic Gas Plant Redevelopment Debate (Cornerstone Guide) – A complete overview of the redevelopment proposals, process, and key issues.
- The Best Cities Plan First – How successful cities create a public vision, build the framework, and then invite developers to compete.
- Six Redevelopment Deals That Didn’t Work – Lessons from projects where the sequence or structure of redevelopment created long-term problems.
- After Seven Years, a Parking Garage – What the former St. Petersburg Police Headquarters redevelopment suggests about relying on a single master developer.
- A Proposal for a St. Petersburg Advisory Council – How independent planning expertise and public participation could strengthen redevelopment decisions.
