Cities create value by creating great neighborhoods. Why should the value the City creates benefit a single developer rather than the citizens who already own the land? Vision. Control. Value.This …
The Historic Gas Plant redevelopment will unfold over decades. Markets will change, priorities will evolve, and unexpected challenges will arise. That is why St. Petersburg should retain control of the …
The Historic Gas Plant is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a signature public park. But before deciding its size, design, or location, St. Petersburg should first answer a more fundamental …
Before deciding what should be built on the Historic Gas Plant District, St. Petersburg should decide what kind of city it wants to become. That means asking whether I-175—and every …
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 …
The debate isn’t whether one developer or two developers should redevelop the Historic Gas Plant. The real question is who should create the master plan. Drawing on lessons from successful …
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 …
Seven years after a development team was selected for St. Petersburg’s former Police Headquarters site, the only completed structure is a parking garage. What lessons should the City learn before …
The Historic Gas Plant District represents one of the largest public redevelopment opportunities in St. Petersburg’s history. This guide examines the planning, governance, housing, infrastructure, and public value questions that …
What do St. Petersburg, New York, Chicago, Denver, Austin, and other successful cities have in common? They planned first. Eleven examples show how cities shaped their future before development began.
New appraisals of the St. Petersburg Gas Plant redevelopment site raise major questions about public value, city planning, leadership, and whether the process should now be paused before irreversible decisions …
A recent Florida stadium land proposal raises a larger civic question: Should government independently determine the value of public assets before committing them to private development? This is Part 2 …
Former Mayor Rick Baker shares his perspective on planning, parks, public space, and the future redevelopment of St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District.
What happens when a city leads its own development? Denver’s Stapleton shows how planning first, setting the rules, and then bringing in developers creates stronger, long-term results.
The City of St. Petersburg is preparing to select a developer for the Gas Plant site—potentially at a steep discount. A city-led approach could preserve long-term value, control, and better …
City Council voted 6–2 to pause and plan first. So why is the Mayor moving forward anyway—and what questions still need answers?
St. Petersburg has narrowed the Gas Plant site to four proposals—but they point in fundamentally different directions. That’s not progress. It’s a signal that the city has not yet decided …
How Decisions Are Made Matters – St. Petersburg Skyline What Good Leadership Should Look Like: The Role of City Council In a recent post, I wrote about the role of …
As the St. Petersburg mayoral race begins, voters should remember they are choosing the leader of a billion-dollar organization. The question isn’t just who is running—but what kind of leadership …
On Thursday, February 5, just two days after development proposals were received by the city, the St. Petersburg City Council met and voted 6–2 in favor of a resolution calling …
St. Petersburg’s identity is rooted in the arts. As the city plans the future of the 86-acre Gas Plant site, integrating our cultural strengths isn’t optional—it’s essential to creating a …
The City’s decision to open a 30-day window for new Gas Plant proposals makes little sense. The 86-acre site deserves planning, not a race. Before entertaining more offers, St. Petersburg …
Why Stadium Subsidies Fail Communities Every Time I don’t get it – when will cities ever learn to follow the facts, not the hype, and win in the long run? …
Mayor Welch says he wants the facts about a new convention center. Here they are: if there’s real demand, private developers will step up—without a taxpayer-funded study. Let’s let the …
The Last Thing St. Pete Needs Is a Trop Extension What do very hot weather, hurricanes, Tropicana Field, the Rays, John Romano and $5 billion have to do with each …
