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City council approves disputed Raytheon site redevelopment
Over 1,000 mixed-rate housing units will be developed at the former Raytheon 29-acre site, which has remained vacant for many years as it is riddled with soil and water contamination.
After three hours of testimony Thursday evening, the St. Petersburg City Council unanimously approved the redevelopment of the property near the Tyrone Square Mall. Developer Les Porter’s $200 million project entails the construction of 1,058 apartments, with 318 affordable housing units, at 1501 72 St. N.
Raytheon, an aerospace and defense firm, had an office at the site and was undergoing a process to clean up the discovered contamination. In 2021, Porter purchased the site and proposed different redevelopment concepts.
The former Raytheon site. All images: City of St. Petersburg documents.
“After decades of dormancy, the time has finally come to revitalize this historically blighted, problematic property and return it to a community asset – these were the words I spoke in 2021,” recalled attorney Brian Aungst, Porter’s representative. The council previously approved the initial land use agreement to build housing, a lagoon and a sports complex at the site – plans that have since been nixed and recrafted.
The new designated affordable housing units will be split between residents earning 80% of the area median income (AMI) and those earning 120% of the AMI or lower. The units will remain affordable for at least 30 years, according to city documents. The phased development will include 1,113 long-term bicycle parking spaces and 1,788 parking spaces.
Council members and the development team highlighted how Porter could take advantage of Senate Bill 102, known as the Live Local Act, which would allow him to move forward with the development regardless of city council approval.
The law requires that local governments must authorize multifamily in this zoning if 40% of the units will be designated for residents earning 120% of the AMI or lower. Thus, the developer, without providing public notice, could develop 2,387 units with buildings reaching a height of 72 feet.
However, the team members said Porter is not pursuing those changes as the current plans are “compatible” with the neighborhood.
Elevations of the proposed apartment buildings at the former Raytheon site.
Councilmember Richie Floyd said he was nervous about the potential environmental impacts in the immediate area, but in the same breath, acknowledged how this type of housing is desperately needed in the city.
“We have to come to a healthy compromise. Mentally, do I want to give 1,000 people homes, or do I want to worry about something that may or may not happen?” fellow councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders said, sharing her pause. Figgs-Sanders said she witnessed how the residents of the Childs Park neighborhood in South St. Pete suffered illnesses that were reportedly due to the development of contaminated sites.
Greg Schultz, a senior project manager and principal at the Stantec engineering firm, assured the council that the contamination found on the Raytheon site could also be repurposed under asphalt and not be in direct contact with people.
A notice about the development was posted, and mailed to property owners living within 300 feet of the site.
The council also questioned claims from residents stating the developer was collecting signed liability waivers from residents to safeguard the team against potential lawsuits. The team stated there are no such waivers and completely denied the claim.
Councilmember Copley Gerdes, who lives 550 yards from the site, asked if the current and future residents should be concerned about the levels of contaminants present today.
“We are not having drinking water that’s contaminated, we are not having contact with the soil,” one of the engineering team members reiterated, also stating how the site has relatively low levels of contamination, which are commonly detected in soil throughout urban environments.
There will be multiple management systems, and the water for irrigation will be sourced from the city.
Sean Cashen, the owner of Gulf Coast Consulting, said the group is working with Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to review the stormwater and infrastructure systems.
Councilmember Brandy Gabbard highlighted how the site, which was used for industrial purposes when there was an active rail line, is not viable for an Amazon warehouse or any other similar development.
“We don’t have a choice,” she said. “The only option is to create a thousand sum units.”
Gabbard said there’s a misleading narrative of how affordable housing devalues housing values and inherently increases the crime rate.
“When I weigh the pros and cons, I have to trust my gut and people here to lead us down this path to look at this development and say it’s the best for this land.”
Over 60 residents registered as opponents of the projects and 13 were in favor of pushing it forward. The city also received an online petition that garnered over 1,400 signatures from additional opponents.
Although the soil issue was a recurring theme throughout the hearing, residents raised concerns about the limited parking at the site, water run-off, the height of the proposed four-story apartment buildings and the increased traffic it would draw near Azalea Park.
The representatives and team said there’s adequate parking and said the access to the site was designed to address safety issues from the adjoining roadways.
Larry from Lealman
July 25, 2023at8:02 am
Dan Peña: You can get money and save the rainforests, you can get money and save the Wagon Wheel Flea Market land, you can get money and save The Tides Golf Club, you can get money and revitalize Lealman, you can get money and save the Raytheon site. But without money you can’t do crap.
Larry from Lealman
July 25, 2023at7:44 am
It obviously was not that important to the local residents….. no information on the neighborhood putting money together to buy this property. A lot of the complaining dealing with these developmental progresses such as the refining of the church near Northwest Elementary would be solved if a complainer bought the property or properties in question.
Donna Kostreva
July 24, 2023at5:55 pm
Here is a link to an article describing the cancer causing agents in this area. It is a really discussing plan to sell this land to developers!!!
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2009/04/30/raytheon-plans-to-neutralize-toxic-plume/?outputType=amp
Romy D.
July 24, 2023at5:02 am
Apartments… Really??
Why do you think a Multi-billion dollar corporation would pack up and leave that very same spot… that some would like for the public to raise their families there?
WE SHAMEFULLY DISAGREE!
Emerald Cromwell
July 23, 2023at12:24 pm
https://www.moffitt.org/taking-care-of-your-health/taking-care-of-your-health-story-archive/one-in-a-million-not-a-solo-act/
John H
July 23, 2023at9:34 am
11 story buildings. Is that accurate?
Donna Kostreva
July 22, 2023at5:45 pm
Our city desperately needs better leadership. The land has been fallow for decades, for a reason. Doesn’t anyone research anything at City Hall?
Mike
July 22, 2023at4:56 pm
This tells you everything you need to know. The city council only wants their cut. They don’t care about communities. They don’t care about potential residents. They have zero foresight of problems which any reasonable person can envision.
Affordable housing is a lie. There is nothing affordable about any of this. The neighborhood doesn’t want it. The council is selling the residents and this entire town down the contaminated river. “Have to go with my gut” “not worrying about something that may or may not happen”. You can’t make this stuff up.
Donna Kostreva
July 22, 2023at3:56 pm
Reminds me of the apartments built over highway overpasses in NYC when it was finally discovered that the children living in those apartments had learning disabilities from lead poisoning from auto exhaust !
Each city council member voting in favor of this debacle should be made to live on the second floor units, the first floor so contaminated that it is suitable only for parking. Shame on you. Millionaires are not going to be buying these units, only the disadvantaged.