Committee shortlists five for Gas Plant civil engineering

Five engineering firms hoping to land the civil engineering work for the proposed Historic Gas Plant redevelopment were chosen Friday by a committee from St. Petersburg’s Engineering and Capital Improvement department.

The five firms were chosen from a list of 10 that had submitted responses to the city’s Request For Proposal (RFP).

The chosen firms, in order of points received from the committee:

• Stantec, which has offices in Tampa, Clearwater and Sarasota among its 400 offices worldwide. Stantec was cited by the commission for its work with inner-city infrastructure and public sector projects. “I have the highest confidence in this team,” said Commissioner Catherine Corcoran.
• Wade Trim, based in Detroit, includes among its 21 U.S. locations one in downtown Tampa. “The quality of their work is impeccable,” said Commissioner Diana Smillova. “They totally get the meaning of the project to this community.”
• Langan, with offices in Tampa and St. Pete among its footprint in 17 U.S. states and five international locations. Langan was cited for work on the Miami Dolphins’ stadium and University Mall in Tampa, as well as a prior relationship with Hines, the developer partnering with the Tampa Bay Rays, the city and Pinellas County on the redevelopment.
• Kimley-Horn, with offices in 33 states and Puerto Rico, including locations in Tampa and St. Pete. The committee was impressed with the firm’s work on Truist Park in Atlanta and Water Street in Tampa, as well as prior experience with the Rays/Hines team.
• Clearview Land Design of Tampa. “It’s good to hear positive comments from the city,” said Clearview Engineer Matt Goolsby, who attended the meeting. “We’re a small local firm trying to be involved wherever we can. It’ll be good to have a shot at it.”

The five firms will make presentations with Q&A Friday, Jan. 26 starting at 8 a.m. After choosing its finalists today, the committee discussed what it’ll be looking for in the presentations:

• Progress reports – including some already completed, so that the committee would know how far along the firms are – on projects cited in the applications.
• What percentage of a cited project’s contracted cost is it responsible for?
• What are a company’s strengths and how will those play into the needs for the Gas Plant redevelopment?

The five firms that did not receive enough points were: Florida Design Consultants; Osborn; Land & Water Engineering Science; David Mason & Associates; and Vickstrom Engineering Services Inc.

Others on the committee included Sean Manson and Tolly Krusen of Hines, and Bill Wiener of the Rays, as well as two members of the city’s procurement department.

There were no public comments made at the hearing, or submitted in advance.

Community benefits hearings are taking place each Tuesday in January on the Gas Plant’s 20-year, $6.5 billion redevelopment, with an anticipated vote by City Council over the next few months.

The proposed mixed-use development on the 86-acre tract will be built in three stages and include housing – affordable and otherwise – plus retail and entertainment facilities. A new $1.3 billion stadium for the Rays, to replace Tropicana Field, is scheduled to be ready for the 2028 Major League Baseball season.