Massive tech, manufacturing hub’s redevelopment moves forward

Pinellas County officials have selected a consultancy firm to help discern the ideal future for a 96-acre technology and manufacturing campus in Largo.

RTX Corp., formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, currently anchors the Young-Rainey STAR (science, technology and research) Center at 7887 Bryan Dairy Road. The complex is home to over 21 businesses with more than 1,700 employees.

However, outdated infrastructure has hindered business expansion and recruitment. Dr. Cynthia Johnson, director of Pinellas County Economic Development, provided an update on long-discussed redevelopment plans at a Jan. 23 workshop.

“The STAR Center is a 69-year-old facility with great redevelopment potential,” Johnson said. “So, we reference it as our 96 acres of opportunity.”

The sprawling campus is at 7887 Bryan Dairy Road in Largo. Photo: Pinellas County Government.

The U.S. Department of Energy operated the expansive site – used to manufacture nuclear bomb components – until 1994. The agency sold the campus to Pinellas County in 1995, and it now operates as a special revenue fund.

The county receives about $4.5 million annually from leasing the 89% occupied facility. Its website notes that the STAR Center generates an estimated $145 million in direct earnings.

“The STAR Center program’s mission is to offer competitive production and manufacturing space for lease and brownfield redevelopment opportunities to targeted industries with a focus on creating jobs and stimulating economic growth,” states the website.

County officials sought to sell the aging complex, then valued at $19.1 million, in 2015. They subsequently scrapped those plans and decided to redevelop the site in November 2018.

Pinellas will reimagine the STAR Center through the state’s P3 program. The initiative allows local governments to establish public-private partnerships to improve existing facilities.

Legislation enacted in July 2013 states that “at the end of a comprehensive agreement with a private partner, the public entity may use the project’s revenues to pay for operation and maintenance of the facility.”

Johnson noted the county received a $135,000 Duke Energy grant to assess outdated campus utilities. She said the study should conclude in February.

The Florida Department of Commerce also awarded the county a $250,000 grant in November 2024. Johnson said the funding would “help us really define what a P3 developer would need to have in order to come and redevelop our location.”

A graphic from Oct. 2023 highlighting then-leased buildings (green) and areas for redevelopment (yellow). Image: Pinellas County Government.

Commissioners must approve the award at a meeting in February. Johnson said PCED would use the money to hire JLL Inc., a global real estate and investment management company.

She said the firm would provide a detailed market analysis and recommendations for a transaction structure to discern “how we should move forward to make it the best economic development opportunity for our citizens.” Johnson would share that information with the commission before drafting a request for proposals (RFP).

“That RFP is what we’re going to use to attract the right P3 developer to come and redevelop the site,” she added.

Johnson said the county has until the end of June to spend the $250,000 grant. JLL has provided initial scope of work information, and she expressed confidence in the firm’s ability to help draft an ideal RFP.

In October 2023, Johson told commissioners that the redevelopment would not include active ground leases encompassing 27 of the property’s 96 acres. At the time, she said PCED would develop a new building for RTX (Raytheon), which occupies the most space under an agreement that terminates in 2038.

“We have the opportunity to preserve industrial space we control now – that is something in the forefront,” Johnson said in October 2023. “We need to keep it as an employment center and not sell it to the highest bidder and lose all that opportunity.”