Prospective Trop site developer adds local firm to team

Orlando-based Unicorp National Developments Inc. has added Power Design, a prominent St. Petersburg-based subcontractor, to the team that would redevelop the 86-acre Tropicana Field site if Unicorp’s proposal, dubbed “Petersburg Park,” is chosen by the city as the best of the four remaining options for the massive project.

Lauren Permuy, Power Design’s vice president of business development, said the company has a longstanding relationship with Unicorp that, along with the company’s local presence, made the arrangement a national fit.

“We’ve been based in St. Pete since 1989,” Permuy told the Catalyst. “It’s my family’s business. I grew up here. My parents grew up here. We’re very entrenched in the city and very passionate about the direction that it’s going.”

Power Design specializes in mechanical, electrical and plumbing projects and is the third-largest employer in the Tampa Bay region. The firm has expertise in everything from large-scale multi-use projects to affordable housing, with 1,200 projects completed and more than 20 underway at present.

“Because we have a relationship and where they’re located, it was a natural fit,” Unicorp President Chuck Whittall said. “Power Design is a great addition and it shows the strength of who we will work with, along with the many other great vendors that are going to bring a lot to the table.”

Also joining the Petersburg Park lineup are construction firms Moss and KAST Construction Co. Moss, according to a news release, has built more than five million square feet of real estate projects across Tampa Bay since 2013. In St. Pete, its portfolio includes Icon Central. KAST, meanwhile, built One St. Pete, Saltaire, Hyatt Place, Snell Isle Condominium, Vantage Lofts, Waterview at Echelon City and Sunset Point Condominium.

Unicorp has also enlisted the help of experts in ecology, historical preservation and urban revitalization — Craig Huegel, Ronald Motyka and Jay Adams, respectively. Huegel will help plan for the implementation of native flora and fauna at the site, while Motyka, the former president of the Roser Park Homeowners Association, has experience with the installation of educational historic plaques in the area. Adams, the release states, has 30 years of experience in large-scale urban development and redevelopment projects across a wide variety of real estate classes.

Whittall said it’s important to assemble a highly skilled team as soon as possible because of the uncertainty surrounding the site — namely, whether the Tampa Bay Rays will work with the city and its chosen developer on a new stadium, or vacate the site when their lease expires in 2027.

“The [baseball] team is the elephant in the room,” he said, “and they won’t have discussions with anybody until someone’s awarded the contract.”

Much like St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman has done on several occasions, Whittall went on to say that the Rays need to decide sooner than later what they want to do.

“If they want a new stadium, it’s five to six years to plan out and build,” he said. “So even though it seems like their lease is up in seven years, six years, it’s really something they have to make a decision on now. So we’re going to know very quickly if they’re going to figure in or whether they’re going to go. Those decisions have to be made now.”

Whittall also called for a more collaborative process, overall, when it comes to negotiations with the Rays.

“Mayors don’t typically build stadiums and negotiate with teams,” he said. “They run cities and let developers do these types of things … bring in developers who can really sit down and figure out what it’s going to cost, where the capital will come from; that’s what we do as developers.”

Whittall said Unicorp has had no communication with the Rays, official or otherwise, and doesn’t expect to until the city chooses to move forward with one of the four proposals for the Trop site.

“It doesn’t make sense for them,” he said. “They’re not gonna want to have four different conversations with four developers. They’re gonna want one chosen and then sit down and figure out what is a good direction.”