Connect with us

Thrive

Welch: Moffitt still intends to come to St. Pete

Veronica Brezina

Published

on

Renderings of Moffitt's planned campus in St. Petersburg. All renderings are conceptual and were presented during the CBA Advisory Committee's first public meeting. Images: City of St. Petersburg records and Moffitt Cancer Center.

St. Petersburg city council members and Mayor Ken Welch are hopeful Moffitt will bring a cancer center to the city – despite the mayor’s move to kill the initial Moffitt/TPA Group deal.

“We did not lose Moffitt. I was in conversations with their chair, the CEO. They still intend to be here,” Welch said during a Thursday city council meeting. “TPA was a totally separate part of that proposal that weighed it down. If it was just Moffitt, I think it would have a much different outcome.”

Welch rejected Moffitt Cancer Center and TPA Group’s $5 million offer and proposal to purchase the 4.59-acre site at 800 1st Ave. S. in downtown St. Pete. The proposal entailed building a 75,000-square-foot cancer center operated by Moffitt, and the Atlanta-based TPA Group would then bring a 30-story residential tower with a portion of affordable housing units, a potential 14-story hotel and a parking garage.

Councilmembers highlighted how the Moffitt/TPA proposal was the first project to go before the newly created Community Benefits Agreement (CBAC) Advisory Committee. During multiple CBAC meetings, the committee raised concerns about the development group’s limited amount of affordable housing and the monetary offer for acquiring the site, recommending that the mayor should negotiate a feasible deal with them.

Welch asked TPA to bump up the number of affordable housing units to at least 30% from the initially proposed 10% offer. TPA ultimately agreed to raise it to 17.5%.

Director of Economic and Workforce Development Brian Caper said the city told TPA they were open to alternatives, including a different site and payment options, but the 17.5% was essentially a “take it or leave it” offer.

The other glaring issue was TPA’s unsolicited offer of $5 million to acquire the site that was appraised at $24.1 million.

“No way I could look at numbers and say it was justified,” Welch said. “This deal did not make financial sense to me.”

He explained the $19.1 million gap for a small percentage of affordable housing couldn’t be entertained “nor was it clear that the vision of this city, council and administration was to have a hotel and 10% affordable and workforce housing,” Welch said.

Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders also commented, stating Moffitt was “basically held hostage by TPA.”

The city hasn’t outlined immediate steps concerning the future of the site, but the staff is researching options and wants to continue to engage with Moffitt.

“I look at the Moffitt Cancer Center and I put it at the same level as a Mayo Clinic or a Cleveland Clinic. I’ve never had cancer before, but a lot of people who deal with that horrible disease want to go to a place that specializes in cancer,” councilmember Ed Montanari said. “They were going to build a 75,000-square-foot facility that was going to be a treatment and research facility. Part of that development included a 375-unit apartment building, a 200-room hotel and the parking structure. To lose all that because we couldn’t come to an agreement on affordable housing is a huge loss for our city.”

He highlighted the jobs the entire project would’ve created – 3,500 temporary construction jobs, 200 jobs through Moffitt, and 50 jobs through the hotel along with the taxes it would generate.

“Affordable housing is a priority for our city, but it’s not the only priority and good jobs solve a lot of those problems. Bringing Moffitt Cancer Center here to our community is a big deal. You [Welch] mentioned you are still talking to Moffitt and there’s an opportunity to still have them in St. Petersburg. I hope that comes true,” Montanari said. “I didn’t like hearing this deal was terminated because of affordable housing.”

Councilmember Copley Gerdes said he understands the decision to terminate the deal with the large subsidiary, but also said from a personal standpoint, his wife endured cancer treatments for a year and said the concept of having a hotel attached is the future of health care, especially as treatments progress and it takes an emotional toll on patients commuting from their home to the center.

Councilmember Gina Driscoll recommended that the city should craft a request for proposals (RFP) to outline exactly what the city desires for the site, rather than potentially receiving unsolicited proposals.

The site is currently vacated with the city having a 75% ownership stake. The city uses the site for parking.

UPC Insurance has a long-term lease with the city, controlling a portion of the site.

Continue Reading
5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Avatar

    Alan DeLisle

    September 10, 2022at7:54 am

    You have to value the benefits vs. the purchase price. It’s called public-private partnerships. Great cities do it best. I don’t know the math that is being used now but our math had the value of the jobs plus the value of the public parking plus the value of the affordable housing exceeding the gap in the purchase price. And, of course, it is impossible to value world-class cancer treatment close by. A hotel for medical tourism is standard operating procedure in a case like this. To say they will be in St Pete anyway is risky business. Sit and have honest discussions about values!

  2. Avatar

    Darden Rice

    September 10, 2022at7:24 am

    1. You can’t hold them to the full $25m highest and best use value of the property if the Community Benefits Agreement precludes highest and best use.
    2. We can’t just build our way out of this affordable housing crisis. Good jobs are the other end of the equation.
    3. We should ask any cancer/medical community center that would serve south Pinellas County to show that they are prepared to help us meet better outcomes with health disparities. Not word salads, not consultant-speak, but real plans to address how they would close the gap in disparities.
    4. The Community Benefits Advisory Council is an important commission. Watching this meeting dealing with this project was a bit painful in places. We need to do better overall.

  3. Avatar

    Jonathan Ginsberg

    September 9, 2022at4:46 pm

    Looks to me like Mayor Welch is looking out for the best interests of the city. I bet that Moffitt comes to St Pete – and more housing options will be made available, as part of the development. Win-win!

  4. Avatar

    steve sullivan

    September 9, 2022at2:51 pm

    Hedid the right thing to go any other route is a give away. Moffitt will still build in St.Pete, so you are still getting a cancer treatment center then the city can now have 100% affordable and workforce housing with amenities. You get everything you guys wanted. Oh, excuse me you didn’t want the workforce or affordable housing, just more luxury condo’s

  5. Avatar

    judytoo

    September 9, 2022at1:19 pm

    Ken Welch is short-sighted and single-minded. Always has been. Elections really do have consequences, even in little cities in Florida.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By posting a comment, I have read, understand and agree to the Posting Guidelines.

The St. Pete Catalyst

The Catalyst honors its name by aggregating & curating the sparks that propel the St Pete engine.  It is a modern news platform, powered by community sourced content and augmented with directed coverage.  Bring your news, your perspective and your spark to the St Pete Catalyst and take your seat at the table.

Email us: spark@stpetecatalyst.com

Subscribe for Free

Share with friend

Enter the details of the person you want to share this article with.