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Welch selects Gas Plant developers; Council holds the golden shovel
“When these folks move in, we are restarting a neighborhood.”
Mayor Ken Welch officially announced his preferred pick for the Historic Gas Plant redevelopment this morning: Blake Investment Partners (The Burg Bid) and Pinellas Housing Authority – but preferences aren’t certainties, and the final say will hinge on City Council’s approval, and some council members, including mayoral challenger Brandi Gabbard, are expected to resist the decision.
Under the shade of live oaks at Campbell Park, beside which I-275 redlines the south side from Tropicana Field and downtown, the stadium’s tilted white dome popping over the highway horizon, Welch told attendees: “The quality of the competition [between the four final developers] will make this even more impactful.”
The impact: Blake Investment Partners will develop a mixed-use project that includes residential housing, retail, office space, hotels, parks and other community amenities designed to create a walkable neighborhood.
In tandem, Pinellas County Housing Authority will redevelop a nearby city-owned parking lot into a seven-story, 94-unit affordable senior housing community with community gathering spaces and direct access to the Pinellas Trail.
Neil Brickfield, Executive Director of the Pinellas Housing Authority, noted that historically displaced people from the Gas Plant District will be given tenant preference.
“We aren’t building apartments; we’re building homes,” said Brickfield, “and we’re not doing it on an empty lot; we are doing it on neighborhood land. We aren’t going to be moving people in – when these folks move in, we are restarting a neighborhood.”
According to Thompson Whitney Blake of The Burg Bid, the Woodson African American Museum relocation site will be the first priority to break ground in homage to the predominantly Black residents who were displaced for the development of Tropicana Field.
Welch noted that while two developers have been picked, he’s emphasizing the affordable housing project as the most urgent need to satisfy the city. “My intent is to move forward with PCHA separately and more immediately,” Welch said.
Following the event, Denise Young, advisor within the Blake Partnership, told the Catalyst, “We are humbled and look forward to finally moving forward on this project.”
But also swiftly following Welch’s selection for the redevelopment deal, Councilmember Brandi Gabbard urgently re-insisted that the Gas Plant not be sold to a single developer, signaling that Welch’s picks may face opposition when presented to City Council.
In a prepared statement, Gabbard said: “True stewardship means exploring alternative models, like long-term ground leases or dividing the site into manageable parcels under a master plan that the city itself develops and directs. Retaining public ownership ensures that St. Petersburg dictates the terms of development and guarantees that community benefits remain a permanent priority, not a temporary afterthought.”
While a potential single no-vote from Gabbard won’t totally torpedo the process, there is already precedent suggesting unease among additional members of the City Council. Earlier this year, Council voted 6-2 on a nonbinding resolution asking the mayor to pause the developer selection process until additional planning, including the ULI study, was completed.
Gabbard seems to be unsatisifed with how the study was handled, arguing: “This study was initiated by City Council under my leadership, but it seems has been hijacked by the administration in a possible attempt to control the outcomes. I will continue to work with ULI and stakeholders that have come to the table to ensure, on behalf of City Council, that this independent evaluation of the site stays just that; independent and free of influence for political gain or developer benefit.”
Further complicating the matter is that only two sitting City Councilmembers, Copley Gerdes and Deborah Figgs-Sanders, have openly endorsed Welch’s reelection campaign, leaving enough uncertainty about where the vote on Gas Plant redevelopment will ultimately land.
While Welch declared his preferences, City Council must approve and binding agreements with the developers penned before a golden shovel can be stomped into the dirt of St. Pete’s most valuable and contentious property.
“It’s been four decades,” Welch insisted, “and it’s time to move forward.”
Gabbard was not immediately available to answer clarifying questions.
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Zachary Fritz
July 4, 2026at3:29 pm
60% of survey respondents voted we should wait.
I recently conducted an unscientific poll on Nextdoor which garnered 1,500+ views and fifty-five respondents.
58% of residents who responded stated we should wait until after the upcoming election to decide on the 86 acres. Only
9% said we should move forward now.
https://nextdoor.com/p/hMQjKkX87MpN?utm_source=share&extras=Mjc0NjA2NjE%3D&share_platform=10&utm_campaign=1783196673137&share_action_id=109ca207-c974-4878-abc9-b4fee8145313
S. Rose Smith-Hayes
July 3, 2026at12:37 pm
I support Foundation Vision Partners because the City retains ownership of the land. In addition , it gives opportunities for Taxpayers and Residents to be involved in what goes on the property. I do Not support selling the property. I am a descendant and I have no desire to live there unless it is in a house, not an apartment.
Ryan Todd
July 2, 2026at8:57 pm
Lord, deliver us from Ken Welch and his housing projects. If he and Blake Development Partners have their way the Trop will become the next Pruitt-Igoe.
We cannot take the economic success the city has had during the last building cycle for granted; Uptown was infested with crack cocaine not too long ago. Welch and Blake Development Partners are doing their best to erase the progress St. Pete has made.
Judy Too
July 2, 2026at8:30 pm
King Welch is determined to get his way, there will be plenty of pressure in the back rooms of city hall. He got his way on the very disadvantageous deal with the Rays/Hines. We were saved only by the fortuitous sale of the Rays and their departure.
Welch is driven to complete his agenda and get what he hopes to be reparations for those who were displaced from the Gas Plant slum.
Let us not forget that he lived there, his father was on the city council, Ken Welch voted in favor of the development. Those who were moved were compensated and provided with better housing.
The city council’s approval of this scheme, which will cost taxpayers dearly with subsidies and infrastructure, will always be remembered as yet another boondoggle by amateurs making ill fated decisions.
Judy Too
July 3, 2026at3:14 pm
My mistake, his father is David W@elch.
Judy Too
July 3, 2026at3:14 pm
My mistake, his father is David W@elch.
JAMES GILLESPIE
July 2, 2026at3:43 pm
gabbard wanting more input and study from uli makes sense as the project is so important to the southside and entire city. i also believe that former living residents and existing residents/business need some clear voice.
Tom Jefferson
July 2, 2026at3:33 pm
You’re all forgetting that Pinellas County owns the land, not the city. The County commission also has to approve this – and they won’t.
Hal Freedman
July 4, 2026at1:17 am
Tom Jefferson: when the Rays leave, the land reverts to the City. The County owns it while the Rays are there to avoid property taxes.
Alan DeLisle
July 2, 2026at2:01 pm
Welch has proved that voters should have no trust in his economic development decisions. This is a flat out disaster.
For the best site in the South and maybe the country, he has selected developers with no experience in managing the potential, complications, and nuances of such a large and challenging site, the most important land in St Pete history. He risked everything for the Rays and now he is risking everything for a hope and a prayer.
Council please kill this nonsense.