What Midtown’s plans look like with and without the Rays (new renderings)

Miami-based developer Midtown Development has been selected to redevelop the Tropicana Field site and will do so with or without the stadium.

Earlier this week, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman selected the Midtown Development team to redevelop the 86-acre Tropicana Field site while the fate of the Tampa Bay Rays is unknown as their lease will end in 2027. 

However, Midtown Development’s latest renderings reveal what its plan would look like in the scenario the Rays would continue to stay at the Top site and also without it. Recently, the Rays have engaged in discussions with Tampa officials regarding the possibility of building a stadium in Ybor. 

“You have to work well with others in projects like these. We expect the Rays to have a lot of input if they decide to stay in St. Petersburg,” Midtown Development Partner Alex Vadia previously told the St. Pete Catalyst. 

RELATED STORY: Mayor Kriseman: Why I chose Midtown Development for the Trop site

Midtown’s original plan proposes space for a stadium near its current site, between Booker Creek and 16th Street, if the Rays were to stay in St. Pete. 

If the ballpark did not exist, there would be over 25.5 acres of green space.

Midtown’s entire plan calls for new office space, a mix of tiered affordable housing options, a hotel, retail development and an expanded Booker Creek and designated areas for artists.

It also includes 36 acres of park space. 

The current plan totals an investment ranging from $2.7 to $3.8 billion.

What the site will look like with the Rays: 

Midtown Development’s rendering of the Trop site with the stadium. All renderings were provided by the City of St. Petersburg/Midtown Development.

What the site would look like without the Rays:

A rendering of what Midtown Development’s plan would look like without the stadium.

The new renderings were unveiled last week after the announcement. Additional renderings were also provided of a children’s park and the retail component. 

A rendering of Midtown Development’s children’s park and outdoor gathering spaces.

Vadia said that there are four pieces to any mixed-use development that make it highly successful and would be part of Creekside: a dog park, a unique coffee shop, a unique area for kids and a marketplace.

He doesn’t want segregated neighborhoods within the development, Vadia said. “We want to have a neighborhood where you don’t know where it begins and where it ends.”

A rendering of Midtown Development’s Creekside Banyan Village, which features micro-retail.The Creekside Banyan Village will be surrounded by banyan trees and will have art that utilizes recycled materials.

Vadia said Midtown Development may update specific components of the plan over time as the group works with the city. 

For example, the original plan calls for 100,000 square feet of spec office space, but Vadia recently said Midtown would add an additional 100,000 square feet of spec space among other additions. 

“We may add new elements to our plan, but our formula doesn’t change when it goes in front of one mayor to another and then another,” he said.

Under Midtown Development’s proposal, it would purchase the site for $60 million and would ask for $75 million in tax-increment funding for infrastructure. Midtown would be responsible for more than $94 million in public improvements.

While the city will work with Midtown Development to form a development agreement, the other finalist, the Sugar Hill team, is still interested in becoming involved with the project.