ST. PETE, Fla. — After months of debate, the City of St. Pete finally decided on a developer for the Historic Gas Plant District.
Mayor Ken Welch announced his pick of two developers: The Burg Bid Proposal led by developer Thomas Whitney Blake and the Pinellas County Housing Authority.
WATCH: St. Pete Mayor chooses developers for Historic Gas Plant District
It's a decision that means so much to many, including Mozelle Davis.
"I'm grateful. I don't think I would have wanted to grow up any place else. It was a city within a city," said Davis.
Davis said the Historic Gas Plant holds memories.
"This was an area that I visited, I had friends, I came to get my sewing done, and it was where I saw a number of persisting life problems. Walking through here to go downtown, getting the cinders from the gas plant on your clothes and all that," said Davis.
Now that neighborhood is paved over, with Tropicana Field sitting where homes once stood.
But soon, 58 acres of land will be transformed.
"I hope it will not be all concrete and tall buildings. I hope there will be some neighborhood look to it. And a place that will invite families to come to stay," said Davis.
"The Historic Gas Plant District was a real place. Real people, real churches, real businesses. Our progress begins with honoring those people," said Blake.
The redevelopment plan includes a museum of public arts, a multipurpose event center and open public space, as well as an emphasis on the Woodson African American Museum of Florida.
It also has a large focus on affordable housing, specifically for those families that were pushed out of the area years ago.
"Housing is not just a promise we wake, it is a promise we keep," said Welch.
The Pinellas County Housing Authority will be building about 94 affordable units specifically for senior residents on the property.
"We are ready to get to work. Our community has waited four decades for promises to become plans, and for plans to become progress, and today the progress begins," said Welch.
City leaders said eventually Tropicana Field will be demolished after 2030 to make way for the development.
"Jobs, parks, new museums, new cultural anchors. The city deserves real affordable housing for sale and for rent," said Blake.
Mayor Welch said the next steps include negotiating and developing term sheets to present to the St. Pete City Council.
"A little bit skeptical because you know you’ve been hearing about it and hearing about it, and really wondering if it was going to happen. So to see it actually come to fruition is good. It’s a good thing," said Davis.
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