ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The question of what happens to the planned redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District if the Rays stadium deal falls through came up during Tuesday’s Pinellas Board of County Commissioners meeting.
It was at that meeting that the board voted to delay a vote on bonds to fund the county’s share of the cost of the project.
“Utterly and complete disappointment,” Gwendolyn Reese said of her reaction to that vote.
Reese grew up in the Gas Plant District. Hundreds of African American homes and businesses were located there before being razed to build Tropicana Field.
“It was my formative years,” said Reese. “I think I’m so much who I am because of that – because of that village, that culture.”
The city has acknowledged that promises made to the community of jobs and equitable development never materialized. For years, Reese has advocated for its redevelopment as part of the plan to build the new stadium.
“It’s about developing a better future for not just African Americans, but for our entire community,” Reese said.
Reese told Spectrum News on Wednesday that she was still processing commissioners’ decision to delay after they voted in July to contribute $313 million in bed tax revenue to the project.
“It boggles my mind to understand why they would not support it,” she said.
“We will never see a project that will touch as many lives as this project in our city and in our county,” said Esther Matthews, president of the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP.
Matthews said the delay makes no sense, especially in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, when the community is in need of the jobs the project is expected to bring.
“Those individuals that they represent, the very same people that they talk about and say, ‘I’m here for the people that elected me,’ should absolutely be asking them, ‘Why aren’t you listening to me?'” Matthews said.
As for what happens with the Gas Plant redevelopment if the stadium deal falls apart, City Administrator Rob Gerdes said it depends. Gerdes told commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting that if the Rays back out, there are more protections on the Gas Plant side, but it gets more complicated if the city or county pull back.
Reese served as a consultant for the Rays-Hines redevelopment team and said she’s confident the project will go forward.
“We have talked today, we talked yesterday,” she said. “The team is still committed to this redevelopment. Our hope is that it’s with the Rays and with the stadium, but we’re still committed.”
Commissioner Brian Scott said he moved to table the vote because he didn’t think the resolution had the support to pass. The BOCC is expected to discuss the bonds again at its meeting on December 17.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
