Proposed Art St. Pete activation to foster St. Petersburg’s creative community – artists, arts, and cultural organizations.
Midtown Development, the only developer making a financial commitment to the City of St. Petersburg as part of the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field Site, announces a $5 million plan benefiting minorities and small business owners.
ST. PETERSBURG – Midtown Development announced details of a program within its “Creekside” proposal for the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field Site: A $5 million project to propel the growth of just, equitable, and thriving communities and businesses in St. Petersburg.
The program, provisionally named Unlocking Opportunities, will distribute the $5 million as grants towards minority and BIPOC-owned (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) small businesses working to meet the city’s most pressing needs.
Midtown will partner with local organizations, such as the NAACP, St. Petersburg College, and the Pinellas County Urban League — the last already a strategic partner to Midtown Development’s “Creekside” team — to establish the program’s criteria.
“We understand that the redevelopment of the Trop Site is a complex matter, so our message is simple,” said Alex Vadia, principal of Midtown Development. “We are ready to invest in the City of St. Petersburg, and, from day one, we will prioritize job growth and economic development in the communities that need it most.”
As the only developer making a financial commitment of $190 million to the City of St. Petersburg, Midtown’s pledge of $5 million with Unlocking Opportunities further demonstrates a capital commitment. The program would launch in the first phase of development of the Tropicana site.
Another such early tactic, in addition to Unlocking Opportunities, involves activating vacant lots within the 86-acre Tropicana site to host art tents and micro-retail pop-up spaces for local entrepreneurs, an approach the developer has already seen success within its Midtown Miami neighborhood.
Creekside by the Numbers:
Midtown Development’s $190 Million Commitment:
- $60 Million fee-simple purchase for the land
- $10 Million as an upfront payment to the City of St. Petersburg
- $5 Million as an upfront investment towards Unlocking Opportunities
- $94 Million towards public infrastructure/improvements
- $30 Million small box retail and creative office Proof of Concept Investment
- $1 Million towards For All From All Program
Midtown’s proposal commits to requesting no more than $75 million in tax-increment financing from the city for infrastructure.
Creekside by Square Feet:
- 6,000-8,000 residential units for the project
- 1,200 – 1,600 attainable housing, the highest total units out of all proposers
- 300,000-400,000 square feet of small-box artisan spaces and galleries
- 500 key hotel with 50,000 square feet of convention space, which would require 200 space occupier jobs at the time the hotel comes online
- Between 3.3 million and 3.95 million square feet of indoor/outdoor office space
- 36-acres of “public realm” space, including 24 acres dedicated to parks, a piazza, and Booker Creek, plus terraces, boardwalks, and a dog park
About Midtown Development
Midtown Development, led by Alex Vadia, is a real estate investment company specializing in community-focused developments, with ongoing projects in major metro areas throughout Florida, including Midtown Miami, the 56-acre mixed-use walkable community located in the center of the arts district in Miami, and a 22-acre mixed-use community in downtown Orlando.
Following the acquisition of a site, Midtown Development assumes an active role in curating the community, building neighborhoods in line with a vision for walkable, connected districts that raise the value of the entire area while unlocking opportunities.
