St. Petersburg, FL
Welcome to St. Petersburg!
Background The current site of Tropicana Field was once a thriving community of businesses, churches, schools and housing. In the 1980s, business and political leaders decided to demolish this neighborhood to make way for an Interstate Highway and Tropicana Field - the future home of the Tampa Bay Rays. Promises were made to St. Petersburg’s Black community - for jobs, housing and economic opportunities - that were never fulfilled. Now - facing the possibility that the Rays will leave the site - we have the opportunity to create an inclusive approach to this 85-acre redevelopment located adjacent to St. Petersburg’s downtown.
Tropicana Field - Site of the Former Gas Plant Neighborhood The Gas Plant neighborhood, circa 1970, where the redevelopment caused 285 buildings to be bulldozed, more than 500 households and nine churches to be relocated, and more than 30 businesses to be moved or closed.
Thriving African American Neighborhood
Public Value We will leverage this redevelopment opportunity to create an inclusive, equitable process for economic development and housing for African Americans in St. Petersburg. Because we want to create a resilient African American community with generational wealth creation at its core. We propose to do that by developing a comprehensive strategy to achieve equity in all aspects of the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field Site. We will begin by capturing current and recent-past measures of economic inclusion of African Americans in development and redevelopment in the City.
Measuring Success We will know we are successful when we improve past results for African Americans in metrics such as: • Employment income • Wealth • Home ownership • Business ownership • Business creation and revenue
Operational Capacity In order to deliver on our value proposition… WE WILL DEVELOP • Shared understanding among key stakeholders • Legal framework for a public private development authority • Template for inclusive RFP • Administrative capacity, including a team and budget • Points-of-integration with relevant plans and funding programs
Operational Capacity WE WILL LEVERAGE • A powerful diverse cross-sector collaborative team • Widespread influence among people and organizations who are vital to the vision • Mayoral support for a historic inclusion redevelopment plan • The momentum of citywide redevelopment plans and activities
Support WE WILL GARNER SUPPORT FROM: • Our extended team of diverse stakeholders (OneCommunity, neighborhoods, schools, etc.) • Diverse segments of the African American community • Business and corporate leaders • Elected and public officials • Tampa Bay Rays • Economic and business development community • Philanthropic leaders • Local and national developers • And other
Current Pipeline of Opportunity Pathway Programs
Art as Economic Engine
Barriers to Collaboration WE SEE AS CHIEF BARRIERS: WE WILL ADDRESS BARRIERS BY : • Structural racism and the illusion of • Inclusively planning inclusion • Actively listening • Risk that future Mayoral administrations • Broadly communicating will not support inclusion • Iterating with confidence • Uncertainty about the footprint of the • site, pending the Rays’ decision Modeling success from other communities • Erosion of will as time elapses • Lack of organizational capacity • Pushback in public discourse
Next Steps IMMEDIATE (30 Days) • Debrief with extended team • Share conceptual strategy with the Mayor
100 Days • Develop 9-month timeline • Develop and begin implementation of a community education and engagement campaign (e.g., racial & economic history, FAQ, listening cafes) • Present and court buy-in from key stakeholders • Build initial framework for development authority • Draft RFP for inclusion • Request budget from public partners • Identify replicable models for redevelopment • Begin identifying local and national developers
365 Days • Finalize legal framework • Establish development authority • Select administrative team • Cement funders collaborative • Secure points-of-integration in relevant plans and funding programs • Build relationships and share knowledge with local and national developers who value inclusion • Make strategic decisions and prepare to issue RFP
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