We Should Keep Control of the Gas Plant

St. Petersburg is preparing to make decisions that could determine the future of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District for generations.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been writing about three principles that I believe should guide those decisions:

Vision. Control. Value.

The first two articles explored Vision—including what should happen to I-175 and what kind of parks and public spaces St. Petersburg should create.

Now we turn to the second principle:

Control.

By control, I don’t mean that the City should become the developer.

I mean that the City, with the help of national planners and an advisory council, should establish the master plan, determine where the streets, parks and public spaces go, decide how and when different parts of the property are developed, and retain the flexibility to adjust those decisions as circumstances change.

Developers should design, finance and build exceptional projects.

But the City should remain responsible for guiding the future of the entire 86 acres.

Why does that matter?

Because this redevelopment will unfold over decades.

No one knows what the economy, housing market, interest rates, construction costs or community priorities will look like 10, 20 or 30 years from now.

The question is not simply what should be built on the Historic Gas Plant site.

It is:

Who should remain in control as circumstances change over the decades required to build it?

Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn provides a timely warning.

More than twenty years after the project was announced, large portions remain unfinished. The New York Times recently described it as “a symbol of broken promises and the pitfalls of taxpayer-subsidized mega-projects.”

Now New York State economic development officials have announced a new $5 billion plan intended to finally complete it. The project could require approximately $700 million in additional public subsidies—and could take another decade or more to build.

The lesson is not that developers are bad.

The lesson is that circumstances change.

And when they do, someone must remain responsible for protecting the long-term public interest.

For the Historic Gas Plant District, I believe that should be the City of St. Petersburg, acting on behalf of its citizens.

The City should create the vision.

The City should establish the plan.

The City should retain control.

And developers should compete for the opportunity to build it.

👉 Read the full article on HomeRunsMatter, including what Atlantic Yards can teach St. Petersburg about preserving flexibility over decades of redevelopment.