PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A local group is urging St. Pete city leaders to choose residents over developers in regard to the redevelopment of the historic Gas Plant District.
The plans promise to bring a new stadium for the Rays and affordable housing. Organizers with the group Faith in Florida say it's not enough affordable housing.
Faith in Florida has been running the “St. Pete is not for sale” camping for about a year now to urge city leaders to put residents first.
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Nearly 40 years ago, when Tropicana Field was built, the people living in the Historic Gas Plant District were displaced. They relocated with the promise of jobs and new opportunities. That promise never came through.
“This is a historically Black piece of land, and this land was taken from the Black community in the 80s and 90s under the promises of housing and job opportunity and development, and those promises were ever delivered on,” Dylan Dames with Faith in Florida said.
Now the city has the opportunity to fulfill those promises as they redevelop the Gas Plant District, but Faith in Florida leaders was to see more affordable housing in the project plans.
“To sum it up, I would say my goal is that the redevelopment prioritizes residents. That is rent-burdened residents," Dames said.
He said the group's goal is that one-third of the units built be considered affordable for people making less than $20 an hour.
“In a larger conversation about displacement and race and community, our goal is that the redevelopment prioritizes residents and not private equity or for-profit companies,” Dames said.
The city will vote on stadium and development agreements in early 2024. Construction will start early next fall.
Faith in Florida is hosting a meeting on Thursday, December 5, from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Enoch Davis Recreation Center. The address is 1111 18th Ave S, St. Petersburg, Florida.
