St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has selected The Burg Bid team, led by St. Pete-based Blake Investment Partners, to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District.

The proposal envisions an estimated $8.1 billion mixed-use redevelopment featuring more than 3,600 affordable and workforce housing units, a new Woodson African American Museum of Florida, parks, hotels, office space, retail and workforce development facilities across the 58-acre site.

The announcement marks the city's first major redevelopment decision since the collapse of the previous redevelopment agreement between the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines in early 2025.

Welch announced the selection Wednesday following a months-long competitive process that drew nine unsolicited proposals from development teams across the country.

The City of St. Pete is one step closer to deciding the future of a three-acre property at Commerce Park in south St. Pete.

In April, the City issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a collection of 19 city-owned parcels along 22nd Street South in the Deuces corridor.

The site, which sits directly across from the Manhattan Casino, is within a historically significant area that once served as a hub for Black-owned businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues before decades of disinvestment and the construction of I-275 reshaped the corridor.

The property has been the subject of multiple redevelopment plans over the past two decades, none of which have fully panned out.

The city began assembling the land in 2007 under Mayor Rick Baker with plans for a manufacturing and industrial employment center, but those plans stalled during the Great Recession.

A second push under Mayor Rick Kriseman brought plans for a manufacturing facility and a Euro Cycles dealership, and construction even began in 2018.

But the project ultimately fell apart, forcing the city to unwind parts of the deal.

A Chicago development team is preparing to begin construction on a 24-story apartment tower in downtown St. Pete, bringing 373 apartments, ground-floor retail, and a rooftop lounge to a site just steps from Central Avenue.

Focus is actively conducting early groundwork testing at 275 5th Street South as it moves toward construction of its first project in the local market.

The project has been years in the making.

While Focus purchased the 0.92-acre property from Tampa-based investment firm EquiAlt in a $20.25 million transaction in 2023, rising interest rates and a challenging capital environment slowed multifamily development projects across the country.

Finally, the project is moving ahead.