Four companies are competing to oversee the $6.5 billion redevelopment

A large-scale transformation of St. Petersburg’s historic gas plant district is well underway as officials evaluated the owner’s representative’s proposals just two days after a stadium design firm was selected.

The owner’s representative will provide professional and technical supervision throughout the project planning, design and redevelopment phases. The selected company will also serve as the “central point of contact” – along with a myriad of other functions – on behalf of the city.

An evaluation committee of seven city managers and staff met Friday morning in the Municipal Services Building to evaluate eight submitted proposals. After a discussion that lasted for approximately two hours, the group selected four companies.

Skanska’s proposal received the highest score, followed by Turner & Townsend Heery, Hollins Consulting, Rawlins Infra Consult, and InVision Advisors. These companies will now move to the selection stage.

The commission could unusually select multiple companies to oversee the redevelopment of the gas station, the Tampa Bay Rays’ new $1.3 billion stadium, or the entire 76.2-acre project. Request documents for the qualifications you have obtained Catalyst It states that “the owner’s representative shall report to the city’s project development team, which will be directly responsible for implementing the agreement on behalf of the city.”

“It is expected that the master developer (Hines) and/or the Tampa Bay Rays will separately request and select an owner’s representative to conduct their respective improvements,” he added.

The evaluation committee will hear from the four finalists in early December before announcing its selection publicly. Photography by Mark Parker.

Skanska

New York-based Skanska USA has a large local presence with an office in Tampa. Committee members noted the company’s extensive experience in construction and access to area contractors.

City architect Raul Quintana said the company’s “build mentality” will help drive construction efforts. However, he wondered whether other high-profile national projects would hinder staff availability in St. Pete.

James Jackson, senior project coordinator, compared the pairing of Skanska and the project design-build team to putting a “fox and fox together.” He described it as an interesting approach but said the proposal “ticked all the boxes.”

Turner and Townsend Heary

Quintana credited Atlanta-based Turner & Townsend Heery’s detailed approach and understanding of the redevelopment process. He said that the company designed its team to match the needs of the project while maintaining flexibility and scalability.

Jackson noted that the company’s proposal refers to Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. Populous, which was recently selected to provide architecture services for the Rays’ new stadium, has also worked on the stadium, which is similarly anchored by an expanded mixed-use development.

“With it being a cousin of ours, I think they would have paid that forward more in their proposal,” Jackson said.

Hollins Consulting

Hollins Consulting is an African American-owned firm competing to represent a project with stringent requirements for women, minorities, and small businesses. While the firm has extensive experience representing owners around its San Francisco headquarters, Quintana has noticed a lack of work outside that area.

Hollins has assembled a “well-designed” team with a wide range of experience, said Brian Capper, director of economic and workforce development. However, he questioned how the company managed seven sub-advisers.

“I thought their project approach was very comprehensive and included a wide range of services,” Capper said. “But I would have liked to see more details about outreach and communications.”

Envision Consultants

Capper credited the Tampa-based company’s local work on a variety of projects. He also said nothing matches the scope of the gas plant redevelopment.

He appreciated InVision’s detailed proposal and thoughtful approach to maximizing the economic impact of the project. The company’s focus on community outreach also received praise from several panelists, and Jackson suggested that the “known commodity” could oversee aspects of the infrastructure rather than “the whole enchilada.”

What then?

The committee must submit questions to the finalists by November 21. The committee will wait until after Thanksgiving to hear presentations and conduct interviews with company leadership, Quintana said.

After some discussion, the committee agreed to give each company 20 minutes to present their updated proposals and 40 minutes to answer questions. City officials will then publicly discuss their ideas and announce their final findings.