Blake Investment Partners adds Stadler Development to Historic Gas Plant bid

Blake Investment Partners has added a strategic partnership with Stadler Development in its bid to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District, where Tropicana Field is currently located.

Stadler is a St. Petersburg-based real estate firm that focuses on mixed-use development, particularly institutional-grade office space.

As part of the partnership, Stadler will serve as the project’s “Office Czar,” tasked with helping to bring new Class A office space to the city, which has been lacking for nearly three decades, according to the development team.

Stadler has developed a number of local mixed-use projects, including The Hermitage, The Icon, Modera Prime and Gallery Haus, collectively adding more than 1,300 housing units to the city’s stock.

Additionally, Stadler was behind The Alhambra development in Coral Gables, a 12-story, 400,000 square-foot office landmark that serves as the global headquarters for Del Monte and Norwegian Cruise Line. The firm also led the Columbus Center project, also in Coral Gables, developing a 16-story office tower home to IBM’s regional headquarters.

With Stadler’s leadership on office space, the Blake Investment Partners team will outline a vision for the first new Class A office space constructed in St. Pete in nearly 30 years. The vision includes customized office environments designed to attract anchor tenants and high-wage employment opportunities; flexible and modern workplaces that position the city to be competitive among regional and national firms seeking a Florida location; and quality management over high-density projects.

“We are approaching this opportunity with a responsibility to build a more equitable future,” said Caryn Nesmith, a Blake Investment partners spokesperson. “Partnering with Stadler Development strengthens the vision of supporting thriving businesses and quality jobs in the Historic Gas Plant, while paying respect to the community that once called this site home.”

Blake previously announced it was partnering with local affordable housing developer Blue Sky Communities, which is behind Skyway Lofts, the senior living tower Peterborough and Bear Creek Commons.

Blake Investment Partners founder and CEO Thompson Whitney Blake previously offered to purchase the entire Historic Gas Plant site for $260 million.

The 30-day window to submit proposals to redevelop the site opened Jan. 4 and closes Feb. 3 at 10 a.m.

Other proposers include Ark Ellison Horus, which includes Ark Investment, Ellison Development and Horus Construction; and the Pinellas Housing Authority, which submitted, like Ark Ellison Horus, an unsolicited bid for the site. The Housing Authority pitch was to build a senior housing tower located on a small portion of the Trop site, on Lot 3.

New York-based Red Apple Group, which is near completion of its 400 Central luxury real estate project in downtown, has also expressed an interest in submitting a proposal, though has not yet.

In addition to affordable housing and office space, Blake Investment Partners has said their proposal will also include a commitment to the site’s heritage and what leaders describe as “hands-on-history.”

The proposal, developers say, is grounded in a commitment to restorative justice and meaningful inclusion, including through the understanding that history shapes decisions, opportunities and access. The group plans to restore economic opportunity to the site, which once was a thriving community of African American residents and Black-owned businesses.