The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
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ST. PETERSBURG — The City Council is not ready to say yes to a new stadium.
But it is not ready to say no, either.
The council continued a careful dance Thursday, selecting developers Archstone and Madison Marquette to possibly purchase and redevelop Tropicana Field.
The council voted 6-1 to launch development negotiations with the companies, which are joining for this project under the name Archstone-Madison.
Only council member Leslie Curran voted no, saying there are too many unknown questions to allow serious negotiation to begin. Council chairman Jamie Bennett was on vacation Thursday and did not vote.
"I'm very concerned about the time frame," Curran said shortly after the vote. "This whole thing is way too rushed."
Any redevelopment is contingent on both the city and the developers reaching an agreement to develop the 86-acre property. It also hinges on the outcome of the Rays' proposal for a waterfront stadium.
The Rays stadium proposal, even if approved during a citywide referendum, will not be allowed to move forward unless developers break ground at Tropicana Field, the city said Thursday.
And the proposed Tropicana redevelopment can begin only if a stadium proposal moves ahead, the city said.
Mayor Rick Baker, who has not yet taken a position on the stadium proposal, said he preferred Archstone-Madison to fellow finalist Hines because it created the potential for more jobs and more tax revenue for the city.
If fully built, the Archstone-Madison proposal would create 5,574 permanent jobs and $7.5-million annually in new city taxes. It would include 1.1-million square feet of retail space and almost 2,000 apartments, along with new office space and for-sale condominiums.
But everyone admitted those projections are just that. An Archstone executive even called the plan "shooting for the stars."
Still, council member Karl Nurse said he believed Archstone-Madison offered an appropriate vision for the site. He also tried to compare this prospective development to the failed Bay Plaza project in the late 1980s.
"The strength of the Archstone group is like 25 times, 50 times stronger than the Bay Plaza group," Nurse said.
Council members also started to discuss the possible wording of a referendum, should the council agree to hold a November citywide vote. Along with potentially leasing waterfront space to the Rays, the city also will ask voters to shift the ownership of the land to Pinellas County.
If a stadium was built and the city owned the land, it would have to pay property taxes. The county would not.
City attorney John Wolfe said the two issues may be able to be combined in one question. Council members, however, will have the final say.
[Last modified: Jun 20, 2008 06:37 PM]
Comments on this article
by jason
Jun 20, 2008 6:37 PM
Bend over, grab ankles, repeat. Might as well warm-up now, hate being blindsided (no pun intended, lol).
by Scot
Jun 20, 2008 12:17 PM
I am some what doughtfull that the voters will go for a new stadium right now with the shape of the economy right now it might be better to do some ramifications to the trops roof to covert it into a retractable dome and stay where they are curently.
by David
Jun 20, 2008 11:42 AM
Every poll I've heard of so far has 60% of the taxpayers against the stadium proposal. Why is council still persuing this issue. The players and fans seem to be happy in the "Pit" It's too soon for the out of towners to get greedy.
by John
Jun 20, 2008 11:41 AM
All this time and energy being spent on the Tropicana redevelopment before the Rays' move has been approved only means one thing, it is a done deal.
by Kay
Jun 20, 2008 11:41 AM
2000 homes and just over 5000 jobs. It's a wash if you ask me, not a job gain.
by Nodatilu
Jun 20, 2008 11:41 AM
One would think that with the "budget crisis" the city would not want to expend a couple hundred thousand dollars on a project that may not happen. Secondly, why not keep the money in the local economy? There are plenty of qualified developers here.
by Get Smart
Jun 19, 2008 8:35 PM
Lehman wants to unload Archstone. The problem is Archstone is wallowing in debt. The mayor, staff and council need to be removed from office.
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