Johnson Pope Attorneys Ryan Griffin and Craig Taraszki Advise Winning Development Team Selected to Redevelop St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District

Firm played a role on the Burg Bid team chosen by the City of St. Petersburg for the transformative, multibillion-dollar redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District

Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns, LLP is proud to announce that firm attorneys Ryan Griffin and Craig Taraszki played a key role advising the development team behind the Burg Bid, which the City of St. Petersburg selected to lead the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. The selection, announced by St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, represents one of the largest and most consequential redevelopment opportunities in the city’s history.

The Burg Bid, led by Blake Investment Partners together with the Related Group and Elliott Investment Management, was chosen from a competitive field of proposals to redevelop approximately 86 acres surrounding Tropicana Field. The plan envisions more than $8 billion in total investment, including over 3,600 units of affordable and workforce housing, a 13-acre central park, a new home for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, and a range of cultural, retail, and workforce-development facilities. Any final development agreement will require negotiation with the City and approval by the St. Petersburg City Council.

The Historic Gas Plant District was once home to a thriving, predominantly Black neighborhood before residents were displaced decades ago to make way for Interstate 175 and Tropicana Field. The selected proposal includes commitments intended to honor that history, including preference for displaced Gas Plant families and their descendants to return to the redeveloped area.

“JP is proud to play a role alongside such a talented team of world-class partners on a project that is so instrumental and important — not only for the City of St. Petersburg, but for the family members of the displaced Gas Plant neighborhood residents,” said Ryan Griffin, Partner at Johnson Pope.

Griffin and Taraszki, both members of Johnson Pope’s Real Estate practice, advised the team on matters related to the district’s redevelopment as the proposal moved through the City’s competitive selection process. Their work reflects Johnson Pope’s continued involvement in shaping major real estate, land use, and development matters throughout the Tampa Bay region.

Ryan Griffin is a Partner in Johnson Pope’s St. Petersburg office and a past president of the St. Petersburg Bar Association. His practice focuses on construction and development matters, and land use and zoning issues throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Craig Taraszki is a Partner in Johnson Pope’s St. Petersburg office, where his practice draws on his background in construction law, real estate transactions, entitlements, and land use and zoning matters.

About The Burg Bid

The Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment is one of the most significant urban regeneration projects currently underway in Florida and is widely regarded as a defining opportunity for the future of downtown St. Petersburg. Following a competitive selection process, Mayor Ken Welch chose The Burg Bid, led by Blake Investment Partners in partnership with Related Group and a consortium of local and national firms, to redevelop the approximately 86-acre site surrounding Tropicana Field. The proposal envisions more than $8 billion in investment, making it one of the largest redevelopment projects in the city's history.

Source: Project Website https://historicgasplant.com/

Beyond its scale, the project carries profound historical significance. The Historic Gas Plant District was once a thriving, predominantly African American neighborhood whose residents were displaced decades ago by the construction of Interstate 175 and, later, Tropicana Field. The selected proposal places strong emphasis on acknowledging that legacy, with commitments including opportunities for displaced families and their descendants to return, the creation of more than 3,600 affordable and workforce housing units, a 13-acre central park, a new home for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, and a broad mix of retail, cultural and workforce development facilities designed to reconnect the area with the surrounding community.