Latest news with #RichieFloyd
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Pete City Council votes for twin apartment towers to be built instead of Moffitt Cancer Center
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (WFLA) – The City of St. Pete approved a plan to build two apartment towers on 800 Second Avenue S. The land was originally planned to be a new Moffitt Cancer Center, but city council approved the plan to build the towers instead after the mayor said Moffitt's plan did not include enough affordable housing. In a unanimous vote, St. Pete City Council approved the new project for two apartment towers, both of them 31-stories high to be built. There will be 824 dwelling units, 35,800 square feet of commercial space, and around 1,550 parking spaces. The project is estimated to cost $225 million. The original plan with Moffitt included on 35 affordable housing units. This is why St. Pete's mayor vetoed the plan. He said any project slated for the property needed to include over 100 housing units. While the now-approved towers far exceeds that number, none of the units will be designated as affordable housing. Despite approving the project, some city leaders still believe Moffitt having a location in St. Pete would have been a major benefit. 'Staff has reviewed it, I feel comfortable with it, but goodness, it's just very different from where we started here and it does feel like a little bit of a missed opportunity, that's nothing to say anything about this development,' said Richie Floyd, city council member. The planned apartment towers exceed the Airport Height Limit, so before the project can move forward, developers will need to get additional approval from the F.A.A. The three-story building that currently sits on the property will be demolished to make way for the towers. There is no word on when construction could begin. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Large crowd calls on St. Pete to create more affordable housing
The Brief Faith and Action for Strength Together, or FAST, hosted a meeting Monday night in hopes of finding affordable housing solutions. St. Pete City Councilmembers Richie Floyd and Corey Givens were among the city officials who helped answer questions. More than 1,500 people attended the meeting, indicating strong interest in the topic. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - More than 1,500 people a packed sanctuary Monday night at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg to demand the city do more to address the housing crisis. What they're saying "The housing situation is terrible. I live in an efficiency apartment. I pay over $1,500 a month. If it wasn't for my social security and the job that I currently have, I wouldn't be able to afford living here," John Turner said. Turner is just one of the many feeling the effects of increasing rent prices. He's a member of the organization Faith and Action for Strength Together, or FAST, which put on the meeting hoping to get answers and find solutions to how to create more affordable housing. "The cost of living overall. It's gotten very expensive to live in St. Petersburg, and I think it's very important that we focus on that. I know a lot of my colleagues feel similarly," St. Pete City Councilmember Richie Floyd said. Councilmembers Floyd and Corey Givens were among the city officials who helped answer questions and talk about ideas. As a result of the meeting, they both agreed to bring about a resolution to the council at an upcoming meeting to commit to creating a minimum of 500 affordable housing units each year for the next five years for families making 80 percent or less of the area's median income. "The truth is that is such a bare minimum. We should be doing much more to actually solve the problem, but we're here today talking about how we can take action to start to solve the problems," Floyd said. By the numbers According to the latest data from the Shimberg Center at the University of Florida, 90 percent of renters in Pinellas County who are paying more than half of their income on rent are making 80 percent or less of the area's median income. Turner hopes meetings like the one on Monday night can help bring that percentage down. "I hope that the City Council and the community councils in Pinellas will listen intently and understand that there are workers that live in Pinellas and in St. Pete that can't afford living here," Turner said. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jordan Bowen. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Petersburg approves $22.5 million for new Tropicana Field roof
ST. PETERSBURG — City Council members voted Thursday to approve replacing Tropicana Field's roof shredded by Hurricane Milton last year. The city will spend $22.5 million for a new teflon-coated fiberglass roof, made of the same material as the original. It's about half of the total estimated cost to fix the stadium, tallied in November at $55.7 million. The vote represents a major step toward readying the dome for the Tampa Bay Rays' return to St. Petersburg in time for the 2026 season. The team is using a temporary home at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. As the Trop's landlord, the city is required to make the Trop playable again, per its agreement with the team. Council members said they recognized the city's contractual obligation. The Rays are expected to play home games back in the dome through the 2028 season. Council members voted 7-1 to replace the Trop's roof. Richie Floyd voted no. 'I'd much rather be spending that money on hurricane recovery and helping residents in our most affected neighborhoods,' said council member Brandi Gabbard, 'but this is our obligation.' Under the agreement approved Thursday, the contractor that assessed the Trop's damages last year will return to repair the stadium. AECOM Hunt, the Indianapolis-based construction management firm, is also the same company that built the Trop 35 years ago. The firm will partner with St. Petersburg construction company Hennessy Construction Services to construct a new roof made from white fabric. Major League Baseball preferred a white roof, which is less expensive than a beige roof and will take less time to install. Roof repairs would wrap up just in time for Christmas, and turf replacement would continue through February, according to the agreement. Council members voted to transfer or lend $2.5 million from the city's Parking Revenue Fund, $7.6 million from the Commercial Insurance Fund and $12.8 from a $50 million loan the city took out in December. The vote also included an additional $500,600 to cover project oversight, inspections and permit costs. The council still needs to vote on non-roof related repairs, such as metal panels, sports lighting, audio visual equipment and drywall, and flooring and carpets. Those votes are expected to come before the council in May, June, July and August. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Petersburg council member, activists push city to leave Duke Energy
ST. PETERSBURG — A couple of dozen people gathered on metal folding chairs, eating barbecue off paper plates while they listened to speakers outline how they could take on a multibillion-dollar company: Duke Energy. Activists with the 'Dump Duke' campaign are hoping these modest beginnings will gain momentum and persuade St. Petersburg leaders to leave Duke to form a city-run utility instead. The city's legal agreement with Duke is coming up for renewal next summer for the first time in 30 years, creating a rare window of leverage. But unlike Clearwater, which has commissioned a study to examine how feasible it would be for the city to leave Duke when its agreement similarly expires, St. Petersburg leaders have so far taken no concrete steps. Council member Richie Floyd told attendees at the Saturday event, hosted at the Gladden Park Recreation Center, that he wants to change that. He encouraged residents to contact their council representatives and Mayor Ken Welch to urge them to commission a study, too. He emphasized that it won't be easy to fight against Duke, which has already told Clearwater leaders they'll have to take them to court to get their equipment. But it could be worth it if it lowers electricity bills and makes the utility more responsive to residents, he said, since locals would have the power to vote out city officials — unlike a private corporation. 'We can't promise you that it's going to be sunshine and rainbows if we go down this path,' Floyd said. 'But what we can tell you is that your input will matter in a way that it absolutely does not now, and the way the utility will be run will not be ... to make sure shareholders get rich in a place that doesn't have anything to do with where you live.' This topic of ditching Duke has been simmering in City Hall for the last year, after council member Brandi Gabbard first raised the idea. Welch has been more cautious, saying he would like to see a 'detailed analysis' of the pros and cons. Welch previously worked as an accountant for Florida Power Corp., which later became Duke Energy Florida. He issued a proclamation last year praising the utility and designating July 18, 2024, as Duke Energy Day, which sparked rebukes from some council members. The idea gained further traction when last year Duke finalized a rate hike to raise base rates by $262 million over the next three years. Regulators also just approved an added monthly surcharge of roughly $32 to help the company recoup hurricane costs. 'How is it that we pay for all this grid hardening ... and then it gets wiped out in a storm and then we pay again?' said Susan Glickman, one of the event's panelists and a vice president at the pro-clean energy CLEO Institute, to nods in the crowd. In a statement, Duke Energy pushed back on the discussion. It said the legal contract, called a franchise agreement, 'is just one way' the company is tied to St. Petersburg. 'Through the Florida Public Service Commission, we are assigned the privilege to serve the St. Pete community whether the franchise agreement is renewed or not,' said company spokesperson Ana Gibbs. 'We value our relationship with St. Petersburg and continue to work with them each day on projects, opportunities and addressing concerns. Our commitment to our customers will not change due to any talk about municipalization.' The 'Dump Duke' campaign is organized by local activists with the Democratic Socialists of America. Donations made to the campaign will flow to a nonprofit managed by that group, Floyd said, and will be used for flyers and other materials for door-to-door canvassing on this issue, which they recently began. Attendees interviewed by the Times left the event intrigued, though several said they wanted to better understand the practical implications of the city taking over the grid. 'The more I hear, the better it sounds,' said Scott Turner, 62, a retired mail carrier who lives in Oldsmar but was born and raised in St. Petersburg and still feels invested in the city. 'I'd like to know more about the downsides.'
