Commission approves first reading to expand Corey Landing brownfield reuse area; developer outlines cleanup and redevelopment plan

The St. Pete Beach City Commission voted unanimously on the first reading of Resolution 2025-19 to expand the Corey Landing Green Reuse Area to add parcels at 75 Corey Avenue and 85 Corey Circle, moving the proposal to a required second public hearing. The resolution, if finally adopted, would allow the property owner to include the parcels in Florida’s Brownfields redevelopment program and pursue state incentives to support site cleanup and redevelopment.

The expansion involves property the applicant, KT Corey Ave LLC, recently acquired and proposes to redevelop with mixed uses including 132 residential condominium units, a 5,000-square-foot restaurant, 6,600 square feet of retail, boat slips, a new seawall and public waterfront access. Brett Brumman of Goldstein Environmental Law Firm, representing the applicant, told the commission the owner has already removed underground storage tanks, excavated contaminated soil and treated groundwater as part of a voluntary cleanup effort.

Why it matters: the parcels have a history of petroleum-related uses — including an auto repair facility and a former restaurant — and historical operations that led to localized contamination. The Brownfields designation can make the developer eligible for state incentives, including a voluntary cleanup tax credit, which reimburses eligible cleanup costs up to a stated percentage and may be sold to entities with corporate income tax liability.

Brumman summarized the environmental work completed and planned. “All of the underground storage tanks have been removed and closed,” he said, adding that the applicant excavated about 5,745 tons of contaminated soil to a maximum depth of about 8 feet, confirmed the excavations were clean, imported clean soil back to grade and extracted nearly 2,000,000 gallons of groundwater that was treated on-site before discharge. He said a few areas of remaining petroleum contamination will be subject to monitoring and reporting to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

The Brownfields program requires a conceptual redevelopment plan and five statutory criteria for local designation. Brumman said the applicant is investing about $208.5 million in the project and expects about 70 new jobs. He also said the Blue Parrot parcel (85 Corey Circle) showed no contamination in investigations but is being included as part of the contiguous designation because the Florida statute allows a designated area to contain parcels that are not contaminated.

Commission discussion focused on limits of the city’s approval and assurances about the applicant’s financing. The city attorney clarified that the statutory criterion requiring redevelopments be “consistent with the local comprehensive plan and permittable” refers to uses that are allowed as-of-right under the land-use and zoning designations, not to any specific development proposal. “This criteria is about by right. It doesn't include the specific application that they're proposing, which you can deny, modify, amend,” the city attorney said.

Commissioners also pressed the applicant and staff on financial assurances. The city attorney recommended, and staff agreed, that the commission should request a third-party financial-institution letter or similar independent confirmation of funds by the second reading; the applicant had supplied a letter of financial assurance signed by the LLC. Staff and Brumman confirmed the applicant has already spent over $1 million on cleanup work and that the applicant’s deadline to enter a Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Agreement with FDEP is December 31 of this year. The commission corrected the scheduled second public hearing date to Sept. 8 (the agenda packet erroneously listed Sept. 9).

Brumman described the incentives under the Florida Brownfields Redevelopment Act. The principal incentive is a voluntary cleanup tax credit that provides a partial reimbursement — paid as a corporate income tax credit — for eligible cleanup expenditures; the credit is not a grant and requires the responsible party to spend funds up front and then apply for reimbursement. He said some bonus credits exist for completing work and obtaining a Site Rehabilitation Completion Order (a “no further action” finding) from FDEP. He also noted limited liability protections within the program but emphasized that a participant must address contamination that has migrated off-site.

No public speakers spoke during the hearing segment on this item. After the commission approved the first reading, the clerk recorded a unanimous roll call vote: Commissioner Reznicki — yes; Commissioner Maldonado — yes; Vice Mayor Marriott — yes; Commissioner Robinson — yes; Mayor Petrillo — yes.

What’s next: the applicant will return for a statutorily required second public hearing, scheduled for Sept. 8, and may then seek to enter a Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Agreement with FDEP by the Dec. 31 deadline. The city attorney said staff will amend the resolution language to emphasize the city is certifying only that mixed use is a permittable as-of-right use under the current TC-2 zoning/future land-use designation, and staff requested an independent financial-institution letter by second reading to bolster criterion five’s reasonable-assurance requirement.

Details from the record: the resolution language cited Section 376.802(c), Florida Statutes, as the statutory basis for the Brownfields designation; the commission previously designated the broader Corey Landing area in 2022 and designated a community waterfront park site in 2005. The applicant reported removing approximately 5,745 tons of contaminated soil and extracting and treating nearly 2,000,000 gallons of groundwater; the applicant estimates project investment at about $208.5 million and roughly 70 jobs. Any institutional controls required by FDEP — such as a restrictive covenant prohibiting groundwater use for irrigation or drinking — would be recorded against the property and apply to current and future owners, with state oversight every five years for those controls.

Reporting note: the Brownfields designation does not grant development approvals and does not obligate city funds. It permits property owners within a designated area to enter into voluntary cleanup agreements with FDEP and seek tax-credit incentives administered under Florida law.