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Pinellas County staff seek developer for STAR Center after $250,000 state grant
Summary
County staff told commissioners they were awarded a $250,000 Florida Department of Commerce grant and a $135,000 Duke Energy grant to pay consultants who will complete utility and market analyses and produce an RFP to pursue a public-private partnership for the 96‑acre STAR Center campus.
County staff informed the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners that the county has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Florida Department of Commerce and a separate $135,000 grant from Duke Energy to support planning for redevelopment of the STAR Center campus through a public‑private partnership (P3).
The presentation, by a county staff member identified in the meeting transcript only as Cynthia, said the Duke Energy award will fund a utilities assessment for the full campus that is under way and expected to finish in February. Cynthia told the commissioners the Florida Department of Commerce grant will fund a real‑estate consultant to complete a market and financial analysis and to develop an RFP to attract a P3 developer.
"We were awarded the grant for $250,000," Cynthia said. She told the board the county received official notice of the state agreement on Jan. 16 and that the grant must be spent by June 30, giving staff roughly five months for implementation. Cynthia said the county plans to hire JLL (on the state bid list) to provide a market analysis, transaction‑structure recommendations and a detailed financial structure the future developer could use, and then to draft the RFP for the redevelopment.
The staff presentation noted the STAR Center is a 69‑year‑old facility on about 96 acres that the county describes as redevelopment opportunity land. The campus currently has six ground leases and about 89% occupancy of leasable space; the presentation said the anchor tenant’s lease runs through 2038. Staff said those lease details and the utility assessment will inform what the RFP asks of a developer.
No formal vote was taken at this briefing. Cynthia asked the commissioners for a consensus to place formal acceptance of the Commerce grant and related procurement actions on the February agenda for a formal vote. A commissioner clarified that today’s item was an update and that any formal approval would return to the board at a future meeting.
If approved at a future meeting, the county plans to use the Commerce grant to hire a real‑estate development firm to complete the analyses and draft the P3 RFP; the information would then be returned to the board for consideration before soliciting P3 proposals.
Ending: Staff said the utility assessment is expected in February and that the Commerce grant work would need to conclude by June 30 to meet the state agreement timeline. The presentation also noted existing lease structure and the anchor tenant expiration as context staff will include in the RFP.
