The St. Pete Pier marketplace application gets revision
The initial application to lease a small space to sell products at the pier is revised after prospective vendors said it was intrusive

By Waveney Ann Moore
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Jun 27, 2019

ST. PETERSBURG - For weeks, the city has been inviting people to apply for short-term leases to showcase their businesses in small kiosks and tents near the entrance of the new 26-acre Pier District that is expected to open in the spring of 2020.

Last week, though, officials pulled the application from the St. Pete Pier website. The action came after some prospective vendors complained about the breadth of the application's requests, among them tax returns, citizenship status and spousal information and signature. Tuesday afternoon, a revised application was posted to the website, with a new deadline of Aug. 19 in order to be considered for the pier opening.

The city has been promoting the marketplace since April and information sessions have drawn about 140 people. Those accepted for one of the 17 spots at the marketplace can sign up for a minimum three-month commitment. Leases also will be available for 6-month, 9-month and 12-month increments. Spaces measure 100 square feet. Seven market stalls with canopies, adjustable shelving and moveable panels that can be closed and locked will be available. There will be 10 spaces for tents, which will rent for $500 a month. The monthly cost for the stalls will be $750. Vendors are expected to be open for business at least three days a week - Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Chris Ballestra, managing director of development coordination, said there is room for more marketplace slots, but the city is making "a conscious decision" to not take on too much at the beginning. "I feel comfortable to manage 17 when we open the pier. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. We want to make sure it is successful," he said.

City development administrator Alan DeLisle said Mayor Rick Kriseman wants the marketplace to reflect the city's diversity and the goal is to select distinctive St. Petersburg products that draw the interest of visitors.

"We're really not looking for food products. It's more about different products that are made here in St. Pete, so we want a variety of products there," he said. "Really, we want our neighborhoods represented and the specialty retail that exists in our different neighborhoods equally represented. ... This marketplace was really designed to show people the local small businesses here in St. Pete and for us to show who we are. And the community has grasped that and it's going to be a place for people to make money."

The pier marketplace will be smaller than the Saturday Morning market and will not compete with the longstanding weekend tradition, DeLisle said.

While emphasis is on selecting vendors from St. Petersburg, Ballestra said those from outside the city will not be excluded. "We are looking very forward to securing tenants and getting to the right combination of potential businesses out there," he said.

But the initial step to get there was questioned by some. Kandy Hurley of Grimalkin Studio described the now withdrawn application as invasive. The artist, who said she and her husband moved back to St. Petersburg from Northern California because of the city's vibrant art scene, was puzzled, for instance, by the request for a spouse's signature. "I bought a house in California on my own. I was able to purchase a home and it didn't require my spouse's signature," she said.

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Ester Venouziou, founder of LocalShops1, which advocates for locally owned businesses in the Tampa Bay area, was also among those concerned about the application. Posting on the We Love the New St. Pete Pier Facebook page, she said the marketplace was "a wonderful opportunity," but wondered about some of the information that was being required and whether it would become a matter of public record.

The new form states that it is subject to Florida laws regarding public records, but that in the event of a public records request, confidential and exempt information would be redacted.

The original application was excessive in the information it asked for, said Robert Stern, chair of the real estate and lending practice group of Trenam Law, which has offices in St. Petersburg and Tampa. "This is a lease for a short-term stall or tent and it's not an anchor tenant or a national retailer. I think it is inappropriate and overkill to require full disclosure of your driver's license, your Social Security number, your marital status, your tax returns, just to make an initial application," he said.

Stern added that he would have found the process "very discouraging" if he were a small, local vendor, but added he could see asking for additional information at a later stage.

The revised form asks for neither spousal information nor tax returns.

"We have decided to issue a directive to not require the taxes at this point, at least in this first round,” DeLisle said. "Whenever we do any kind of lease agreement, we always check out their financial status. We know that it is important to understand that at some point, especially for the Pier, that we have a good, solid group of tenants out there. We will have to understand financial capacity. We will be careful how we do it."

He said applicants will be evaluated by a team that will include DeLisle, a representative from Colliers International, which will operate the Pier District and handle leases, and Greenhouse manager Jessica Eilerman. The mayor will make the final decision, Ballestra said.

Contact Waveney Ann Moore at wmoore@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2283.