Developers reveal new plan for St. Pete’s beleaguered Tangerine Plaza
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 10, 2024

The developer that wants to transform a beleaguered city-owned shopping center in South St. Petersburg has revealed its third iteration of plans since winning a bid for the project nearly four and a half years ago.

The Sugar Hill Group — a different group than Sugar Hill Community Partners, which were finalists to redevelop Tropicana Field — was first selected to redevelop Tangerine Plaza under Mayor Rick Kriseman. Plans unveiled Tuesday include a 10,000-square-foot grocery store and 115 units of affordable housing.

Tangerine Plaza is in the 1700 block of 22nd St. S. It was previously home to a Walmart Neighborhood Market, which closed in 2017.

Sugar Hill’s Roy Binger and the Rev. Louis Murphy held a press conference Tuesday to reveal their new plans for the site in hopes of drumming up community support before their pitch to city council, which is expected in the coming weeks. The group announced they had secured a partnership with New Urban Development, the real estate development affiliate of the Urban League of Greater Miami.

New Urban Development — through various partnerships — has delivered more than 1,300 affordable housing units. It currently has more than 1,500 units in its “current and active pipeline,” according to the company’s website.

Binger and Murphy said it is crucial the team receive site control to move forward with securing a grocer for the space.

“It’s hard for you to sell something that’s not yours,” Murphy said. “You can’t negotiate the sale on your house unless you own your house.”

The area became a federally declared food desert after Walmart’s departure. In December 2019, Sugar Hill responded to the city’s request for proposals for the site. They were selected by Kriseman and, after years of negotiations, updated their proposal in 2022. They offered the city $1.5 million for a 75-year ground lease.

Murphy said they are in negotiations with several grocers, though he declined to name which ones until agreements are finalized. He said the area has many issues, and they want to ensure they find a tenant who will “want to come to this community.”

When asked how they intend to finance the affordable housing units, Binger said they are leaning on their partners with New Urban Development. He mentioned Community Redevelopment Area funds and local and state housing funding could support the project. He also said they need site control before they can assemble a package for the units.

Welch has voiced his support for Sugar Hill, but some city council members have expressed concerns over how long it has taken to get this project started and doubt over whether a 10,000-square-foot space could secure a long-term grocery tenant.

“What we really need you to do is to call city council folk,” Murphy said. “There’s a few on city council that don’t want us to be here, truth be told, but we know we’re going to be here because we believe this is something that is divinely given, and certainly this vision will feature the future of our community.”