Former St. Pete city councilmember wants to buy Tangerine Plaza
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 18, 2023

St. Petersburg developer and former city councilmember Robert Blackmon has submitted a bid for Tangerine Plaza, a long-beleaguered city-owned retail property in South St. Petersburg.

Blackmon submitted his proposal for the site on Aug. 11, according to records obtained by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. He is offering $1.625 million in cash for the plaza with no financial contingency, according to the proposal.

Tangerine Plaza at 1794 22nd St. S has been vacant since 2017 when the city purchased the plaza. The property has long struggled to retain a grocer anchor; Walmart Neighborhood Market opened there in 2013 after Sweetbay closed. Walmart closed the store in 2017.

Blackmon’s proposal calls for a grocer anchor for the plaza. He wrote in an email to the city that “together we can achieve a more complete, accommodating and inclusive neighborhood.”

“Having a fully functioning retail destination in the center of the South St. Petersburg CRA would solve the food desert issue currently plaguing the area and provides employment opportunities for the residents of the CRA, resulting in multiple community benefits,” Blackmon wrote in his proposal.

In the proposal, Blackmon said he will waive inspection rights and be willing to close after city council approval. He also said he would agree to a deed restriction that would require the site to remain retail for a minimum of five years.

Blackmon’s bid comes as another group is negotiating with the city to take over the property. Mayor Ken Welch selected a proposal from Sugar Hill Group in 2022 after the group submitted an unsolicited offer for the site. Sugar Hill is offering $1.5 million for a 75-year ground lease with the option to purchase the property after an appraisal. The proposed lease breaks down to $20,000 a year.

During last Thursday’s city council meeting, staff told members council they are working on a lease with the Sugar Hill Group and planned to have a lease presented to council by the end of the year. Blackmon submitted his proposal a day after the presentation.

In his proposal, Blackmon told the city his offer was higher than any previous request the city had received and said with interest rates “significantly higher” than when previous RFPs were issued that it is now “even more difficult” for lending institutions to underwrite loans for vacant plazas.

Blackmon’s plan is to retain the space rather than demolish it. His proposal shows the inline retail spaces on the property are “perfect opportunities for small, local businesses to establish a brick-and-mortar presence.”

“Every neighborhood should be a complete neighborhood,” he wrote in the proposal. “Every individual in our city deserves good paying jobs, food options, retail and service providers within walking or biking distance of their home. This vision creates a community atmosphere and helps relieve the burden of lengthy and cumbersome travel times to receive essential goods and services. It also eliminates a food desert in an underserved yet deserving community.”

Blackmon recently has been behind two transformative projects in St. Petersburg: the redevelopment of a retail plaza near Northeast High School and a major renovation that will bring a coffee shop to a historic former gas station.