A developer prods Pinellas County to allow 2,500 homes where it wanted to expand a waste facility.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published August 10, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Bulldozers have begun breaking ground at the sod farm, the city's last large parcel of vacant land, but a developer's fight to build homes on the site still isn't over.
After more than nine months of negotiations and lobbying, Grady Pridgen will ask the Pinellas County Commission today for permission to include 2,500 townhouses in the 130-acre mixed-use project.
But county officials are still balking at the number of homes, especially since the site is next to the county's landfill. They have suggested 990 as a more reasonable number.
Pridgen said the site is safe for residential development and the success of the project is closely tied to the number of townhomes allowed.
"The density issue would have a devastating effect on the project," he said.
Pridgen and the county have clashed over the project before.
The developer first suggested building homes on the site in November, but he needed the county to change a policy prohibiting residential construction in industrial areas.
After intense lobbying, the county finally approved the change in January by a vote of 5-2.
There were other hurdles to clear. The county initially insisted on a 2,000-foot buffer separating the homes and the landfill. Eventually, they compromised on 960 feet.
County commissioners also wanted some legal protection to ensure they wouldn't be sued by someone who bought property without knowing it is near the county's landfill and garbage incinerator.
Pridgen agreed to distribute a disclosure agreement to all prospective buyers warning them of the location of the waste facility.
"There has been a lot of long, painstaking work done on this proposal," said County Commissioner Bob Stewart. "It's an issue we've really had to struggle with."
Once believed to be an ideal spot for a major league stadium, the sod farm was offered for sale in 2002.
Pridgen bought the parcel for $4.9-million, edging out several other bidders, including Pinellas County, which hoped to use the site to expand its solid waste facility.
Pridgen first proposed building 2.6-million square feet of office space, warehouses, retail outlets and hotel rooms. Then he decided to include townhouses, saying it made sense to provide housing near a major job site.
His plans were approved by St. Petersburg and won the support of Mayor Rick Baker. But county officials have been less enthusiastic.
Last month, Pridgen announced his first major tenant: Cox Target Media, the company behind the blue Valpak coupon mailings. The company will occupy a new 500,000-square-foot printing plant on the site.
At stake now is Pridgen's plan to put 75 residential units per acre on the site. County officials say 30 units is more in keeping with that area.
"My personal feeling is that 75 units per acre is quite excessive," Stewart said. "It just doesn't make sense."
But Dave Goodwin, St. Petersburg's director of development, disagreed. He said this type of development isn't unusual and pointed to the Madison apartment and condominium complex in downtown St. Petersburg as an example of a project with a similar density.
"We do feel that this is appropriate for the site, given the design," Goodwin said. "We're not talking high-rises. We're talking four- or five-story buildings."
Even if Pridgen prevails today, the commission will still have to sign off on the final development plans, which should be completed about December.
Including the delays to construction, Pridgen estimated he has spent more than $1-million to show commissioners that prospective residents won't be harmed.
"We've hired a multitude of consultants to determine if any issues exist," Pridgen said. "All the results indicate the landfill is not going to be a problem for our development."
