ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Plans to revive the previous Toytown landfill in Pinellas County are nearer to a actuality after the county acquired thousands and thousands of {dollars} from the state.
What we all know:
After three years of delays, the county lastly acquired a $15 million grant from the state of Florida.
Now, county leaders say they will start the environmental cleanup wanted to rework the 235-acre former landfill right into a state-of-the-art youth sports activities complicated.
The backstory:
Closed in 1990 by the Florida Division of Environmental Safety, the Toytown landfill has lengthy been seen as an underutilized piece of prime actual property simply off I-275 and Roosevelt Boulevard.
A number of redevelopment proposals have come and gone, together with a failed bid to construct a spring coaching website for the Atlanta Braves.
Courtesy: Pinellas County
In 2022, the Florida Legislature first allotted funds for the location’s remediation.
By the numbers:
In February, Clearwater-based Sports activities Amenities Corporations submitted detailed plans to the county outlining a daring imaginative and prescient for the location. Proposed facilities embody:
- Twenty turf baseball and softball diamonds
- Seventeen multipurpose fields for soccer, lacrosse and soccer
- Twelve sand volleyball courts
- Twenty-four pickleball courts
- Competition and fairground area
- Parking for greater than twenty-one-hundred autos
Associated: Potential plans within the works for former Toytown Landfill in St. Pete
Courtesy: Sports activities Amenities Corporations
Massive image view:
The undertaking carries a projected price ticket of between $150 million and $200 million.
However, backers say the return on funding can be substantial, estimating greater than $350 million in direct financial impression throughout the first 5 years.
“We all know that there is a sturdy demand for that right here in Pinellas County, within the Bay Space, and within the southeast United States,” mentioned Brian Lowack, the president and CEO of Go to St. Pete/Clearwater. “We did obtain some state funding just a few years in the past for that pre-site work.”
What’s subsequent:
Earlier than any development can start, Pinellas County commissioners might want to vote on the phrases of the redevelopment deal.
County officers say future conferences will concentrate on allocate the $15 million grant to start environmental remediation of the location.
If permitted, the long-dormant Toytown website might quickly turn into a serious hub for youth sports activities and neighborhood occasions within the Tampa Bay space.
The Supply: Data for this report was gathered from a Pinellas County fee assembly and prior reporting.
