$1.2B contractor joins Gas Plant redevelopment team

St. Petersburg's largest private employer has joined one of the competing teams seeking to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District, adding a workforce development component to a proposal centered on housing, parks and mixed-use development.

Power Design, the St. Petersburg-based electrical and multi-trade contractor, announced Tuesday it has joined the Burg Bid development team as its skilled trades and workforce development partner. The company says it will lead construction workforce training efforts through its Build the Nation initiative if the proposal is selected by the city.

The partnership comes as competing development teams continue refining their visions for the long-awaited redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District, one of the largest and most closely watched redevelopment opportunities in Tampa Bay.

Under the proposal, Power Design would create an interactive skilled trades education center within the project's planned Collaboratorium, introducing students, families and residents to careers in construction while helping train workers needed to build the multi-year development, according to a statement. 

"The people building this district are people from St. Pete," Peter Van Warner, vice president of real estate development for Blake Investment Partners, says in a release announcing the partnership. He says Power Design would help provide workforce training and career opportunities rather than relying solely on outside labor.

Power Design, founded in St. Petersburg in 1989, has grown into the city's largest private employer. The company says more than 2,000 of its employees live in the Tampa Bay region. It had $1.27 billion in revenue in 2025, according to the Business Observer's Top 50 Contractors issue. That placed it No. 2 in the region, behind Manhattan Construction. 

The contractor says its Build the Nation initiative expands on its federally accredited apprenticeship program, which has trained hundreds of skilled trades workers. The company also says it has worked with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce on workforce research examining labor shortages across multiple industries.

Lauren Permuy, Power Design's chief growth officer, says the company views the partnership as an investment in its hometown while creating alternatives to four-year college degrees.

"Skilled trades offer paid on-the-job training—without debt—and great earning and lifelong career potential," Permuy says in the release.

The Burg Bid team is led by Blake Investment Partners and includes developers Related Group, Greystar, Gilbane, Blue Sky Communities, Open Realty, Stadler Development, KAST Construction, Driftwood Capital and Skanska.

According to the development team, its proposal includes more than 3,600 affordable and workforce housing units, a 15-acre central park featuring Museum Row and an estimated $8.1 billion in total investment funded primarily through private capital.

The proposal also includes a $405 million valuation for the property, including a $275 million offer to purchase 58 acres of city-owned land and a $20 million deposit upon execution of a purchase agreement.

The city of St. Petersburg and Mayor Ken Welch selected Burg Bid to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District, the former home of a historically Black neighborhood that was displaced by the construction of Tropicana Field. 

The City Council has not announced a final selection.