Subject:
Title
Employment Sites Program Funding Agreement for a sum of not-to-exceed $3,250,000.00 to BP Land Holdings West, LLC to construct a new state-of-the-art 140,400-square-foot speculative industrial/manufacturing facility.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval and execution by the County Administrator of an Employment Sites Program (ESP) Funding Agreement for a sum of not-to-exceed $3,250,000.00 to BP Land Holdings West, LLC to construct a new state-of-the-art 140,400-square-foot speculative industrial/manufacturing facility.
• Funding for the development of the facility in the amount of $3,250,000.00 was approved by the Board of County Commissioners at its July 22, 2025 meeting (Granicus Item 25-0952A).
• The development of the industrial building will provide Pinellas County with 140,400 square feet of new space that should provide employment opportunities to the county residents.
• The total project cost is estimated to be $25,986,171.00.
• The developer anticipates the project will accommodate in excess of 323 direct new jobs with the completion of the project.
• The total requested County contribution for this project is $3,250,000.00. Including this project, the total amount of Penny IV economic development funds committed is $44.6M of the $98.0M currently estimated in all ten years of Penny IV.
• Funding for this project is included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-FY30 Capital Improvement Program under the Economic Development Capital Projects (project 004149A). This project is funded by Local Infrastructure Sales Surtax (Penny for Pinellas), as part of the 8.3% countywide investment for Economic Development and Housing, half of which, or 4.15%, is set aside for Economic Capital Projects specifically.
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Strategic Priorities:
Prosperity and Opportunity
3.3 Increase workforce opportunities
3.5 Foster business growth
Summary:
BP Land Holdings West-Harrod Properties, intends to demolish an existing 150,000-square-foot Class B office building that is not occupied and has not been occupied for the past two years along with an adjoining 500 car parking garage in order to construct the new 140,400-square-foot industrial facility.
Background/Explanation:
BP Land Holdings West, LLC applied for funding during the seventh round of the Employment Sites Program. The funding will assist with the necessary fill dirt required to raise the site for industrial use, to meet new stormwater requirements, the cost of demolition and the extraordinary development capital costs for the new facility.
The Agreement has a termination date of twenty (20) years from the Effective Date and has three payments based on benchmarks on obtaining two mid-point permit approvals and the final payment with the developer’s receipt of a Certificate of Completion of the Shell. For a period of the first ten (10) years of the Agreement, the developer will provide an annual report to Pinellas County identifying the total commercial square footage used and the total number of jobs with their average wages for the structure.
The developer will be responsible for maintaining and operating the industrial buildings for the term of the Agreement. If the developer defaults on the Agreement, there is a process identified for the repayment of grant funds based on the time of the default.
Fiscal Impact:
The total requested County contribution for this project is $3,250,000.00. Including this project, the total amount of Penny IV economic development funds committed is $44.6M of the $98.0M currently estimated in all ten years of Penny IV.
Funding for this project is included in the FY25-FY30 Capital Improvement Program under the Economic Development Capital Projects (project 004149A). This project is funded by Local Infrastructure Sales Surtax (Penny for Pinellas), as part of the 8.3% countywide investment for Economic Development and Housing, half of which, or 4.15%, is set aside for Economic Capital Projects specifically.
Delegated Authority:
The funding was approved by the Board at its July 22, 2025 meeting, and delegated authority was given to the County Administrator to negotiate and execute all agreements and documentation.
Staff Member Responsible:
Cynthia Johnson, Director, Economic Development
Partners:
N/A
Attachments:
Employment Sites Program Funding Agreement
Applicant Overview Page