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Developer Kucera Properties planning downtown St. Petersburg tower

 
Published Oct. 14, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — Kucera Properties announced plans Tuesday for an $85 million to $100 million project that could include either high-end residences or a mixed-use tower with a four-star hotel in downtown St. Petersburg.

Construction could start next year on what is now a 46-space parking lot at Central Avenue and Third Street that serves Priatek Plaza, the third-tallest building on Florida's west coast.

Kucera, which owns and manages Priatek Plaza, has decided to develop the third-of-an-acre lot because "we think now is the right time," said Nathan Lehoux, the company's vice president of business development.

"We think there is enough excitement about economic development in St. Petersburg that it's caught the eye of national players," he said. "There's lots of residential development in every form from moderately priced apartments to high-priced condos selling out, so we think the market is ready for a mixed-use development."

Lehoux said the project would not be built on speculation, but instead would start construction only after a "creditworthy national tenant" or two pre-leased a minimum of 250,000 square feet.

Alternatively, Kucera would partner with a high-end residential developer.

"We're still in the visionary stage," Lehoux said, adding that Kucera is marketing the proposal through Cushman & Wakefield and already is in negotiations with "several parties."

If the new structure is mixed-use, it likely would include shops and perhaps restaurants on the ground floor, six to eight floors of parking with a total of 600 spaces, and five to seven floors of office space.

The Kucera venture is planned for a site just two blocks from another ambitious mixed-use project, One St. Petersburg. Developed by the Kolter Group of South Florida, that is to include a Hyatt hotel, retail establishments and a 41-story condo tower.

Lehoux said he thinks both projects could succeed despite their proximity.

"If we're doing a mixed-use office and retail with hotel, I don't think there's going to be much concern about competition," he said. "If it's going to be residential, I believe St. Petersburg has an appetite not yet satiated and could bear an influx of another several hundred units."

In addition to the 28-story Priatek Plaza, recently renamed for a young technology-advertising company, Kucera Properties manages McNulty Station in downtown St. Petersburg.

Contact Susan Taylor Martin at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow @susanksate.