Tampa Port Authority rejects Channelside deal

TAMPA — The latest bid to revive Channelside Bay Plaza was cut off at the knees Tuesday by an unlikely culprit: the Tampa Port Authority itself.

A new ownership group, Liberty Channelside LLC, had struck a deal to buy the failed downtown retail center from the Irish bank that owns it. But the port board has the final say because the 234,520-square-foot complex was built on port land....

Channelside dispute turns personal for Port Authority, potential buyers

TAMPA — The sale of Channelside Bay Plaza is stymied by more than just a business dispute.

Now it's getting personal.

The Tampa Port Authority and the Liberty Channelside LLC ownership group are divided over the port's demand that Liberty put up $8 million in escrow before moving the deal forward.

The port owns the land under Channelside, and its governing board must approve the sale....

Channelside Bay Plaza deal hits $8 million impasse

TAMPA — The latest effort to save Channelside Bay Plaza is at a standstill.

After two weeks of nonstop negotiations, Liberty Channelside LLC came to an impasse on Wednesday with the Tampa Port Authority over its proposed purchase of the failing downtown waterfront entertainment and retail complex.

The Tampa Port Authority staff wants Liberty Channelside and its principals, real estate investor Santosh Govindaraju and hotel developer Punit Shah, to pay $8 million in escrow up front before allowing the port's governing board to vote on the deal. The Tampa Port Authority owns the land Channelside was built on, so the board must approve any sale of the lease....

Pinellas tourism enjoys another — and new — record month

CLEARWATER — March is traditionally the strongest month of the year for the local tourism industry. But Pinellas County has never had a March like this one: It collected a record $4.9 million in taxes from tourism.

That makes March 2013 the best tourism month in county history and the closest Pinellas has ever come to hitting the $5 million mark in a single month.

"It's record-breaking," said county tourism chief D.T. Minich. "It's pretty mind-boggling."...

Lightning owner Jeff Vinik dreams big about downtown Tampa's redevelopment

TAMPA — It has been a rough spring for Jeff Vinik, at least by multimillionaire standards.

His hockey team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, missed the playoffs. He decided to close his multibillion-dollar hedge fund, Vinik Asset Management LP. And he is no longer involved in the restoration of Channelside Bay Plaza.

But Vinik still has grand plans for his hockey team, his charitable foundation and, particularly, his considerable downtown real estate holdings....

Pitch from Channelside's prospective owners impress public

TAMPA — Rick Drury has seen the misery up close. The downturn. The empty storefronts. The foreclosure crisis. And that's just outside his front door.

That's because he's one of the last surviving tenants at Channelside Bay Plaza. The owner of Precinct Pizza came to Wednesday night's town hall meeting to hear how the prospective new owners of the building plan to revitalize a key but long-suffering piece of downtown real estate....

Bay area tourism industry looks to China for next wave

CLEARWATER BEACH — The future of tourism can be summed up in two words: China and smartphones.

That's what hospitality industry leaders were told at the 2013 Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort on Tuesday, which coincided with National Tourism Week.

David Downing, the deputy director of Pinellas County's tourism agency, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, started off the panel discussion by noting the coming dominance of Chinese travel....

Tampa International pep rally celebrates tourism, new airside

TAMPA — Roger Dow broke down the impact of tourism on the American economy like this: 33 international travelers visiting this country generates one job here.

"Every plane that lands," Dow said, "can bring up to nine jobs with it."

Those were the kinds of factoids that made Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, the ideal speaker to kick off National Tourism Week at Tampa International Airport on Monday morning....

Pinellas' idyllic beaches could appeal to China's travel boom

Sand like sugar. Skies as blue as cornflowers. Waves of gentle turquoise.

That idyllic portrait of the Pinellas beaches is one that D.T. Minich has painted all over Europe and South America. Last week the Pinellas County tourism chief introduced the beaches of Clearwater Beach, Fort De Soto, Caladesi and Honeymoon Islands to a brand-new market:

China.

"When they saw the blue skies and pure water and white sandy beaches, they were just like 'Wow,' " Minich said. "They were blown away. A couple of people asked me if this was real."...

Channelside Bay Plaza is latest real estate project for entrepreneurial pals

TAMPA — In 2006 the old downtown Mercantile Bank building sold for $9 million. The plan was to tear it down and build a 50-story condo tower. Oh, those were the days.

Then the downturn hit, and the real estate bubble collapsed. The building was in foreclosure when two investors stepped in last year and offered to pay cash at a severely discounted price — $2.2 million — and they wanted to close in just 10 days....

Liberty Group unveils plans for Tampa's Channelside retail complex

TAMPA — Channelside Bay Plaza is the Walking Dead of Tampa Bay real estate.

The entertainment complex has been foreclosed upon and nearly abandoned by the businesses that once filled it. Purported saviors have come and gone. Cruise ship passengers might think it's the world's biggest Hooters — one of its last tenants. The redevelopment of downtown's Channel District cannot continue while it straddles the line between life and death....