22 story apartment tower proposed for just off Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard

TAMPA — A synagogue, a garden club and a venerable breakfast spot could be getting a striking new neighbor, a 22-story apartment tower.

Tampa-based Skyway Capital Partners submitted preliminary plans this week for the 168-unit tower on W Bay to Bay Boulevard, a block from Bayshore Boulevard.

"Its really a different product type from what's coming on the market in that this is going to be bigger, more luxurious units geared to empty nesters,'' said attorney Truett Gardner. "Architecturally, it's a really bold and exciting building.''

Last fall, a company affiliated with Skyway Capital, a private equity investment firm, paid $11.25 million for the site. It currently contains two mid-rise office buildings and the popular Pach's Place restaurant, all of which would remain, Gardner said.

The site also has been approved for an additional 100,000 square feet of office space on what is now a parking lot. Gardner said the developer is seeking city permission to use that space for the apartment tower instead. A hearing is scheduled for June.

Whatever goes up on the site would generate more traffic, which "obviously is a big concern of everybody,'' Gardner said. But, he added, a residential project would produce "substantially less'' traffic than offices.

The 250-foot tower would loom over its neighbors, which include the Congregation Rodeph Sholom to the north and the Tampa Garden Club in front. Most if not all of the one- and two-bedroom units would have views of Hillsborough Bay and downtown Tampa.

"There are a lot of low-in-height buildings,'' Gardner said, "so once you get above the tree lines it's got a great view.''

No construction costs or timetable have been set for the project, which is still in the "very preliminary'' stages, Gardner said. The plans submitted to the city indicate that the building would have parking inside but do not show how many levels would be devoted to it.

The Tampa Bay area has seen a flurry of new apartment construction as the demand for apartments is driving up rents faster than home values. Banks are more willing to loan for apartments than condo projects because "that's where the market is now,'' Gardner said.

Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642.