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Developer proposes 23-story residential tower in Tampa's downtown

 
Published Sept. 18, 2014

TAMPA — After nine years without any movement, the idea of a residential tower on downtown's N Franklin Street is getting new life.

Carter & Associates, an Atlanta-based national real estate developer, is considering building a 23-story tower with 375 apartments or condominiums. The tower would go up on the 1-acre block bordered by N Franklin Street, E Tyler Street, N Florida Avenue and E Cass Street — what's known as the "Grant block."

On Wednesday, property owner Jeannette Jason said she has an agreement to sell the block to Carter, which is doing its due diligence on the property. She said she could not discuss the price or timetable to close on the deal.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they get beyond the due diligence," said Jason, who also owns the nearby Kress building, a former department store that's on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn welcomed the interest in an area he hopes is poised for rebirth.

"We've been working with them for a couple of months," Buckhorn said of Carter. "They are a quality developer. … Financially, they've got what it takes to get it done."

The mayor said he believes City Hall's work to get the old federal courthouse on N Florida Avenue redeveloped as Le Méridien boutique hotel is attracting major developers' attention to the northern end of downtown. "I think it's the beginning of a lot more that will occur on N Franklin," he said.

Carter's plan calls for stores or restaurants on the ground floor and 536 parking spaces in a garage built between the first floor and the residential tower.

"If everything goes to plan, we'd love to get something started in the first half of next year," said Conor McNally, Carter's chief development officer.

Carter specializes in complex urban infill projects in high-density areas, and McNally said it thinks there will be demand for residential development within walking distance of downtown Tampa's class-A office space and the increasingly active riverfront.

"We've had our eye on Tampa for a while. … It's doing particularly well right now coming out of the recession," he said.

An existing zoning from 2005 approved a 44-story tower with 574 multifamily units for the Grant block. On Monday, Carter asked the city for a determination on whether its proposed plan constitutes a substantial change from the previous rezoning.

In a letter to the city, attorney T. Truett Gardner, who represents the developer, said that since the plan is for a smaller development, he does not believe it is a substantial change. He also said the developer will comply with "applicable and relevant conditions" from the previous rezoning.

In Buckhorn, the project has a mayor who is motivated to help speed it along.

"We will do whatever we need to do to expedite the process and minimize the obstacles that are in the way," he said.

The Grant block is one block north of the historic but vacant Kress building, which Buckhorn tried to spotlight last year by holding his annual state-of-the-city speech there.

"You know the Kress building is near and dear to my heart," he said, adding that he has spoken to multiple developers about it, that the talks are ongoing and that he thinks "they will prove to be fruitful."

In 2005, the City Council approved a rezoning for a total of 974 condominiums spread among three buildings: the 44-story tower on the Grant block, plus 24- and 27-story buildings on the block with the Kress building. But after the real estate market crashed, that development never got off the ground.

Contact Richard Danielson at rdanielson@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3403. Follow @Danielson_Times.