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Waterfront project may face demolition
By SHARON L. BOND, Neighborhood Times Business Editor ST. PETERSBURG -- They were supposed to be upscale townhomes with touches reminiscent of the 1913 Rutland mansion next door, models of the luxury of waterfront living. Instead, they have sat unfinished and open to the elements for so long that it has come to this: An engineer hired by the city of St. Petersburg has recommended tearing down the three unfinished townhouse buildings. Construction stopped in early 1999. One was 40 percent built and the other just 20 percent finished. The most complete one has been vandalized. "Unknown persons have torn the building apart," said Robert Miles, building demolition coordinator for the city. "Doors and windows are broken. You can see where someone has picked up sandbags and heaved them through the windows. "The structure is insecure. There is water in the base wood subflooring. It has that dark, black, grayish look that is a pre-stage of rot." Miles said city officials plan to meet with the owners of the property, South St. Pete Property Inc., this week to try to determine the future of the abandoned project. Also of concern is the system constructed on the property for storm drainage that Miles said has open manholes. The perimeter wall also needs repairs. The engineer who surveyed the buildings said they could be rehabilitated. But Miles said developers would have to go back to the drawing board and correct a number of problems before construction could begin again. The three buildings were part of 26, initially 27, that would make up a development covering about two thirds of a historic estate on the edge of Little Bayou at the southeastern end of St. Petersburg. Each building was to have two three-story townhouses that would sell from between $160,000 to $230,000. Before very much of the work on the new development was done, however, developer Robert Swain of Clearwater filed for bankruptcy protection in July 1999. The property ended up with AmSouth Bank, which foreclosed after liens were filed against the project by subcontractors who had not been paid. The location of the townhouse project -- wooded, waterfront land within sight of the 1913 Rutland mansion -- drew a number of buyers who put down tens of thousands in deposits. After the project stalled, a number of the buyers formed a group and tried to buy it in hopes of hiring another developer to finish it. But they were not successful. Most of them got back about half the deposit money they put down. By the time the Rutland Estates townhouse project entered bankruptcy, Swain already had gone on to another project, Newport Creamery Inc., a chain of restaurants based in Rhode Island. That project ended up in bankruptcy last year. In August 2000, a group called South St. Pete Property Inc. bought the 9.5 acres and three unfinished buildings for $1.3-million, but nothing has been done on the site since the purchase. Attorney Sam I. Reiber in Tampa has represented the property group but declined in the past to say who its members are.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
