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Townhomes with a view filling a niche
By MELIA BOWIE, Times Staff Writer TAMPA PALMS -- Developer Warren Kinsler surveyed the backdrop of towering pines bordering his latest project inside Tampa Palms Area 3 and smiled at the cluster of sparkling townhomes. "Look at these views," he said, pointing to the trimmed grass and thick woods behind a model home inside Emerald Pointe, a gated community of 131 townhomes under construction. For Kinsler and others, townhomes could constitute a housing compromise in New Tampa, where builders are increasingly stymied by a glut of apartment complexes, and resident opposition to the high-density buildings is intense. In an area where housing options are largely limited to sprawling single-family homes or apartment units, townhomes offer New Tampa buyers a high-end, low-maintenance living alternative. "There's just a market for them," Kinsler said of his townhome properties. The demand existed, he noted, but south of Interstate 75 "there wasn't anything in this area." Apartment building boomSince the late 1990s, apartment construction has been a nonstop part of New Tampa life. More than 9,000 apartment units now exist in the area where, not long ago, single-family homes were the norm. In Hillsborough County, only Brandon has rivaled New Tampa, said analyst Michael Slater, president and owner of Triad Research & Consulting Inc. in Tampa. More than 2,000 apartments were built between 1998 and 2000, bringing the total number of complexes to about 40. Across the street from USAA Insurance, the Preserve at Tampa Palms will create 378 more units. "It has been a constant evolution over the last three of four years," said Slater. But some homeowners in the area have routinely expressed concerns about turnover in the apartments, traffic generated by renters in the multifamily units and an infrastructure unable to handle the influx into New Tampa. "That's a lot of people you can put on a small acreage," said Carol Poland, vice president of the New Tampa Community Council. Last summer, after an outcry from residents, the Tampa City Council reversed its initial approval of a Scala 683 Group mixed-use development project that included plans for 300 new apartment units. The plan was altered and presented to the council this January with for-sale townhomes or condominiums instead. "The area was being saturated with apartments," said City Council member Shawn Harrison, who voted against the initial proposal. Too much of the same thing is not good for the community, he reasoned -- especially in New Tampa, where congested roads plague residents. "I don't think there will be too much more zoning for apartments," he said. Homeowner opposition isn't the only factor. Industry analysts say that apartment construction has shown signs of slowing in New Tampa and elsewhere, as developers essentially wait for the market to catch up with the industry. "Vacancy rates have been rising, rent increases have slowed up and there are more rent concessions such as a month's free rent," said Mark Obrinsky, chief economist with the National Multi Housing Council in Washington, D.C. Turning to townhomesKinsler is no stranger to the vagaries of multifamily housing; he has developed two rental complexes in Tampa Palms. He sees townhomes as a separate niche. "Just because you can't afford a million-dollar home, why not have a million-dollar view?" he said inside Emerald Pointe, where a first generation of families has lived since December. Poland agreed that if multifamily housing must go in, for-sale townhomes could be a good compromise. "You buy a townhome, so hopefully you want to stay," she said. "You have a lot of early-nesters and retirees." The first phase of Emerald Pointe in Tampa Palms is expected to be completed by April, with another 29 units scheduled for completion by October. Nearly 30 homes have been purchased and about half of the owners have moved into the dwellings, which are selling for $120,000 to $150,000. Other townhome projects have been planned, but not approved, elsewhere in New Tampa. They include the Townhomes at Arbor Greene, a proposal with 300 rental units, said Slater. Townhomes are just one component of Kinsler's plans for Area 3. Buckingham at Tampa Palms, a development of 105 single-family homes, is being developed next to Emerald Pointe. A planned shopping center is expected to include a home furnishing store, a grocery, a bookstore and restaurants. Finalizing an anchor store is first on that agenda. "We anticipate being able to announce something by summer," Kinsler said.
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