Plans envision residential towers

Two proposals for 1.25 acres of Curtis Hixon Park propose high-end apartments and condominiums for downtown.

By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 21, 2002

TAMPA -- The city's offer to sell a piece of Curtis Hixon Park has attracted proposals from two developers that want to build residential towers in the planned downtown arts district.

National developer Trammel Crow Co. has proposed an 18-story tower with 225 apartments renting for about $1,800 a month. If the $37.7-million project is successful, the company would build a second tower with up to 28 stories and 225 apartments.

Byrd Corp. of Clearwater is pitching a 25-story tower with 100 condominiums selling for $180,000 to $378,000. Byrd also wants an option to build another identical tower if the first one, estimated to cost about $25-million, sells well.

City officials hope the arts district will put some life into Tampa's downtown core, which becomes deserted once workers leave their offices and on weekends.

Pricey condos and upscale apartments flank the central business district on Harbour Island and Bayshore Boulevard. But it has been two decades since a residential project was built downtown.

The last census counted 709 downtown residents -- about half of whom lived in the city jail and a high-rise retirement home.

"The city's working on a vision of making the cultural arts district a place to be," said Brooks Byrd, vice president of high-rise development for Byrd Corp. "To be a viable downtown after 5 o'clock, you need people to live there."

The arts district will include a new $45-million Tampa Museum of Art, a county history museum and an expanded Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

City officials also envision upscale residences -- with soaring views of the Hillsborough River, the University of Tampa and Hillsborough Bay -- as an important part of the district.

Last month, the city mailed information about the 1.25-acre site beside the Poe Parking Garage and the local high-rise residential market to 23 developers and related firms that had expressed interest in the project.

Two responded by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline, both with significant development track records in the Tampa Bay area.

Headquartered in Dallas, Trammell Crow built the Tampa Marriott Waterside hotel and two downtown office towers: SunTrust Financial Centre and First Union Center.

The corporation is a huge real estate developer, broker and manager that was involved in building or financing $1.3-billion in projects last year.

TECO Properties, the real estate arm of Tampa Electric Co. parent TECO Energy, has an interest in investing in the local project.

Byrd's best known projects are three condo towers called SeaSide at Belleair and the GrandView condominium tower under construction on Harbour Island.

Both developers say the downtown Tampa project carries risk because of the weak market for luxury apartments and condos in the city.

Neither offered the $5-million that an appraisal commissioned by the city said the property is worth. Trammel Crow offered $500,000 initially, with a premium of up to $4-million once it sells the project to an equity partner. Byrd offered $4-million if it built both towers and another $4-million if the city built parking garages for the towers.

The two companies also want the city to put in all underground utilities and make aesthetic improvements to the top floor of the Poe garage. Trammel Crow wants all transportation impact fees waived, and Byrd asked the city to waive all impact and permit fees.

In return, the project will help spark new development in downtown's north end, said Robert Abberger, managing director of Trammel Crow's Florida development services.

"It will be significant for the north end of Tampa, just as the Marriott was for development of the Channel District," he said.

A committee of city officials will rank the two proposals early next month and recommend one to Mayor Dick Greco.

-- Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.

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