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The proposal involves apartments for seniors on property behind Helen Ellis Memorial. A medical school also wants the site.
By KELLEY BENHAM
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 4, 2002
TARPON SPRINGS -- Of the two groups seeking to develop city-owned land, at least one is ready to make a deal this week.
A Boston developer has offered the city more than the appraised value for about 19 acres behind Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital.
The Gatehouse Group wants to build 160 apartments for independent seniors on the land east of Alt. U.S. 19 N and off Curlew Place.
It offered $1.35-million cash at closing for the property, about half of which can be developed. One appraiser told the city the land is worth between $625,000 and $665,000. A second concluded it is worth between $970,000 and $1.1-million.
As an alternative, the Gatehouse Group also has offered to lease the land for 50 years and then give it back to the city. For a lease, the company would pay $300,000 up front and $73,500 per year. Over 50 years, that's almost $4-million; and the city will not lose the land.
"I really think it's a good deal for the city," said Charlie Attardo, the city's business services specialist.
An osteopathic college in Pennsylvania also is interested in the property, but it wasn't ready to make an offer at the commission work session Oct. 29. The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine wants to build a second campus and is looking at three parcels of land in the area.
The school might not be able to match the offer made involving the apartment community, said representative Nikitas Kazouris. But he hopes the city will see the value in the sense of identity and intellectual flavor that the college would provide, he said.
The City Commission will decide Tuesday night which group will get a chance to buy the land. Voters will have to approve a sale or lease at a referendum in February or March. Gatehouse Group has offered to pay for the $15,000 referendum if the commission chooses its proposal.
The osteopathic college asked the commission to put both choices on a ballot, but City Attorney John Hubbard said that could lead to confusion.
Representatives from the school hope to present an offer to Mayor Frank DiDonato and other commissioners before Tuesday night's meeting. They have planned a trip to Florida Monday, DiDonato said.
Pure economics gives the edge to the apartment community, Attardo said.
Whether it buys or leases the land, the Gatehouse Group would pay about $60,000 a year in property taxes, he said. The college, as a nonprofit institution, could apply for tax-exempt status.
The apartment complex will also bring in at least $33,000 of additional revenue each year in service fees, Attardo estimates. He did not have enough information to prepare a similar estimate for the college.
The apartment community would be gated and age-restricted. It would offer activities and amenities catered to seniors, including field trips, guest speakers, shuffleboard and computer classes.
It would fill a gap in the market between assisted-living facilities and family-oriented complexes, said president Marc Plonskier. The company already owns five apartment complexes in Hillsborough and wants to expand into Pinellas, Plonskier said.
"We build for the long term," he told commissioners. "We are obviously deeply committed to this housing community."
-- Kelley Benham can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or benham@sptimes.com.