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Work has started on Tarpon Mall. A Publix will rise on one end while the new owner seeks out the right tenant mix.
By KELLEY BENHAM, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 23, 2003
TARPON SPRINGS -- Tarpon Mall has a new owner, and by the end of the year, it is expected to have a new look and a new Publix.
Construction has started on a renovation that will move the current Publix to a larger location on the south end of the strip mall, in the corner where a movie theater used to be.
The old Scotty's, which has been empty for more than three years, is now a pile of concrete and metal. The former Scotty's will become a parking lot. On the other side of that parking lot, near U.S. 19, will be a new free-standing building.
"We're improving the appearance and tenant mix of the property," said Stacy Lipschitz, vice president of corporate communications for New York-based New Plan Excel Realty Trust, which bought the shopping center at the corner of U.S. 19 and Tarpon Avenue in December.
Plans to renovate the Publix began under the shopping center's former owner, Equity Investment Group. City officials met with the company in Atlanta and have appealed to them for a couple of years to renovate the property, said city business services specialist Charlie Attardo.
"This is the gateway to the city," he said. "We want it to make a good representation."
Publix will grow from 34,500 to 45,267 square feet. The project will be completed Dec. 3, Lipschitz said.
A Publix corporate spokesman did not return a call from the Times Wednesday and previously has said he did not know anything about plans for expanding the Tarpon Mall store.
The new Publix will have an airy, industrial look with metal framework and exposed, painted duct work, said city Development Services Director Joey DiPasqua. The architect is still working on the design and has not submitted drawings, he said.
The new 5,000-square-foot free-standing building will probably attract a national restaurant chain, Attardo said. The old Publix location will be marketed to a national retailer, he said.
Lipschitz would not say what sort of tenant might occupy either location or provide any details on the project.
Crews will demolish about half the original building, according to the site plans. When they are finished, the shopping center, including the new building, will be smaller by about 30,000 square feet. It will have 121 more parking spaces and a new facade.
New Plan bought the 43-year-old shopping center in December as part of a 58-property, $437-million deal. The company owns more than 340 properties in 32 states, including three shopping centers in St. Petersburg and one in New Port Richey. New Plan also is a partner with the Sembler Co. of St. Petersburg to replace Clearwater Mall with a new $100-million open-air shopping center.
-- Kelley Benham can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or benham@sptimes.com .