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The vice mayor brings an element of suspense before a 4-1 vote for the $20-million mixed-use project at Bayshore and Main.
By LEON M. TUCKER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 23, 2003
SAFETY HARBOR -- The developer of the just-approved Harborside at Safety Harbor expects to break ground on the project by early June.
But before the first chunk of dirt is moved, several things need to happen.
Approval for the $20-million complex made up of four buildings housing a restaurant, offices, retail space and condominiums came late Tuesday, but with a list of almost two dozen conditions the developer must meet.
Besides capping the development height at 65 feet, one of the buildings will be one floor shorter than originally envisioned.
"We need to finalize and cost out the conditions with the (city) staff and city attorney," said John Marling, chairman of Investors Realty, which owns Village Partners developers of Orlando. "While we are doing that, we'll be finalizing all of our architectural drawings and premarketing the restaurant."
Clearwater resident Walter Loick, who owns the 3.3 acres on the corner of Main Street and Bayshore Boulevard, stands to make between $700,000 and $1-million per acre on the sale.
"It's been a long process," he said. "I'm just glad (Marling) was able to persevere because I think he went though a lot of trauma.
"I want to commend the commissioners who voted for the development," he added, "for the foresight and creating a new beginning for Safety Harbor that will bring in a vibrance that the city has lacked for some time."
The building facing Main Street will have six retail shops and six two-story townhomes. It will be three stories tall.
The anchor building, at Bayshore and Main, will have office and retail space and a restaurant.
Two buildings along Bayshore Boulevard will be exclusively residential, each with 18 condominium units built over parking spaces for 80 cars.
The decision came down to the wire.
As the largest crowd in recent memory packed commission chambers Tuesday, many filed in wondering about one commissioner in particular.
Unlike his colleagues, who spoke out early on their positions, Vice Mayor Keith Zayac kept quiet until the end.
Before his vote, he talked of calls, e-mails and conversations with residents on the street. He told of the chilly hour he spent last week staring at the balloons -- set out to approximate the project's height -- twisting in the breeze 65 feet up.
"I've had a lot of input and I'm really speaking from the heart," he said. "I've had a lot of concerns about the project and I still do. But I'm going to vote in favor of it because I don't think it's going to hurt us. It will help us."
Sighs, groans and whispers rose from the audience as a voice mumbled from the back, "That's the third vote."
Then another.
"That's it."
Mayor Pam Corbino, who earlier had expressed concern about the height, traffic and drainage, seemed in opposition to the proposed project before Tuesday's 4-1 vote. She eventually voted for it.
"I'm concerned about the drainage and the traffic, but I think about that every day," she said. "I see some things that will be a catalyst for Safety Harbor."
Commissioner Neil Brickfield said he was impressed with how the developer worked with the city over the past nine months.
"I like this project because it is very unintense and meets the requirements of our community," he said. "I've probably heard about 200 different opinions saying one of two things: They either support it or don't support it."
"But the only opinion that matters," Brickfield added, "is that we love our city and I think this development fits."
Commissioner Robin Borland, who cast the only dissenting vote, said she was "sticking to her guns."
Despite revising the plan numerous times and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to close the deal, Marling said he was never discouraged.
"I think the whole thing was a good process, and we're not done yet -- that's for darn sure," he said. "We're going to really come out the box strong here so we can get the kind of thrust behind this we need."
-- Leon M. Tucker can be reached at 445-4167 or tucker@sptimes.com .