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JAN WESNER CHILDSThe four Ballast Point townhouses will sell for $380,000 to $425,000, and retail space will rent for $30 a square foot.
An upscale townhouse and retail center could open within a year in the heart of Ballast Point, at the corner of Interbay and Bayshore boulevards.
Michelle Krinsky, property manager for the project, said it will feature four large townhomes facing Russell Street and 15,000 square feet of "upscale lifestyle" shops and restaurants facing Interbay.
She declined to specify businesses that are negotiating to rent space but said possibilities include Starbuck's, Panera Bread and a wine dealer.
"You go in the morning for your bagels, then go back in the evening for a glass of wine," Krinsky said of the type of stores she hopes to attract.
She said retail space will rent for $30 a square foot and the townhouses will sell for $380,000 to $425,000.
Tampa Bay Property Developers Inc. bought three parcels of land at the intersection of Interbay and Bayshore for $1.37 million each in August, according to Hillsborough County property records. For-sale signs on the property advertise it as five separate single-family homesites, but Krinsky said that plan was abandoned.
The property was previously the home of Hurley Mat Co., which makes custom industrial and automobile floor mats. The company recently moved to another site on Interbay near Port Tampa.
B.J. Jabbari, president of the development company, told the Times in October after he bought the property that he planned to preserve the site's 1925 concrete yellow house, a longtime local landmark. But Krinsky said the house was condemned and too far gone to be saved. Only the shell remains, and the building is scheduled to be torn down as soon as the weather permits.
A Circle K store sits across Interbay from the site. Residential property borders along the back.
The project, dubbed the Inter-Bayshore Center, is tentatively scheduled to go before the City Council on July 31 to request permission to add parking on part of the site now zoned residential. Project engineer Azam Elsheikh said the change is necessary in order to protect some of the large oak trees that dot the property.
If approved, Krinsky said construction would start as soon as possible and take about six months.
Krinsky said the new buildings would have a "village look" with varying facades, covered walkways and a central fountain.
Gene Wells, president of the Ballast Point Neighborhood Association, said members of the association have met once with the developers and hope to get more information soon. They particularly welcome the retail development.
"On the surface it seems like a high-end upscale development, which is encouraging," Wells said.
The project demonstrates that Ballast Point is an up-and-coming neighborhood attractive to high-end businesses, he said.
"Our secret is out," Wells said.