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SHARON L. BONDTeresa Ross, owner of Milagros, rents space from Florida Craftsmen, an arts cooperative, but is looking for a new building for the new year.
ST. PETERSBURG - A landlord-tenant dispute will close Milagros on Christmas Eve, the downtown gift and furniture shop known for its handmade soaps.
Milagros owner Teresa Ross said her landlord, Florida Craftsmen, told her she had to leave by Dec. 28. Christmas Eve will be the last day of business at the 505 Central Ave. shop. She wants to open elsewhere in St. Petersburg next year.
"It was all very short notice," Ross said last week. "It's emotional."
Florida Craftsmen is next door to Milagros and owns the building both occupy.
Walt Blenner, a Palm Harbor lawyer who is president of the Florida Craftsmen board, said the arts cooperative could not get Ross to sign another lease after hers expired earlier this year.
"She said the space didn't fit her manufacturing needs," said Blenner, adding that Ross said she needed to figure out if she could reconfigure the space for her soap manufacturing.
When Florida Craftsmen could not get an answer from her, Blenner said, it asked her to leave because it didn't want her to leave after the new year started.
However, Ross said she was told she could stay until August 2004 or get out Dec. 28.
Florida Craftsmen sells works from various artists. As a not-for-profit organization, it can get a property tax break if it occupies 51 percent of the space it owns. With Milagros as a tenant, the tax break was not available.
With Milagros leaving, Florida Craftsmen will move into its space, using most of it for exhibitions. To claim the tax benefit for 2004, however, the organization must be occupying its space on Jan. 1. Blenner said Craftsmen will be able to save $14,000 on its property taxes next year.
Ross said she has talked to real estate agents about new spaces in St. Petersburg but has not been able to give much time to finding one because of the busy season.
"I need a big back room where we can make soap, (a room) that is much like a kitchen. We basically need a big sink," Ross said. Storage space also is needed because the base for the soap is delivered by the ton.
"I have space, water and power issues," said Ross, adding that she needs more than 1,000 square feet.
Milagros pours its soap mixtures in loaf pans and then slices the loaves to sell by the piece. It has been in its Central Avenue space for seven years, Ross said.
"St. Petersburg has been great to us. We love being in St. Petersburg. We've been there to see all the changes happen. It's phenomenal."
Blenner said he was sorry things turned out the way they did.