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MICHAEL CANNINGA business expands to give brides worry-free shopping while developers create new offices and townhomes.
THE WEDDING PLANNER: Bridal consultant Anita Greenberg intends to have everything under one roof for people planning a wedding.
Greenberg opened her Classic Celebrations stationery business at 442 W Kennedy Blvd. a few years ago. On Monday, she intends to move it and combine it with her new business, the Wedding Emporium, at 2124 S Dale Mabry Highway (former site of the Paris Flea).
Other vendors will join Greenberg, including those who provide photography, videography, baking, catering, bridal attire, tuxedo, limousine, music and hair and makeup services.
"We're hoping it'll be a one-stop shop for the bride," said Greenberg, a Brooklyn native.
The 1,500-square-foot store near San Miguel Street will be on the posh side, she said. "We want to give brides the Nordstrom experience."
GREAT AMERICAN DEVELOPING: Great American Corp. developers, the folks behind the new Park on Bayshore townhome project, are building their own new digs.
The company will tear down its three converted houses at 3239 Henderson Blvd., just off Kennedy Boulevard - within about five weeks, according to Great American's property manager Garrison Urette.
A two-story Mediterranean-style office building with matching three-car garage building will rise on the lot. Urette said Great American plans to take up most of the 4,000-square-foot office building and lease the rest to another tenant.
"We've had nonstop calls" from prospective tenants, she said. "If we get a good price, we'll move."
Construction should take six to eight months.
Meanwhile, Great American is putting the final touches on its Park on Bayshore townhome project a block and a half north of Interbay Boulevard. Credit the developers for bringing some sort of the balance to South Tampa's new construction scene. The project at 5323 Bayshore Blvd. doesn't sport the Mediterranean look.
Rather, it has been rendered in a tasteful - and sorely needed - Colonial Charleston motif with dark green exterior shutters, a black wrought iron gate, brick drive and 5,000-square-foot garden with preserved oak trees.
The two-story townhomes range from 2,430 to 3,587 square feet and have two-car garages, up to four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Prices range from $558,000 to $770,000. Three of the seven units are still available, said Great American owner Mike Urette.
GABLES RISE WHERE VERANDAH STOOD: Another Mediterranean-style residential project is nearing completion on Kennedy Boulevard near WestShore Plaza.
It's called Gables Beach Park, a 166-unit townhome apartment complex at 5200 W Kennedy Blvd., site of the former Verandah restaurant between Sherill and O'Brien streets. The property is one of 83 across the country owned by Gables Residential of Boca Raton.
Property manager Yvette Green says five of the complex's 16 buildings are finished and partially occupied. The rest should be done by May.
Each unit is three stories and has a private attached garage. There are eight floor plans, and rent ranges from $1,210 to $2,000 a month. Amenities include a pool, fitness room, business center, billiards room, media entertainment room and five courtyards with fountains.
PROJECT TO BOAST NEW WALLS: It was just too cool for W.A. Hayward, the owner of Apex Builders, to pass up.
Hayward, a helicopter pilot, learned about a new type of wall developed by a McDonnell Douglas aircraft engineer that is based on helicopter rotor blades. He decided to incorporate it into Apex's latest project, Villa Tampania, a four-unit townhome complex at 604 S Tampania Ave.
The walls are made of slender steel panels stacked side-by-side with layers of polyurethane foam, dry wall and other materials.
Hayward - who dusted his father's crops in his youth - says the walls are more rigid and soundproof than conventional designs. He added that he might use them in Apex's Victoria Park, a 26-unit townhome project at Moody Avenue and DeLeon Street in SoHo.
Villa Tampania is located between Swann Avenue and DeLeon Street. Each 1,750-square-foot unit will have two stories, three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, vaulted ceilings, a two-car garage, hardwood floors, granite counters and stainless steel appliances.
Units cost $309,000. Two have sold, and one is reserved, Hayward said. The project will sport the Mediterranean look.
- Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3382, or e-mail mikecanning@hotmail.com
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- AMY SCHERZER