Neighborhood report
Downtown: Buildings to breathe life into district
Three developments in north downtown, including the Arlington Hotel, will bring hundreds of new residents.
By RON MATUS, Times Staff Writer
Published April 23, 2004
On the north rim of downtown, ghosts must be howling: The once-bustling Franklin Street business district is again showing signs of life.
If current plans pan out, hundreds of new residents will call it home by next summer.
Some will be living in lofts under construction on Carlton Drive.
Some in the historic Arlington Hotel.
Still others in the Residences, a proposed eight-story tower.
"This is the first time I've seen movement here," said accountant Lou Prida, who in 1980 bought the vacant lot now slated for the tower.
The city has been hoping for a renaissance. Last year, city officials declared several buildings in the area local landmarks, including the Arlington. The designation offers developers one-time credits on federal tax bills and a 10-year exemption on local property taxes.
Now, timing might be the biggest incentive.
"There's a general trend in the country to have living in the downtown core," Prida said. "Atlanta went through it. Charlotte went through it. I believe we're there."
North downtown is especially prime for urban housing because vacant lots are plentiful and old buildings are still healthy enough for renovation, said Dallas Coffield, a real estate agent with Smith & Associates, which is marketing all three projects.
Developers expect shops, offices and restaurants to follow.
Last week, the Wetherington Hamilton & Harrison law firm announced plans to build a 10,000-square-foot office on a nearby stretch of Florida Avenue.
"You have to do residential first," Prida said. "That should be the lesson of Ybor City."
The old Arlington Hotel, 1209 N Franklin St., was built about 1913. It's owned by architect Stephanie Ferrell and Bob Harrell, the city's former housing chief. Ferrell and Russ Versaggi, the man behind the Sanctuary Lofts in Tampa Heights, are developing it.
In a month or so, work will begin to knock down walls, install kitchens and bathrooms, and transform 52 hotel rooms into 11 one- and two-bedroom condos. The new Arlington will also feature 10 mixed-use spaces, with some future tenants planning a coffeehouse and a pub, Coffield said.
Construction should be complete by early next year.
A block south on Franklin, the Residences will offer 34 one- and two-bedroom units, from $220,000 to the upper $400,000s. Work should begin this summer and take about a year. Units are already selling.
On Carlton Drive, 42 one- and two-bedroom units at Arts Center Lofts went on the market for $150,000 to $280,000. Residents will move in this fall.
Prida isn't worried about competition tripping his tower. "The market's deeper than 87 units," he said.
Much deeper, evidently.
All but two of the Arts Center lofts have been sold.
And last weekend, Smith & Associates sold all 21 units at the Arlington.
- Ron Matus can be reached at 813 226-3405 or at matus@sptimes.com
[Last modified April 22, 2004, 12:44:07]
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