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ANNE LINDBERGBeazer Homes has sought Pinellas Park approval to build 324 multifamily townhomes on the nursery's site.
PINELLAS PARK - Earl J. Small Growers, a city landmark for 57 years, may soon sprout townhomes rather than the plants and flowers for which the company is internationally known.
Under a proposal filed Thursday with Pinellas Park officials, Beazer Homes would build 324 multifamily townhouses on 26 acres now occupied by the nursery. The remaining 3.1 acres of the parcel would have a commercial development.
The zoning on the land at 6901 49th St. N would have to be changed from farm to residential to make way for the project. The issue is scheduled to go before the city's Planning and Zoning Commission on June 3. If all goes well there, the City Council could make its final decision on the rezoning in July.
If the deal goes through, the project would be one of the three largest residential developments in Pinellas Park during the past decade. The other two are in the Gateway Centre and at U.S. 19 and 110th Avenue N, said Assistant City Manager Tom Shevlin.
The townhome community also would be the second major development in the city's southeast section. A few blocks east, ParkSide mall is slated to be razed July 1 and remade as an open-air shopping center rather like the new Clearwater Mall.
Boulder Venture South LLC also has indicated it wants to build residential housing on both sides of 70th Avenue N.
The Beazer proposal for the nursery property shows plans for multifamily units with a mix of floor plans. Some have attached garages. Others have outside parking. A pool and cabana are part of the plan.
The residential component of the plan is divided into four "villages."
Village I has 54 homes; Village II, 102; Village III, 68; and Village IV, 100.
The first phase of Villages I, II and the commercial component would be finished in June 2005. The second phase of Villages I and II would be complete in June 2006.
Phase one of Villages III and IV would be done by January 2007. The final phase of both would be built by June 2007.
It is unclear how expensive the homes will be. But the Atlanta-based Beazer, ranked as one of the top 10 single-family home builders in the country, is known for its upscale homes.
The company builds in more than 40 markets across the country. Beazer has 13 projects proposed or ongoing in the Tampa Bay area from Gibsonton and Lithia to Tampa, Seminole, Largo and St. Petersburg, according to the company's Web site www.beazer.com
Homes in Tampa's Country View, Colony West and Country Run and Largo's Seminole Palms start at $120,000, the Web site shows. Homes in St. Petersburg's Venetian Bay begin at $219,990.
Beazer representative Judy Hull did not return a phone message Friday asking for comment.
The nursery was founded in 1947 by Oklahoma native Earl J. Small and Jack Sweet as Earl J. Small Orchids. Today the company has 110 employees and 700,000 square feet of greenhouses, according to its Web site, www.ejsmall.com
The company sells more than 100 varieties of plants and produces 40-million seeds a year.
Seedlings are sold all over the world, but about 85 percent of the plants are sold in Florida, said company representative Grady Cowden. Many of those go to the Publix grocery chain.
For the past several months, a For Sale sign has been on the property. Cowden said Friday the land has not been sold although several people are interested. But the zoning needs to be changed to clear the way for development.
The request filed Thursday is the first step in that process, Cowden said.
If that goes through, Cowden said he would be in a better position to discuss Small's future.