Grady Pridgen plans to transform the Imperial Yacht Basin off Gandy into a $350-million mix of towers, townhomes and condos.
By TOM ZUCCO
Published May 28, 2004
GANDY/SUN BAY SOUTH - Grady Pridgen's first real estate venture into Hillsborough County is anything but ordinary. If built as envisioned, the project will forever change the landscape at the east end of the Gandy Bridge.
The St. Petersburg developer plans to transform the Imperial Yacht Basin off Gandy Boulevard, one of the last, large, developable waterfront properties in Hillsborough, into a $350-million mix of residential towers, townhomes and low-rise condominiums and a marina. He agreed to buy the property for $25-million several weeks ago and closed on the sale last Friday, the day before his 45th birthday.
"This is the best site in the Tampa Bay area - the perfect opportunity for a waterfront and mixed-use environment," Pridgen said Monday. "It has an existing marina with covered slips, and it's right in the middle of four major employment centers."
Pridgen said Jimmy Mac's Marina restaurant on Gandy will remain. He also plans to renovate the existing marina, which will remain a public facility, and add retail space. The site is approved for 500 residential units.
"There are very few virgin sites left because it's very difficult to redevelop properties," Pridgen said. "It's expensive and cumbersome. That's why you're seeing more and more developers contributing to urban sprawl."
His project, which has not yet been named, would add an upscale feel to a mostly industrial area, he said.
"When you drive by today, it's just a marina. But if you actually see the property, there are over 15 acres of land there and about 1,000 feet of waterfront."
Pridgen has not filed for building permits yet but said construction is expected to begin in about a year and take about eight. Condominiums would be priced between $300,000 and $600,000. Townhouse prices have not been set.
Plans for financing the construction have not been finalized.
"We're exploring our alternatives," he said. "We just purchased the property. It's still very early in the process."
Pridgen has already become one of Pinellas County's most active developers. His company, Grady Pridgen Inc., has extensive commercial holdings in central Pinellas, concentrated mostly in the Gateway area in north St. Petersburg.
He also is planning several residential projects, including the proposed $50-million Bayway Lofts, a 42-story residential tower two blocks from St. Petersburg's waterfront that would be the city's tallest building.
Since announced last June, the Bayway Lofts project has drawn criticism from some residents who argue the proposed height would detract from the waterfront.
At least one St. Petersburg City Council member has questioned another property his company owns, the First Congregational United Church of Christ on Fourth St. N. Pridgen's company bought it in 2000 for $400,000 and, for a time, Pridgen lived in part of the complex with his family. He now lives in the former St. Petersburg home of Major League baseball star Dwight Gooden, and the church remains empty.
"I have growing concerns about where all the money and backing is coming from," said council member Virginia Littrell. "He's got a 42-story condo project proposed on Fourth Avenue N. Meanwhile, the church project has had a construction fence around it since before I was on the council. And I'm in my third year.
Pridgen said delays are not unusual, and that he is working to move his projects forward.
"You have to walk before you can run," he said. "With the Bayway Lofts, we're looking at trying to acquire the rest of the block to spread the project over a larger area that will allow us to lower the height of the building.
"We look to be good neighbors."
Tampa City Council member John Dingfelder, who represents the Gandy area and had dinner recently at Jimmy Mac's, said he had not seen plans for the Imperial Yacht Basin project and didn't want to pass judgment.
"I would have a lot of questions and some concerns about the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods, especially the traffic impact," he said.
"But I'm optimistic. I know nobody's going to let him build at an inappropriate height."
Dingfelder said he opposes developers who buy land, particularly in urban areas, and sit on it for years.
Pridgen's company is scheduled to make a presentation to the Gandy Civic Association's board of directors Tuesday and to the general membership June 14. The association represents the more than 5,000 people who live in the 1,900-acre area bordered by Gandy Boulevard, West Shore Boulevard, MacDill and Bay avenues.
"It looks like they do some pretty nice work, and I get the impression they want to be involved in the neighborhood," said association president Al Steenson. "But one of my concerns is that it's going to be right on top of all the other development going on down here. I honestly don't know how the membership is going to react."
Also of concern is how the city would handle the traffic and parking needs of the hundreds of new residents and shoppers. Historically, the city has not kept up with the area's infrastructure, Steenson said.
Flooding is a constant threat. In a major storm, people from the area, as well as those from Pinellas beach communities, would have trouble evacuating.
"When you have a heavy rain and a high tide, like we did on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve two years ago, you could not get out of South Tampa," he said.
Steenson told a Pridgen representative that he thought the company is going to have a tough time selling the project to residents.
"We've got an open mind on this," Steenson said. "We can't bury our heads in the sand.
"But let's try to get a grip on the growth and do it in an orderly fashion."
