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LORRI HELFANDThe retail giant offered too little for the Crossroads Mall property, the owner says.
LARGO - The owner of Crossroads Mall has rejected Wal-Mart's offer to build a supercenter on the current mall site.
"We have completely terminated any discussions with Wal-Mart about going on the property," Jackson Ward of Mall Owners LLC said.
Mall Owners LLC in Miami had been dealing with Wal-Mart for about 18 months. Tuesday, Ward said he ended talks with Wal-Mart because his company had difficulty dealing with the retail giant and because he wanted to work with Largo's city leaders to help them develop their own plans for the site.
Ward also said Wal-Mart wasn't willing to pay what the property was worth. The property is currently appraised for tax purposes at $14.5-million.
"We've had offers in excess of $22-million," Ward said.
Last week, city leaders expressed disappointment over the possibility of a 208,000-square-foot megastore on the property.
The 34-acre site on the corner of Roosevelt Boulevard and U.S. 19 is the key property featured on the cover of the city's strategic plan, a long-term vision for Largo's development.
The plan replaces the mall with several smaller shops, offices and residential units, such as townhomes.
Down the road, city officials also hope they can persuade Pinellas County to develop property that it owns south of the site into a park or some other form of recreation.
John Dunphy, managing director of Colliers Arnold real estate firm, said the property is prime for a mixed-use development of this type.
"It's right smack in the middle of the county on the corner of U.S. 19 and Roosevelt. You add those things together and that's a pretty rare site in Pinellas County," Dunphy said.
City Commissioner Gay Gentry was opposed to the idea of a Wal-Mart Supercenter and said one of her greatest concerns was that the store was going to be open 24 hours a day.
Although the property is on the market, Ward said his company plans to be involved in the development or planning phases of projects on the site.
City Manager Steve Stanton said the city is "ecstatic" about Ward's choice to redevelop the property into something more than a mall.
"He has a history of building urban activity centers in other communities and he conveys a sense of sincerity that he wants to work with the city," Stanton said.
Ward owns properties in half a dozen states. Six months ago, his company, Gulfside Development Inc., broke ground on Downtown Dadeland in Miami, a mixed-use project with low-rise buildings that combine condominiums and retail space.
Ward said he had more than five offers on the Largo property. Interested parties included several large regional and national shopping center developers, a couple of mixed-use developers, a couple of residential developers and an office developer.
"Hopefully Wal-Mart will still want to invest in the community, but just not at this site," Stanton said.
Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com