By LENNIE BENNETT and SHARON L. BOND
Published October 24, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Think of it as the urban version of the golf course community. But instead of greens and sand traps, a new condominium proposed for downtown St. Petersburg would use the arts to attract buyers.
Evelyn Craft, executive director of the Arts Center, and Jimmy Aviram, a local developer, on Saturday announced plans for a joint project one block west of the current Arts Center site at 719 Central Ave. It would include a 220-unit residential tower anchored by a 50,000-square-foot arts center.
The project exemplifies the kind of urban development, popularized by the writer Richard Florida, that touts the arts as the most important component in "creative communities" mixing residential, business and recreational elements.
"I don't see it as a condominium community with an arts center. I see it as an arts center with a condominium project," said Aviram, who is involved in a number of downtown properties. He said the price tag of the complex will be $50-million to $75-million.
"It's an urban lifestyle that is really related to the cultural life of St. Petersburg," said Tim Clemmons, architect for the project.
And it might be a unique concept in urban planning.
"I don't know of any other residential project using an arts facility as the anchor," Clemmons said. "Jimmy knew he didn't have a premium site - not waterfront, for example - and needed something to make it a special place. He recruited the Arts Center as an anchor."
The proposed 2.5-acre site sits between Central and First avenues N and Eighth and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets. The former Landmark Union Trust Bank, a historic, 30,000-square-foot building with an imposing stone facade that sits on the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street and Central Avenue, would become the Arts Center's new home. Two four-story additions would expand the space by 20,000 square feet.
The rest of the land, which now is empty, would have a U-shaped condominium tower that would mostly be five stories, but would extend up to 13 stories at one of its corners. A 400-space parking garage, also on the site, would be shared by the tower and the center.
The condominium project also would have a courtyard, eight "live-work" spaces and about 8,000 square feet of retail space. Condos, ranging from one to three bedrooms, would start at about $200,000.
Craft said the estimated cost of the Arts Center expansion would be about $15-million. It may be possible to offset that somewhat through a trade of the current Arts Center facility with Aviram, she said.
"It's still in the vision stage," she said, "because we haven't got all our financing lined up. This is the beginning of a process in which we want to involve the community. But I'm very optimistic that it will happen."
The project has not yet been named, nor has a construction start date been established, but all the parties hope to have it completed within two to three years.
Aviram has several real estate interests in downtown St. Petersburg. He owns the Bank of America building with two partners; is part of a group that owns McNulty Station, a collection of downtown buildings; shares with a partner a prime piece of undeveloped land downtown; and sold a prime hotel site to Opus South Realty to finance the luxury condo project Parkshore Plaza, now under construction.
Aviram and Craft have been discussing the project for the past few months, he said. The developer wanted a project that would offer more affordable residences than some downtown condominiums that have reached millions of dollars.
"I'm trying to gear myself to people who can't afford to buy on the beach anymore," Aviram said. "I want to create an art village."
In Tampa, as in dozens of cities, civic and government leaders are trying to develop "creative communities" through aggressive municipal involvement. In St. Petersburg, such growth has come mostly through private business ventures, including art galleries, shops and restaurants.
High-priced residential developments started downtown on Beach Drive, where Parkshore Plaza, the third condominium tower, is under construction and a fourth is planned. Nearby on the waterfront are four new condo towers next to the historic Renaissance Vinoy Resort. Five stories are being added to a downtown garage for loft condos.
The Aviram-Arts Center deal continues the march west, one of a number of residential developments expanding the downtown's core.
The Arts Center has occupied a converted furniture store since 1996. A gift of $1.2-million from Beth and Sean Manning in 1998 allowed leaders to complete an extensive renovation. It has thrived, growing from a budget of just over $200,000 to today's $2-million; annual attendance has grown from 3,000 in 1996 to about 100,000 last year. But growth has come at a cost, Craft said. She said the 30,000-square-foot facility isn't big enough to generate enough income to fuel more expansion.
The proposed project would mean more and better studios for students, along with abundant parking. More importantly, Craft said she believes the new building, which will combine contemporary architecture with the stately 1926 building, will help make the Arts Center into what's become known as a "cultural destination" for tourists.
A tower on the east end of the building would be sheathed in glass, with a four-story lobby area and galleries for contemporary art, including rooms for installations and video art. A second addition, called the Glass House, would have an auditorium for hot glass demonstrations and studios for blowing glass. The 1926 building, which has been gutted, would hold more classrooms, administrative offices and another auditorium, seating up to 200 people for lectures and even small performances.
"We can't ever get close to breaking even in our current facility," she said. "We have to grow."
