The ex-mayor will no longer work with longtime friends, the DeBartolos.
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published October 30, 2004
TAMPA - Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco is leaving his job at the DeBartolo Property Group to start a new business venture, his future business partner confirmed Friday.
Former car dealership magnate Carl Lindell, who with partner Ron Weisser is involved in major development projects in several counties, said Greco will work with them on yet-to-be disclosed deals.
Lindell said the partners plan to provide detailed information about their new venture Monday. On Friday, he would only call the endeavor "an adventure . . . lots of adventure."
Greco, who became vice president for development at the DeBartolo Property Group after his mayoral term ended last year, did not return telephone calls for comment.
Lindell said Friday "most likely" was Greco's last day at DeBartolo.
"I'm sure he has some things to clean up over there. He's still working to finish up a few little things," Lindell said.
While Lindell would not provide details of the new partnership, he has been focusing his efforts lately on development projects in Pasco, Hillsborough and Manatee counties.
Earlier this year, Lindell switched gears by selling his car dealerships after more than three decades in that business in order to move solely into development.
Greco's move, meanwhile, means he will no longer work for his longtime friends, the DeBartolo family. His relationship with the DeBartolos, particularly the late Edward DeBartolo Sr., spans decades.
In 1974, during his first stint as mayor, Greco resigned mid term to work for the DeBartolo Corp., a leading national builder of shopping malls.
DeBartolo Jr. owned the San Francisco 49ers football team, and Greco was vice president at the company when the team won Super Bowl XXIX. Greco said he participated in some business deals involving the team and went to their games. So when the 49ers won their fifth championship, he got a ring.
Greco joins a team that lately has been busy. Lindell and Weisser, a civil engineer, are developing Wilderness Lake Preserve in Pasco County's Land O'Lakes. The 680-acre project is to include 900 homes, being constructed by six builders.
On Gunn Highway in Hillsborough County, the two men have developed Keystone Shores, a project with homes ranging in price from $800,000 to $2-million.
And on Harbour Island near downtown Tampa, Lindell Properties plans to break ground by year's end on three 20-story condo towers.
