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Hipster sticker shock

They're young, cool and creative, but most can't afford a $200,000-plus pad. As apartments go condo, will South Tampa's vibe undergo a conversion?

By VANESSA GEZARI
Published February 25, 2005

SOUTH TAMPA - Arguably, Ryan Soto and Paul Trusik are too young to think about settling down.

Soto is 21, an engineering student with diamond studs in his ears. His roommate, Trusik, a Web designer, has spiky rust-colored hair cut in a sleek rattail, wears an armful of jelly bracelets and listens to bands like Scissor Sisters.

But in South Tampa's hot housing market, youth is fleeting. Soto and Trusik's two-bedroom apartment in the 134-unit Post Walk at Old Hyde Park Village is going condo this spring, forcing them to contemplate home ownership or higher rents.

"I have to grow up really fast," said Trusik, 26. "I don't really know where I belong, given my age. Do I belong here in South Tampa, which I thought I did? Or in Ybor or somewhere more urban?"

Condo conversions have grown commonplace in South Tampa, with Madison at SoHo, Villa Sonoma and many others luring buyers. But some fear that the influx of condos could change the character of the neighborhood, pushing out young and lower-income people in favor of sleek, well-heeled professionals.

For Trusik, it's part of a pattern. During his four years in Tampa, he has watched reasonably priced retailers such as Banana Republic and the Gap give way to Maxwell-Mack and Williams-Sonoma. When he went into Williams-Sonoma recently after working out at the gym, he felt out of place.

"People look at you like, "Why is he here in gym clothes? Shouldn't he be dressed up like everyone else?' " Trusik said.

What happens to a neighborhood that bills itself as young and hip when the young and hip can no longer afford to live there? And what happens to renters when so many apartments go condo at once?

"Tampa is experiencing what many larger cities have, and that is that certain areas get priced out for most working people," said Russ Versaggi, who developed the Sanctuary Lofts apartments in Tampa Heights, which he plans to sell as condos in 2009.

"I think there's a danger, not in terms of a total shortage (of rentals), but a regional shortage that might occur in certain areas."

Yet real estate brokers disagree about whether the conversions will leave South Tampa with fewer rental properties. They say that many condo buyers are investors who plan to rent the units out for a few years, then sell them for a profit. "For Rent" signs still sprout from lawns and hang in windows. They are even showing up outside new condos, such as the downtown Art Center lofts.

In big cities such as New York and Atlanta, condo conversions have led to higher-end rentals, said Vincent Palori, who owns rental properties in Hyde Park and on Davis Islands.

"I think rentals will always be available," Palori said. "I think the quality has increased in South Tampa, and possibly the lower-end ... units have shrunk."

Some rental property owners say that fewer South Tampa rentals might ultimately be good for the market. A glut of available units means owners can't raise rent, even as taxes and insurance rates are increasing. While low rents are good for tenants, they can discourage property owners from renting and lead to more condo construction and conversions over time, real estate brokers said.

"What's really killing the rental market is property taxes," said Patty Ragland, owner of Tampa Bay Realty. "You cannot break even. Taxes and insurance sometimes are equal to the mortgage, and you can't pass that along to the tenant."

There are signs that the conversions are beginning to affect the rental market. Some apartment owners have noted a small, slow increase in rents. Hamilton Jones, whose Gaspar Properties owns the Palace of Florence apartments on Davis Islands and other South Tampa rentals, said he recently stopped offering concessions, such as a month's free rent, because he no longer needs them to draw tenants.

"Once you wipe those away, the next step is to raise (rental) rates if the demand is there," Jones said. "But it's not there yet."

While some renters see the condo conversions as a nudge toward home ownership, other South Tampa renters say they simply aren't ready to buy.

At the Georgian, a brick apartment building on Hills Avenue, 25-year-old Andrew Helms said he didn't have the money or the knowledge to buy a house when he moved here from Maryland in September. Instead, he rents a studio for $500 a month, less than he paid to share a cramped 21/2-bedroom place with two friends in Boston.

"I have to say that since living in the Baltimore-D.C. area and in Boston, everything down here looked cheap to me," he said.

Helms, a lumber salesman, enjoys the ease of living in South Tampa. He says he would consider buying here, but he has noticed that the areas he likes - including Hyde Park - are pricey.

"I looked at a house down the street and it was well out of my range," he said, shrugging.

Soto, the Post Walk resident, says the conversion of his complex will likely force him out of South Tampa altogether.

He pays about $550 a month for his half of the two-bedroom, two-bath apartment behind Pottery Barn. He and Trusik park in a garage, relax on a small balcony and, in the summer, swim in the complex pool. They walk to the gym, cafes and the movies.

"I love it," Soto said. "You can walk to just about anything here."

Soto lived in North Tampa before, but he didn't like it. Now he's thinking of moving to Orlando.

Anthony Everett, vice president of Toni Everett Properties, which is converting the development on behalf of Post Properties, said his company is working with tenants who want to stay. Some tenants want to buy their units; for those who want to keep renting, Everett said the company will look for buyers who are willing to lease their condo rather than live in it. Post is also offering $500 to tenants who choose to move to one of its other properties.

Trusik, Soto's roommate, said he has been told his apartment will be priced at $257,000 after the conversion. Trusik's getting used to the idea of buying, but his research on lofts in Ybor City and elsewhere has not been encouraging. Artists, he says, can't afford $300,000 lofts.

He likes living in South Tampa, but "I don't see that they're really developing anything for young people," Trusik said. "Yeah, there's Starbucks, but everything else is geared to the upper 20s."

Paul Wilborn, Tampa's creative industries manager, is one of those charged with attracting talented, creative young people to the city and keeping them here. His projects include finding ways to grow the digital and film industries and support local arts communities.

Wilborn is not concerned about the conversions.

"I have not heard anyone saying, "Oh, God, this is a negative,' unless you're getting forced out of your apartment," Wilborn said. "What I have heard more is, are we pricing young people out of ownership in the urban area?"

Trusik is exactly the kind of person Wilborn is trying to keep in Tampa. A St. Louis native, he studied business and communications at the University of Tampa and stayed on after graduation. He has a day job in Internet marketing and Web design and does freelance printing and design work on the side.

After college, many of Trusik's classmates returned to Chicago, California or New York. Trusik stayed, partly because he wanted to live in South Tampa.

"People moving here, maybe they need to know what their priorities are," Trusik said. "If they want culture, maybe they need to wait it out a couple of years."

Here are some apartment complexes that have gone condo in the past few years.

Beachwalk Condominiums - Conversion of the 292-unit complex at 4349 Bayside Village Drive in Town 'N Country began about two months ago. About 168 units have been sold. Price range: One-bedroom units start in the $150,000s, two bedrooms start in the $190,000s. For information, call 884-7755.

Culbreath Key - Conversion of the 254-unit complex at 5000 Culbreath Key Way began last July. All of the units have been sold. Price range: $140,000 to high $300,000s. For information, call 740-1600.

Island Place/Island Walk on Harbour Island - Conversion completed in 2002. Island Place has 244 units. Island Walk has 272.

Madison at SoHo - Conversion of the 368-unit complex at 2330 W Horatio St. began last August . Nearly all of the units have been sold. Price range: $160,000 to $270,000. For information, call 258-9075.

Post Walk at Old Hyde Park Village - Conversion of the 134-unit at 800 S Dakota Ave. began Feb. 1. All but five of the units have been reserved. Price Range: $135,000 to $525,000. For information, call 258-4600.

345 Bayshore - Conversion of the 241-unit high-rise at 345 Bayshore Blvd. was completed in December 2002.

Villa Sonoma at International Plaza - Conversion of the 249-unit complex at 4221 W Spruce St. began in October. About 210 units have been sold. Price range: $140,000 to $270,000. For information, call 876-2939.

- Compiled by Stefanie Green

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 09:35:09]