Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Neighborhood report

Channel District: Developer of tower itches to start again

Downtown's SkyPoint has attracted so much interest, the company wants to build "attainable" condos at 110 N 12th St.

By JANET ZINK
Published June 3, 2005

Atlanta developer Novare Group announced its first foray into Tampa late last year with its downtown residential project called SkyPoint.

Apparently, it likes this town.

The company known for building reasonably priced urban housing now plans to build a condominium tower in the Channel District.

Novare and a local developer, Intown Group, want to rezone land at 110 N 12th St. to make way for an 18-story, 475-unit tower on top of a seven-story garage. The City Council is scheduled to review the request July 21.

"Since the day we came into town and hooked up with our partners down in Tampa, Intown Group, we have been phenomenally excited about Tampa," said John Long, Novare's senior vice president.

The project would also include 10,000 square feet of retail and a half-acre park on 11th Street.

"We thought that one of the things the Channel District lacked was some common public space," Long said. "It's a wonderful area, and we're glad to be a part of it, but sometimes there needs to be a respite from all the urban development. We thought a park would be a good thing to add to the mix."

The site is owned by Channelside Developers, which also is developing the Meridian Lofts with the Intown Group. Meridian is just north of the proposed project.

Novare broke ground in January on SkyPoint, a 32-story tower at the corner of Ashley Drive and Polk Street.

Already, more than 1,000 potential buyers have come through the sales center and expressed interest in the 381 units, Long said. Last week, Novare began randomly selecting 100 people to pick specific units.

Like SkyPoint, the project in Channel District will offer what Novare describes as "attainable" units priced from about $170,000. Most condos in that area start at about $300,000.

"We believe that the lower you can make the units cost, the more buyers there are," Long said. "It's not easy to build a Class A property and then charge prices that first-time home buyers can afford. We've worked very hard to develop a product that you can afford to sell for that much money."

The company has had success with similar residential projects in Atlanta. In the past year, it has launched projects in Nashville and Charlotte, N.C.

- Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 2, 2005, 08:00:13]