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Design matches Oldsmar council's vision

A doctor's company wins the Olds Square contract with its vision of an open town plaza area.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published July 7, 2005

OLDSMAR - The City Council has chosen a Clearwater developer with a $64-million plan to carry out the city's vision for a revitalized downtown.

JES Properties got the go-ahead to negotiate a development agreement with the city at Tuesday night's council meeting.

The plan is to build Olds Square on about 5.5 acres, including the former SouthTrust bank property the city bought in 2002 for $660,000. In its proposal, JES has budgeted $2.4-million for acquiring land from private property owners.

JES and a second company, the Tampa office of Unicorp National Developments, last week presented competing proposals for Olds Square, a mixed-use project, to the City Council during a special work session. Each company proposed building a combination of housing, offices and stores on State Street, but in the end council members thought JES's vision was more in line with their own.

"We're looking to (create) a vital downtown area, and part of their proposal really used the whole property to do that," said council member and vice mayor Jim Ronecker. "In their proposal, they gave us opportunities to have gatherings in the center of the town square, and I really liked that idea."

JES is owned by orthopedic surgeon Douglas J. Weiland, who founded and sold the Florida Spine Institute in Clearwater. His plan for Olds Square complements another JES project in Oldsmar, the Oldsmar Galleria. The Galleria, a $10-million project to be built starting this fall, has retail and residential space occupying 59,000 square feet.

The plan for Olds Square includes a main street with a large plaza in the middle to serve as a focal gathering point where events can be held.

Ronecker said he also was struck by JES's proposed parking garage, which blends in with surrounding buildings.

"The JES proposal really hit the parking garage too," Ronecker said. "They camouflaged it. It doesn't look like a parking garage."

Details on who will pay for the garage haven't been worked out.

JES's presentation was weaker than Unicorp's, said Mayor Jerry Beverland, but their idea of a large courtyard for people to congregate won his vote.

"The other one had everything jammed together," Beverland said. "There wasn't a courtyard, there wasn't any place other than the sidewalks for people to walk around."

Everyone agreed the project's potential is exciting.

"We certainly wished we had been selected because we have the strength, the background to do it," said T. Austin Simmons, vice president of development with Unicorp. "We wish the city well and hope they get a great project off the ground. It's going to be a neat project. If the city continues to enforce their vision on the project the outcome will be good for them. I hope they just keep doing what they're doing."

Creating a town center for a downtown that barely exists is exciting, Weiland said. He said Olds Square is a landmark project that will accelerate the growth of the city and the Tampa Bay area.

"It's definitely nice for me. Look how close it is," Weiland said Wednesday from his office off Curlew Road. "We're even contemplating putting our office in here."

[Last modified July 7, 2005, 01:01:15]