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SHERRI DAYA hair colorist planning an upscale shop in the Channel District has a zoning battle on his hands.
CHANNEL DISTRICT - When Anthone La Badie looks around Unit 104 in the Victory Lofts, he envisions a thriving upscale salon and spa.
Named Luxe Urbain, French for urban luxury, the salon would combine facials and highlights with an apothecary and boutique that sells designer handbags, jewelry and accessories.
But reality falls far short of La Badie's dream. Instead of tres chic, he's got tres bare. His two-story unit is a blank canvas with white walls that sprout electrical wires and exposed steel beams. Custom-made shampoo tables make a nesting spot for construction plans rather than paying customers.
For now, beauty's on hold.
"The whole process has turned into a nightmare," said La Badie, who owns the salon with engineer J. David Burgstiner . "We expected to be open in August. It's now the latter part of October, and we're going to be lucky if we're open before Thanksgiving. We're kind of worried about how we're going to make this happen."
La Badie is among several commercial tenants who bought space in Victory Lofts, an 89-unit condominium project on 12th Street in the Channel District. The project, which was completed in December, is one of the area's first to have commercial/retail space on the street level, a key aspect of efforts to turn the once industrial area into a pedestrian-friendly urban neighborhood.
After searching South Tampa sites for months, La Badie chose the Channel District because he believes in what the neighborhood can become.
His problems began when he was negotiating to buy the unit, he said. Before signing the sales contract for $280,000 in February 2004, he learned the building was zoned only for residential use. Relying on assurances from the builder and real estate agent, La Badie said he signed the sales contract with the understanding that the developer would secure the appropriate zoning or let him out of the deal.
La Badie didn't check the zoning before he closed on the space in July. It turned out, the zoning had not been changed to allow a commercial use.
Because the building did not have the proper zoning, city construction inspectors denied La Badie's requests for building permits to begin work inside the salon. City officials also told him that his unit did not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act because it provided no wheelchair access to the second floor. Problems continued to mount when LaBadie discovered his parking, air conditioner and solid waste plans did not meet city code.
Meanwhile, mortgage payments mounted. La Badie estimates the delay has cost at least $38,000 in additional construction costs and lost revenue.
Negotiations between La Badie and Beck Development LLC, which oversaw the building's planning and construction, stalled last week. Now, La Badie plans to file a lawsuit alleging misrepresentation against Beck, Smith & Associates, the realty company that brokered the deal, and RSG 1013, which sold the unit. He wants to recoup the money he has lost.
"If you're going to contract to buy a unit in Trump Tower, and you go to move in and you find out it's not zoned for residential use, there's a big problem," said Ed Savitz, La Badie's attorney. "In this case, they've been prevented from opening the business, and of course they lose all the revenue that they expected to get."
Casey Ellison, development manager for Beck, said he could not comment on La Badie's specific allegations because of the impending litigation. But Ellison said each commercial unit owner was responsible for seeking zoning and usage approval from city administrators. "I do not feel like Beck Development has done anything wrong," Ellison said. "Our contract was clear on who was responsible for what."
Citing advice from his lawyer, Stan Lifsey, a real estate agent for Smith & Associates, declined to comment. Richard S. Giunta, head of RSG 1013, could not be reached for comment.
La Badie is not the only business owner to report problems involving the Victory Lofts.
Michael Palermo discovered the same zoning glitch when he applied for his license to open a real estate business in one of the units this spring. Palermo eventually won city approval for his office, which will likely yield much less traffic than La Badie's space. He opened his 1,300-square-foot office in April.
"There would have been hell to pay had it not happened the way it did for me," said Palermo, owner of Palermo Real Estate Professionals.
La Badie isn't so fortunate. Boxes of shampoo bottles sit unopened in his Bayshore Beautiful home. Employees he tentatively hired are in limbo. La Badie, a hair colorist, makes house calls because he has no place to work.
He admits that he should have checked the paperwork before closing on the unit, but he blames the project's developers and sales agents for his woes.
"I feel like they've been working against me the whole time or they just don't care," La Badie said. "It's just been very frustrating, and we're out a lot of money."
Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or 226-3405.