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Plans filed for condo tower on site in Channel District

The developer will seek a zoning change from commercial to mixed use for 20-story project on a half acre.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published April 19, 2006

TAMPA - The row of construction cranes lining the Channel District could grow longer.

The Massachusetts development firm 101 Meridian Corp. filed plans this week at City Hall to build a 200-foot-tall condo tower on a half acre at 102 Whiting St.

Its director, Thampy "Tom" Kurian, will seek approval from council members in September to change the zoning from commercial to mixed use.

The project would have 125 units and be up to 20 stories high, Kurian said. Prices for the units would be in the upper $300,000s, he said, and be marketed for downtown professionals.

It's early, so specifics haven't been determined yet, he added. But architectural plans filed with the city depict the first seven stories of the building as reserved for 233 parking spaces. Kurian said the ground floor would have a restaurant cafe.

The project would replace three buildings. Two are empty, and one is used as storage for costumes and props by the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Kurian bought the three lots for a total of $650,000 in the 1990s.

"I know the market is not as strong now, but we're confident this will draw strong interest," he said.

Kurian is the president of Renaissance Electronics Corp., which sells wireless and microwave components to the U.S. military and telecommunication companies.

The 52-year-old is not new to the area. Between 1978 and 1988, he worked as an engineer at Trak Microwave on Eisenhower Boulevard and lived in Town 'N Country.

He developed an 89-home project in Pasco County called Westwood Estates that was completed in the last year.

Financing for the project will come from a combination of sales from Renaissance Electronics Corp. and private investors, he said.

[Last modified April 19, 2006, 01:57:07]