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SPC may buy part of a hot block
By JON WILSON
Published April 26, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - Moving to cement its presence on a high-profile block downtown, St. Petersburg College has a piece of Third Street N under contract to buy for $2-million, president Carl Kuttler said Monday. The property comprises a string of 15 storefronts, all but a few empty, between First and Second avenues N across from Williams Park. The deal is expected to go before the college board in May, Kuttler said. If approved, it will provide, for starters, another 10,000 square feet to expand the college's downtown campus, whose current headquarters is around the corner on Second Avenue N. The new phase could get a lot bigger. Early plans call for building a campus "front door" facing Third Street, a community room and more classrooms. A bookstore and a food service venue also are possible, said Susan Reiter, SPC's director of facilities, planning and institutional services. "We're in the redevelopment district. We're required to put some retail in there, which is great for us,'' Reiter said. Above the first floor, "we have a lot of opportunities. We could go up as many stories as we need to,'' Reiter said. The college will continue to share space with the Florida International Museum. Current owners of the property are Gan Holdings and BDG, according to county records. The firms' officers couldn't be reached for comment early this week. Records show that the firms bought the property for $1.4-million in August. It is currently appraised at $775,000, according to the records. The college has pursued the property for some time, and last year the City Council agreed on condemnation proceedings if necessary. But a straight sale is a more clear-cut transaction. In a condemnation proceeding, "you don't know what the end result will be,'' Kuttler said. It is not clear when construction would start if the purchase is approved. But the college has a history of moving quickly in matters of its downtown campus. "It took one year from drafting to building'' the existing SPC downtown center, Kuttler said. It opened in August and immediately attracted 1,300 students, 35 percent of them minorities, he said. A second floor is virtually complete and will open in time for the summer session that starts next month, college officials said. A computer lab is planned for it. Third- and fourth-floor space has been carved out and awaits funding. Kuttler is hopeful the money will come from the Legislature, now in session. Meanwhile, the college is establishing itself on one of the hottest blocks downtown. On the south half, Progress Energy's headquarters is rising rapidly, now up to nine floors. Next to Progress Energy, a groundbreaking is expected in June for the Grand Bohemian, a 32-story luxury hotel and condominium.
[Last modified April 26, 2006, 07:08:34]
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