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Chicago firm poised to buy Centro Ybor

The sales price should be less than its current value of about $13-million, a city official said.

By JANET ZINK
Published November 16, 2006

TAMPA - The owners of Centro Ybor are negotiating a contract to sell the troubled retail and entertainment complex.

City Attorney David Smith on Wednesday confirmed that BVT, a German investment fund that owns the 211,000-square-foot project, is in talks with M&J Wilkow, a Chicago-based company with retail and office properties throughout the country.

"They're interested in buying, and they have contacted us about the possibility of them buying it," Smith said. "They've been here numerous times, so I think they're serious."

Smith said he doesn't have details on the sale because it's a private deal between Wilkow and BVT. The parties couldn't be reached for comment.

Centro Ybor opened in 2001, with hopes that it would jump-start redevelopment in Ybor City. It now holds a movie theater, comedy club, restaurants and retail outlets, including Urban Outfitters and Victoria's Secret.

City officials kicked in a $9-million federally backed loan and a parking garage to make the $49-million project happen.

But Centro Ybor hasn't attracted the expected crowds, and in 2004, the city stepped in to bail out developers by taking over payments on the federal loan. That will cost taxpayers about $750,000 a year until about 2014.

Then earlier this year, two development partners in Centro Ybor sold their interest in the project to BVT. Sembler Co., which also developed BayWalk in St. Petersburg, and Steiner + Associates, an Ohio firm behind CocoWalk in Miami, each sold their 25 percent interest in the Ybor City project to BVT.

BVT still owes $16-million to Wachovia Bank, and the complex will have an annual operating deficit this year of $500,000.

The property is worth about $13-million, Smith said, and most likely Wilkow will pay less than that for it.

That means the city will have to keep making payments on the federal loan.

Still, finding a buyer willing to invest in Centro Ybor is good for the city.

"If someone's willing to put money into it and turn it around, that's a plus for Ybor City and a plus for the city," Smith said.

According to Smith, Wilkow has pledged to invest $8-million in the project, keep the 350 people who work there employed and eventually employ 600 people. And the value of the property could increase to $33-million by 2011, which would add to the city's tax rolls.

Meanwhile, the complex is welcoming its newest tenant. Today at 3 p.m., the Tampa Bay Brewing Company offers live music and free food and beer samples to celebrate its move to Centro Ybor.

The family-owned and operated brewery was formerly on 15th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.

[Last modified November 16, 2006, 05:30:24]