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Once dilapidated, now more desireable

By PAUL SWIDER
Published December 20, 2006

Renee Celli remembers the odd reactions a few years ago when she was trying to sell the first townhomes to be built southwest of downtown.

"At that point, people were looking at me like I was smoking crack," the real estate agent said. "And you could buy it down there then."

For years, the area bounded by Fourth Street, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, Second Avenue S and Interstate 175 had been a warren of dilapidated houses and short-term rentals.

Today, it is home to a burgeoning crop of new townhomes and some larger condominium projects. The older buildings that remain are being refurbished but the reviving area remains off most people's real estate radar.

"It's a stealth neighborhood," said Tim Baker, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association that includes the enclave. "It's amazing to find a neighborhood like that so close to downtown."

The area used to be part of the University Park Neighborhood Association, which stretched east to Tampa Bay. Historically, though, it was known as Williams Grove. Now, as the area rapidly comes into its own, it is considered a trendy place to live.

"I didn't like it at first, but it's gotten a lot better," said Mark Israel, who bought a unit in Bourbon Street Bungalows, which fronts I-175's noise barrier. "We had some problems with drug dealers but the city helped out and it's turning out okay."

Bourbon Street is one of many bright new projects in the area. Others include Arlington Lofts, Victorian Oaks and Las Ventanas.

Other projects in process include Lucaya Landings and Avenida Villas, along with refurbished apartment conversions like Bay Villa Condominiums. Anchoring the area are larger projects like the Sage, Casablanca and the Orion.

"I believe this area is the new Hyde Park," said Scott Lipp, a real estate agent who is pitching the last four unsold units in the seven-story, 34-unit Orion.

Orion is being built by Mona and Koly Elkhouly, engineers who designed the building like the upscale homes that are their mainstay. Balconies sprawl to more than 1,000 square feet and a rooftop deck offers an unusual skyline angle, overlooking an area that has evolved since the couple started buying property 15 years ago.

"We pioneered this when we bought these lots," said Mona, who worked with the city's engineering department at the time. "People I was working with said, 'Are you crazy?' but I had the feeling something was going to happen there one of these days."

Another early adopter was Maryann Lynch, who now owns and has rehabbed multiple properties in the district. She said in the past few years, large-scale developers literally drop offers on her porch, but she plans to hold her stable of properties.

"I started buying in 1995 and it ended up paying off for me," said Lynch, who added she could buy three buildings then for the price now of the smallest condo. "Those days are gone when you could buy things for nothing."

There is still some opportunity left in the area. The Palm Bay Hotel on Third Avenue S is for sale, as is the former Winn-Dixie down the street closer to Tropicana Field.

Rumors circulate about what could fill the old grocery store's 45,000 square feet, but Celli and the Elkhoulys are pulling for an upscale grocery store and shops.

Across from that store is the Graham-Rogall public housing complex that is about to become condominiums.

"That little area is booming now," Celli said. "I knew it would only be a matter of time."

Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com.

[Last modified December 20, 2006, 01:42:23]