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Cathedral condo plan at a standstill

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published December 31, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Redevelopment plans for St. Peter's Episcopal Cathedral, which had called for a 22-story condo tower with a six-level garage in the city's downtown, remain stalled.

In July, the cathedral at 140 Fourth St. N began rethinking the project in the face of climbing interest rates, a slowing real estate market and soaring construction costs.

Almost five months later, cathedral officials say there is no news to share about the project, which involves a controversial agreement with Cathedral Partners LLC, a subsidiary of the Bullard Group. St. Peter's made an agreement with the developer to build a tower that would include 80 condos ranging in price from the mid $300,000s to $1-million.

Under the agreement, Cathedral Partners was to give the 900-member congregation 51,700 square feet in the new building for a parish hall, nursery, kitchen, new chapel and other facilities. The congregation also would have received 35 permanent garage parking spaces and a minimum of 95 on Sundays.

In return, St. Peter's was to give Cathedral Partners $5-million and the right to build on its property. St. Peter's historic Gothic revival cathedral would remain untouched.

Whether the project will go forward and in what form appears yet to be resolved.

"We hope that we will see some movement in some direction in the new year," the Very Rev. Russell Johnson, St. Peter's dean, said.

Some longtime congregation members had opposed the project, calling it financially irresponsible and claiming the developer would benefit at the cathedral's expense.

St. Peter's has tried for almost a decade to redevelop its property, saying it needed to do so in order to remain a viable downtown congregation.

Several plans have been proposed over the years. The latest one hit a roadblock this year when the city's Environmental Development Commission said that the six-level garage must be enclosed. The developer countered that the stipulation would drive up costs too far.

[Last modified December 30, 2006, 22:05:17]