Retail, office behemoth seeks approval
By SHARON GINN, Times Correspondent
Published September 21, 2007
A building standing 55 feet high soon could loom in one of SoHo's more prominent locations.
Developer Hank Brown said he plans to break ground on a commercial building at Howard Avenue and Platt Street in the first quarter of 2008. The mixed-use project, called the Grande at SoHo, is pending final approval from the city.
The 55-foot height would be 10 feet taller than Tampa's maximum height standards for that part of the city.
The complex would stand on four lots that currently feature three one-story buildings that house Deck Pizza, the Corner Bar and the offices of Brown's J.T. Swann and Co. Those structures would be demolished.
Plans call for 46,723 total square feet of retail space on the first two floors and four levels of parking above, including an open-air lot on the roof.
Brown said his next step in pushing the project forward will be to seek an administrative variance. The variance would allow the city to approve the extended height without a City Council hearing unless it receives written objections either from neighbors or the local neighborhood association within a given time.
Brown said the parcel, nearly three-quarters of an acre, has been in his family for more than 50 years. He said he has long wanted to develop it but wanted to make sure the project was planned carefully.
"We've tried to do it with the highest and best use, not just for the building but for the neighborhood," said Brown, the great-grandson of J.T. Swann, one of Tampa's prominent early builders. "We wanted to do something that has long sustainability and that the neighbors are going to like and enjoy."
Brown, who lives in nearby New Suburb Beautiful, said his sensitivity to neighborhood parking challenges led him to a design that includes 215 spaces for the retail and office tenants that he wants to attract.
Brown said Mark Hartley and Scott Purdy of Hartley & Purdy Architects Inc. have worked mostly within city guidelines for new construction in SoHo - except for the height limit.
Brown said that like many new SoHo projects, the building would jut out almost to the sidewalks.
"It's been a long time coming to get to this stage of the design," Hartley said. "I think it's a pretty nice infill project."
Brown said he envisions a mix of offices, a restaurant and "some retail components to support the neighborhood."
Walter Crumbley, president of the Courier City/Oscawana Resident Homeowners Association, said he can't comment specifically on the Grande at SoHo because he has not seen the plans. He said residents feel strongly that new projects should suit the neighborhood and not cause more parking problems.
"What we're trying to find is neighborhood-friendly retail development - a nice little retail shop," Crumbley said. "We've got so many restaurants here now, and so many bars, you can't get into the neighborhood on Friday and Saturday nights. People are parking all over the place."