Main Street developer looking for help

The stalled New Port Richey project will probably change, but still needs a local money guy.

By JODIE TILLMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published December 22, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Main Street Landing developer Ken McGurn said Friday he is hoping to work with a local developer to get his stalled downtown project going again next summer.

McGurn, who is based in Gainesville, declined to name the Pasco County developer with whom he has been negotiating. He said that in January the two companies will finish putting together new cost estimates based on some design revisions and changing costs for materials.

The local developer "has expressed interest if the costs are right," said McGurn. He had no details of how the two developers would split the costs, but said that he has no plans to sell the project.

Main Street Landing, a proposed mixed-use project of 55 upscale condominiums and 20,000 square feet of commercial space, went from being a hoped-for jewel of the downtown to a much-derided eyesore after developers stopped construction in summer of 2006. The city had turned down Main Street Landing's requests for more financial incentives after project costs escalated.

Former city mayor Peter Altman has been McGurn's local partner but his role is somewhat limited. "I'm not the money guy," he said Friday with a chuckle. He said McGurn is looking for someone with "more of an ability to participate economically."

McGurn said the initial plan is first to finish two buildings that house 15 condominiums and ground-level retail space. Prospects of selling commercial space are brighter than those for selling the condos, he said, and may make the rest of the project more feasible.

He said the local developer he has been working with also suggested that the project's original condo prices - as high as $500,000 - are not right for this market. McGurn says he wants to "get our price point down to less than $200,000."

What, if anything, the city would be asked to contribute is unclear. McGurn said he hopes the project cost will come down enough that he won't ask for additional help from the city.

On a related matter, the city is paying McGurn less than he asked for on a joint seawall project.

A couple of months ago, McGurn submitted an invoice to the city for nearly $250,000 for construction of a seawall near the project, which the city had agreed to help pay for.

But former City Manager Scott Miller last month sent McGurn a letter saying the city is responsible for only about $88,000. That's because McGurn had charged them for the entire wall rather than a smaller portion that had been agreed to in the original contract.

"Whatever the city says," McGurn said with a sigh on Friday. "I think they're right."

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or 727 869-6247.

[Last modified December 21, 2007, 21:20:12]