Developer joins revival effort at Clearwater Mall

The Sembler Company, a Pinellas company that developed Centro Ybor, will attempt to resuscitate the ailing mall.

By LEON M. TUCKER

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 11, 2001

CLEARWATER -- The company responsible for jump-starting the heart of St. Petersburg with the BayWalk project and putting a commercial face on Ybor City with Centro Ybor has struck a deal with the owners of Clearwater Mall to bring the ailing complex back to life.

St. Petersburg-based Sembler Company announced Thursday that it has entered a joint-venture project with New Plan Excel Realty Trust in New York City to redevelop the 840,000-square-foot mall.

Officials from the companies would not discuss many of the terms of the agreement but said plans are in the works.

"We have money in the deal because we own the property and Sembler has committed to putting capital into the transaction with us -- and they see this as a good opportunity," said Glenn Rufrano, chief executive officer and president of New Plan. "We have re-evaluated the project and we will look at a number of ways to redevelop this property."

Speculation about what would become of the site surfaced earlier this year, including talk that Dunedin-based Nielsen Media Research was considering moving its main offices there.

Last month at Sembler's Central Avenue office, representatives of New Plan and Sembler met with Clearwater's mayor on the emerging plan.

"I am very pleased it is the Sembler Group," said Mayor Brian Aungst. "They are a local group -- well known -- that will work well within the city to deliver the best project possible."

Aungst at one time hoped that the mall would resemble a cross between Centro Ybor, Hyde Park, "with a little bit of BayWalk sprinkled in," he said.

"They worked that up, I think, but I just don't think it would work," Aungst added. "It's a little disappointing, but you don't want to force something in there that will just close up as quickly as it opened."

So what will the mall look like? Official details were scarce.

"There are no plans, there are no renderings -- nothing," said Lisa Brock, spokeswoman for Sembler. "There are constant discussions but there are no firm plans."

Based on what he gathered from his meeting, the mayor said the site will be an outdoor mall, perhaps resembling Largo Mall, with a couple anchor stores and several restaurants.

"Whatever happens, it will be certainly a whole lot better than what it has deteriorated to be," he said.

For the past 25 years the mall, on the corner of bustling U.S. 19 and State Road 60, has gradually faded from being one of the area's most popular shopping destinations to attracting only a trickle of bargain-hunters looking to capitalize off the slowdown.

As a result, anchor stores such as Dillards, Gayfers and Burdines closed their doors, causing many smaller retail stores there to follow.

"It developed as your typical mall and then the area became oversaturated with malls and it gradually died, " Aungst said. "That's why this calls for something a little bit different than a traditional mall -- and that's why I think it will be successful."

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