Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik isn’t just buying and developing land around the Amalie Arena. He’s also buying land in the heart of South Tampa.
An official with his development team confirmed that Vinik is an investor in the entity that purchased a wedge-shaped commercial block at the northeast corner of busy South Howard Avenue and West Morrison Avenue.
“It’s just a great piece of property in a great location,” said Andrew Wright, CEO and managing partner of the Tampa-based development firm Franklin Street, who is leading the development of the property and is also the person Vinik has put in charge of redeveloping Channelside Bay Plaza.
The group is still determining how it will develop the South Tampa land. “Usually when you buy land you have an up-front plan of what you want to go there and what you want it to be,” he said. “We did not, and we do not. We’re in the process of evaluating all that now and trying to determine what the best option is.”
Wright led a group of investors to buy the property in April for $3.1 million, according to county records, but Vinik’s involvement was kept under wraps. Matching Vinik’s long-term approach to land, Wright said they’ll take the time they need to pick the right approach for the site, rather than try something right away.
The property at 936 S. Howard Ave. is already zoned for commercial use and is the former site of Joe Redner’s Xtreme Total Health and Fitness gym. The structure on the site is a hodgepodge of several buildings on 1.59 acres that together comprise about 70,000 square feet, according to records with the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser.
Wright said they are keeping the structure sound while they work on a master plan. In that, he’s especially mindful of the reaction that neighbors had to past development proposals for the site.
At one point in 2013, the Pollack Shores Real Estate Group floated plans for a 212-unit apartment complex. Neighborhood groups successfully rallied against that project, claiming it would only add more traffic congestion to an area that already is one of the tightest spaces along busy South Howard Avenue.
“With all that transpired before, we now have the benefit of knowing how everyone reacted and knowing the feelings of the neighborhood prior to us acquiring the property,” he said. “We are going into this with our eyes wide open.”
Wright noted that he lives quite close to the site, and said he wants to bring a development that enhances the area, rather than one that would add to challenges there.
This new ownership group is striking in its business connections.
Wright is among Vinik’s top lieutenants in redeveloping the Channelside Bay Plaza that’s down the street from Amalie Arena where Vinik’s hockey team plays. Vinik just purchased the Marriott Waterside hotel, and he plans a dramatic remake of that area, with new hotels, office buildings, residential towers and entertainment venues.
Wright said his own group was ready to buy the South Howard parcel without Vinik’s involvement, but it asked Vinik if he wanted to get involved, and he said yes. Wright characterized Vinik as a “minority and passive” financial investor in the South Howard project, as opposed to the Channel District area where Vinik is an active and thoroughly engaged developer.
http://tbo.com/news/business/vinik-invests-in-group-that-bought-s-howard-property-20141010/
Just another reason to buy Real Estate in South Tampa! ❤ where you live Jessica Scrivani – REALTOR Selling Tampa Bay LLC P:845.242.8165 E. Jessica@sellingtb.com
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