I didn't see a Tamp Heights thread, so I give it it's own. Too bad it's only two stories, maybe we'll be able to see this in the Skypoint webcam.

Tampa Heights legal community gains momentum with new HQ
Tampa Bay Business Journal - 2:49 PM EST Thursdayby Danielle Randall

Bush Ross P.A. broke ground in Tampa Heights Wednesday, marking its construction project to resurrect a new home office building.

Bush Ross's $10 million building will be the third major construction project among the legal circuit in Tampa Heights, said Jeffrey W. Warren, president and co-founder for Bush Ross. The University of Stetson Law School Campus was the first to make Tampa Heights its home, and the Hillsborough County Bar Association was the second, he said.


The firm's new location will also share area's Mediterranean architecture style, Warren said.

A planned two-story office building is slated to be complete in a year, and it will be situated on 1.12 acres. The 34,000-square-foot office will house 52 attorneys and more than 50 people in supporting staff, a release said. Its new location is one block north of the new Stetson Law School Campus, at the corner of W. Henderson Avenue and Doyle Carlton Drive. Azzarelli Builders Inc. in Tampa was named the general contractor, and RBK Architects in Tampa is designing the building.

Bush Ross P.A. has been a downtown Tampa fixture for the past 26 years. The firm is currently located in a historic brick building in downtown Tampa at 220 South Franklin Street.

The firm's leaders decided to relocate to Tampa Heights for additional office space and because of its relative proximity to downtown Tampa, the Federal and State Courthouses, government offices and major roads, Warren said. Mercantile Bank in Tampa provided contract financing.

In addition, Bush Ross will also help improve and maintain the neighboring Phil Bourquardez public park as part of its construction deal.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/01/22/daily47.html?surround=lfn

Thanks! I drive by there all the time and was wondering what they were working on. That area can use some development. It gets sketchy pretty fast. Doyle Carlton is nice because it borders the river, but Henderson around Florida could be a lot nicer. That being said, with the Salvation Army and Metropolitan Ministries right near there, there are always going to be a lot of homeless walking around.

This article fails to point out that after they build this building they can sell their offices across from the TCC and make a large sum

Tampa Heights legal community gains momentum with new HQ
Tampa Bay Business Journal - 2:49 PM EST Thursdayby Danielle Randall
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Bush Ross P.A. broke ground in Tampa Heights Wednesday, marking its construction project to resurrect a new home office building.

Bush Ross's $10 million building will be the third major construction project among the legal circuit in Tampa Heights, said Jeffrey W. Warren, president and co-founder for Bush Ross. The University of Stetson Law School Campus was the first to make Tampa Heights its home, and the Hillsborough County Bar Association was the second, he said.


The firm's new location will also share area's Mediterranean architecture style, Warren said.

A planned two-story office building is slated to be complete in a year, and it will be situated on 1.12 acres. The 34,000-square-foot office will house 52 attorneys and more than 50 people in supporting staff, a release said. Its new location is one block north of the new Stetson Law School Campus, at the corner of W. Henderson Avenue and Doyle Carlton Drive. Azzarelli Builders Inc. in Tampa was named the general contractor, and RBK Architects in Tampa is designing the building.

Bush Ross P.A. has been a downtown Tampa fixture for the past 26 years. The firm is currently located in a historic brick building in downtown Tampa at 220 South Franklin Street.

The firm's leaders decided to relocate to Tampa Heights for additional office space and because of its relative proximity to downtown Tampa, the Federal and State Courthouses, government offices and major roads, Warren said. Mercantile Bank in Tampa provided contract financing.

In addition, Bush Ross will also help improve and maintain the neighboring Phil Bourquardez public park as part of its construction deal.

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/01/22/daily47.html?f=et83&hbx=e_du

^^Wasn't that one of the lots that that mysterious hotel project was rendered on that someone dug up from a developer's site a few weeks ago?

Edit- Yea on page 51 of the tampa Development thread. :dunno:

oh snap... I didn't realize this is the law firm across the street from the TCC... good call smiley!

This is what I love to hear.

Rustic Steel's deal for firehouse done, restoration in process
Tampa Bay Business Journal - 8:03 AM EST Thursdayby Danielle Randall

Rustic Steel Creations Inc. has closed on its purchase for the historic Tampa Heights fire station.

The Tampa company purchased the historic building, formerly known as fire station number five, for $365,000, said Dominique Martinez, Rustic's owner.


The deal was finalized Jan. 30. Further deal details were not available. The property had been appraised for the same amount as the sale price.

On Jan. 15, 2006, the city issued a request for proposals for an office, retail, housing and/or or mixed-use development for the property. On Nov. 30, the city awarded Rustic Steel project, according to the city's growth Management & Development Services department.

The city has given Rustic Steel a two-year deadline to renovate the early-20th century property, Martinez said.

The firm has already begun securing the perimeters with fencing, and next week it will remove debris, he said.

In the meantime, Rustic Steel is looking for subcontractors to help the company in the restoration of the two-story building located at 1910 N. Florida Ave. in the Tampa Heights Historic District, Martinez said.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/01/29/daily35.html?surround=lfn

The Past Echoes In Decaying Auditorium

By JOSE PATINO GIRONA The Tampa Tribune

Published: Feb 24, 2007


TAMPA HEIGHTS - Last summer, Marilyn Figueredo took a tour of the former Jefferson High School, now the D.W. Waters Career Center, as part of her 40-year class reunion.

When she walked in the auditorium, she was horrified. The wooden chairs, which had been bolted to the floor, were uprooted and piled to the side. There was dust everywhere, said Figueredo, who graduated from the school in 1966.

"It looks like a bomb has been detonated in the auditorium," she said.

Figueredo, who lives in Oakford Park near West Tampa, and other alumnus and the current school staff, are campaigning to restore the auditorium. They have raised about $2,300, far from the $2.5 million needed for the project, Principal Veronica Knight said.

The school on North Highland Avenue was built in 1910 and has had several incarnations. It was first Hillsborough County High School, then Jefferson High from 1939-67. It became a junior high in 1968 and later was turned into school district offices.

The district was planning to board up the building or sell the property, but Jefferson alumnus demanded the district restore the building.

It was renovated in 2002 at a cost of $9 million, but the auditorium was not included in the project.

When it was Jefferson High, the auditorium was the setting for physical education classes, basketball games, plays and dances, said Wynelle Gilbert, a 1944 graduate. She is curator of the Jefferson Alumni Museum, which recently donated $2,000 to the restoration of the auditorium.

Those who use the facility also are in favor of the auditorium project. Knight said it is difficult to have events at the school without an auditorium. D.W. Waters Career Center serves 350 students, most of whom are at-risk high school students.

Career center graduations are held at Blake High. Programs are held in the cafeteria, but they have to be presented twice because there isn't room for all the students, Knight said.

"In order to build school spirit, you have to assemble the students," Knight said.

The auditorium won't be returned to the condition of its heyday, which makes it difficult to apply for grant money, Knight said. The balcony was turned into office space during the 2002 restoration.

The school is accepting donations and selling the auditorium's wooden chairs for $50 to raise money for the restoration.

HOW TO HELP
To donate to the restoration effort or to learn more about the project, call Windell Roberson, the school's student intervention specialist, at (813) 233-2655, Ext. 244. The auditorium's wooden chairs also are being sold for $50 each to raise money for renovations. To donate, send a check payable to D.W Waters Career Center and address it to D.W. Waters Career Center, 2704 N. Highland Ave., Tampa FL 33602.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

http://centraltampa.tbo.com/centraltampa/MGBIVHL7JYE.html

The wooden chairs, which had been bolted to the floor, were uprooted and piled to the side. There was dust everywhere, said Figueredo, who graduated from the school in 1966.


I wish they would have been more descriptive. That doesn't really sound like a big deal. Clean the chairs, buy some bolts, finish project. No way installing a few hundred seats could cost close to $2.5 million. You could give give kid a designer Herman Miller chair for less than that.

That article confused me, as I mistakenly thought they were talking about the current Jefferson High in Westshore.

Same here, and they have a fine auditorium, one of the best in town

The Heights: Liftoff Begins

Friday, June 29th, 2007

By Gary Sheperd, Tampa Downtown Partnership

Just north of downtown Tampa, a sleeping giant is stirring. The Heights, perhaps a $1 billion project by the end of its 10-year build out, is being launched. Among activities:

To make way for the massive development, nearly 200 trees are being transplanted from the 48-acre Heights site, westward across the Hillsborough River, to Blake High School. A Better Place Group-Tampa Heights LLC also bought and is moving more than 200 additional trees to Blake.

The trees are being planted on the magnet school’s eastern river frontage, along North Boulevard, and elsewhere on school property. Heights project manager Darren Booth says transplanting the palms, oaks, maples, cypress and other trees should be complete in a few weeks.

http://www.tampasdowntown.com/Editor/assets/intown%20tampa%20images/theheights.jpg

Heights developers and Hardeman Kempton & Associates Landscape Architects are cleaning up the historic Ulele Spring at Water Works Park along the Hillsborough River. The spring, which provided drinking water for Tampa residents a century ago, has suffered from neglect. With the help of volunteers such as Boy Scout troops, tons of debris has been removed from around the cool spring’s grounds.

Environmental testing is ongoing in the defunct Tampa Armature Works building. That 70,000-square-foot building once housed streetcar trolleys and was known as the “Trolley Barn.” Its façade will be preserved, and Booth says “adaptive reuse” plans call for a high-rise hotel, retail shopping and office space.

Nearby the project, Tampa law firm Bush Ross P.A is building its new home north of the beautiful Stetson Law School Campus. Bush Ross’s new Spanish-style, two-story building should open early in 2008. On 1.12 acres, Bush Ross’s 34,000 new square feet will house about 100 people, both attorneys and support staff. Jeffrey Warren, president of the 26-year-old firm now headquartered on South Franklin Street, says proximity to downtown and the unique chance to be involved in emerging Heights neighborhood were motivating factors.

The new home of the Hillsborough County Bar Association and Foundation, the Chester H. Ferguson Law Center, has been under construction for about a year adjacent to the Stetson campus near the Heights. It will soon open.

At The Heights itself, 1,900 town homes and condos for more than 3,000 people are planned. The average home will sell for $500,000, says Booth: “Our development is focused on a large range of product and lifestyle. There truly will be something for everyone, with prices ranging from $300,000 to $3 million.”

Also planned are 100,000 square feet of commercial space, 160,000 square feet of office space, public and private boat slips, and redevelopment of the Tampa Water Works Park, a large, lovely riverfront park that today primarily attracts the homeless.

In March, the city’s Architectural Review Committee approved an adaptive reuse design for the Water Works Pumping Station. The landmark building north of Ulele Spring will at first be a sales office for The Heights. One day, says Booth, it will become a high-end restaurant, “a Tavern-on-the-Green type of place.”

A Better Place Group will build new streets and infrastructure for The Heights, which is bounded by North Boulevard, Ross Avenue, Tampa Street, and the river. Booth says developers are working with the city on final approval of the site plan, which determines location of sidewalks and streets; that, in turn, determines exactly where buildings will be located. One goal: Aligning streets for a great view of downtown.

Next will come engineering and design for roads, sidewalks, sewage, storm water, potable water, irrigation, underground electric, gas lines and other infrastructure. Then, says Booth, comes permitting, and construction could begin late in 2008’s first quarter.

The Heights is crucial to the Tampa Riverwalk project. The $40 million, 2.4-mile walkway along the east bank of the Hillsborough River will link The Heights with southern downtown’s Channel District. Florida’s 2007-2008 state budget includes $2 million for the public-private Riverwalk, and Tampa officials are determined to have most of the Riverwalk complete when Tampa hosts the Super Bowl in 2009.

Heights developers are responsible for one mile of the Riverwalk, from the Performing Arts Center to the North Boulevard Bridge over the Hillsborough River. Hardeman Kempton has completed Riverwalk Phase I design work, including the Water Works Park section. About $3 million dollars will be spent on this area, including pedestrian walkways with lighting, an interactive water feature, public art, a playground, benches, picnic tables, ornamental landscaping and lawns.

The result will be about five acres of public space … and spectacular views of the river and southward to the downtown skyline.

In short, the area north of downtown Tampa is about to be reborn.

Principals behind The Heights are Bill Bishop, responsible for Westchase and Fishhawk Ranch developments, and Don Wallace, former boss of the giant Lazy Days RV Supercenter in east Hillsborough County.

http://www.tampasdowntown.com/newsletter.aspx?newid=69

Town homes starting at $300,000 aren't exactly "for everyone". It sounds great and all, but that's more than a lot of units at Skypoint (a high rise).

At The Heights itself, 1,900 town homes and condos for more than 3,000 people are planned. The average home will sell for $500,000, says Booth: “Our development is focused on a large range of product and lifestyle. There truly will be something for everyone, with prices ranging from $300,000 to $3 million.”


I find those prices quite high for a project with 1900 units and in a district that will be mostly U/C for 10+ years.

Also planned are 100,000 square feet of commercial space, 160,000 square feet of office space, public and private boat slips, and redevelopment of the Tampa Water Works Park, a large, lovely riverfront park that today primarily attracts the homeless.

With the residential units high priced, I'm thinking we'll see this project increase its amout of office space from the 160,000 it has like what Central Park is doing. If the project is done correctly it could be an attractive walking/urban district for offices.

Now I do like the public boat slips. I would be a regular user of those. Using them I could take a stroll down the riverwalk, take some pictures and eat at Malios or somewhere, sounds nice.

Lastly here is a link to the rendering of the Waterworks park I had posted in the Riverwalk thread, Water Works rendering is on page 2 of the PDF:
http://www.tampagov.net/dept_riverwalk/files/Riverwalk_Review-June07.pdf

Just curious...how close will this development get to the Central Park development? I am just wondering if one day, we will see one continuous development from the river to Ybor, which I think would be nice. You could almost define "Downtown" as the Hillsborough River to the Ybor Channlel, Harbour Island to these developments.

Nevermind my idiot post above. I just realized this is north of 275. My bad:nuts: :cheers: :bash:

Just curious...how close will this development get to the Central Park development? I am just wondering if one day, we will see one continuous development from the river to Ybor, which I think would be nice. You could almost define "Downtown" as the Hillsborough River to the Ybor Channlel, Harbour Island to these developments.

I was just thinking about how much of a real city Tampa is becomming again.

It should connect Tampa Heights (N of 275) to downtown (S of 275). Blake is right there at the 275 bridge and the waterworks is across the river. Central park is really close, about a half mile from the river. But 275 definitely breaks things up around Central Park, so it's hard to have a continuous feel with a giant interstate going through.

With the two law offices being built on opposing sides of Stetson, the area is already shaping up.

Good to see some affordable housing in the area.

Question for the group. If you are on Palm Ave and heading west from Ybor about a mile down the road on both sides all the houses/buildings have been removed. Is this where the "Heights Project" is? If not what is going there? Whatever project is going to happen there it's VERY close to Ybor/Channelside.

You mean across the river from Blake? That will be part of the project IIRC. It has been clear for quite some time.

You mean across the river from Blake? That will be part of the project IIRC. It has been clear for quite some time.

What is the IIRC project? I am talking about from Tampa St to Florida St all the way down Palm Ave, lots a vacant land. You can tell they move alot of houses to get this area cleared. I always thought this was the project Bank Of America was funding with a Tampa partnership program.

Sorry, IIRC is if I remember correctly. I was in a hurry. Yea, from the rendering it looks like that's going to be this project.

You could almost define "Downtown" as the Hillsborough River to the Ybor Channlel, Harbour Island to these developments.
Change "these developments" to I-275/Selmon and so far as I know that is the definition of downtown's boundaries.

Change "these developments" to I-275/Selmon and so far as I know that is the definition of downtown's boundaries.

If the Project "The Heights" is at the location of Palm Ave and Tampa St to Florida Ave (Large area of Vacant Land) it could be a big boost to Tampa Heights as well as Ybor and Channelside. This is less then 1 mile from my properties in Ybor. Any other info on this project? I believe once this project and the Central Park project are complete it will make a huge impact to the area.

I will agree with Jasonhouse that urban planing is not done properly, but I have found that the more people these projects have to go through the more screwed up they become to the point that they never happen. I am not sure how to fix these problems, so I rather build then to have the wheels do nothing but spin.

South of I-4 to Adamo Drive is a safe bet as far as real estate investment goes. To much money already invested in the area to stop now, plus I hear there is a BIG venue being negotiated to come to Ybor in the next year. With IKEA coming and many arhitects firms coming to the area, I believe this train is going in the right direction. Yes, everyone has there opinion on what downtown should be, but I think we can all agree it's better then it was five yeas ago.

Nevermind my idiot post above. I just realized this is north of 275. My bad:nuts: :cheers: :bash:

Actually, its quite close to both Ybor and Channelside. It's about 1/2 mile from Palm Ave and Nebraska Ave (Ybor city Entrance).

Something New In Store For Hutto's Corner
By JOSE PATINO GIRONA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 8, 2007

TAMPA HEIGHTS - For three years, the old grocery store sat vacant.

Now the owner says he is committed to improving his property at North Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, affectionately known as Hutto's Corner, for the family grocery founded after World War II.

Two weeks ago, a construction company began demolishing the building, 642 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Property owner Suresh 'Sam' Patel said he plans to build a 15,000-square-foot, L-shaped shopping center with a 1950s design. He wants to attract a sandwich shop, hair salon, phone company, flower shop and liquor store.

Patel, of New Tampa, closed the grocery store in 2004 with plans to build a shopping plaza. Instead, he listed it for sale after buying other property. Money was tight, and he couldn't devote his attention to Hutto's Corner.

After an investor offered him $975,000 six months ago, Patel said he decided it would be better to redevelop the property himself. Patel, 43, said he will spend about $1.3 million in construction and plans to repair the Hutto's Corner sign.

'It's going to be great for the community,' said Patel, who owns the Citgo gas station across the street.

Jay Crawford, an employee of North County Construction, said people have sought mementos from the store. One man wanted the front door, and a former customer asked about razor blades he used to buy there for an old razor.

Crawford said he gave one woman a 2-by-8-foot exterior metal sign that read Hutto.

He said the store was intact when demolition began. There were greeting cards, cigars, candies, Coca-Cola bottles commemorating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl win and spoiled food.

'It looked like they closed it down one day and never came back,' Crawford said.

George 'Fred' Hutto opened the neighborhood grocery store in 1948, selling milk, bread, sandwiches, hardware, flowers and plants, greeting cards and television tubes. A fire destroyed the store in 1960, but Hutto rebuilt. Hutto sold the store in 1977; Patel bought the property in 2002.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2007/aug/08/st-something-new-in-store-for-huttos-corner/?news

A client of ours, Eddie Serralles of the Serralles Group has been pretty active down there over the past several years having renovated one of the two story Mediterranean revival blocks on North Highland Ave overlooking Highland Park. There is tons of potential hidden in those streets.

InTown has also been pretty active, I see their crews all over. Their website has some interior shots, beautiful stuff.

http://intownhomes.us/project.html

^The company I work for does the survey work for that company... Some of my field training was surveying a few of them for their CO.

Timing haunts the Heights
Developers are confident, but observers see gloom as housing sales slump.
By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER Times Staff Writer
Published October 5, 2007

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/05/images/xlarge/SoTamp_Timing_2044898.jpg
Undeveloped land slated for the Heights project is at left, across the Hillsborough River from Blake High School and downtown Tampa. Developers say it is still on track.
[Chris Zuppa | Times]

Few development projects not bearing the Trump brand name get the kind of acclaim the Heights has received before construction begins.

Mayor Pam Iorio has called the 49-acre site crucial to changing the urban landscape. She has even offered the city's power of eminent domain to buy up scattered properties, a rare seal of approval reserved for projects deemed to have a beneficial public purpose.

Earlier this year, Hillsborough County's Planning Commission gave the project one of its annual awards for design excellence in urban redevelopment.

Buzz was so strong for the residential and commercial project just north of downtown that mere rumors of it lured Realtors Steve Johns and David Purnell from another hot central city neighborhood, Seminole Heights, to buy a home in Tampa Heights and fix it up.

"The Heights of Tampa was a big factor in making us invest here," Johns said. "It would be a tremendous lift for the entire area, giving us restaurants and cafes that we could walk to and enjoy. I can't stress how important it is."

It has been two years since Iorio sealed the deal with the developers, and a project spokeswoman says the Heights is still on track.

Yet, with the housing market plummeting, the landscape set for a "new urbanist" overhaul looks nearly the same as before.

Few signs point to actual construction. Homeless people sleep during the day along the Heights' deserted riverfront. And barbed wire rings empty lots littered with weeds.

Joe Swain was walking his beat as the security guard for the Heights project about 2 a.m. on a Friday back in March. After he told a group of young men hanging out behind a building owned by the developers to leave, they jumped him. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital with a broken nose, broken arm, and scratches to his face and hands, according to a police report.

It has been that kind of year for the Heights, which is weathering a rough-and-tumble housing market.

Developers say the housing slump has only slightly delayed plans and that, overall, they're still very much on schedule to begin construction of new homes next year.

Others in the housing industry say the Heights faces a tough road to completion.

"Unfortunately, they have hit a bad time in the market," said Mark Huey, Tampa's economic development coordinator. "There's been a diabolical confluence in the drop in housing demand and the foreclosure crisis. It's a shame they got hit right at the beginning of the project."

Still, given that one of the developers is Bill Bishop, who helped develop FishHawk Ranch and Westchase, confidence in the project remains high.

"He's one of the best developers in Hillsborough County," said Ray Chiaramonte, assistant executive director of the Planning Commission. "For a developer to come into Tampa Heights and take the time he's taken to assemble land is extraordinary."

Bishop's imprint in Tampa Heights is closely entwined with Iorio's $40-million Riverwalk, a 2.2-mile linear park along a stretch of the Hillsborough River that meanders through downtown. Iorio envisions it drawing people to an area that empties out after 5 p.m. on weekdays.

About 60 percent of its costs will be paid by private donors. Developers of the Heights have pledged to construct 1 mile of the linear park, a contribution worth nearly $4-million.

Lee Hoffman, the development manager for Riverwalk, said he's not concerned about the slowdown in the Heights. He's busy locking up other parts of Riverwalk, confident that the Heights will follow through on its pledge. There's a lot riding on the northern section of the Riverwalk project. For one, it serves as a vital link between older neighborhoods and the rest of the project; it also makes the Riverwalk long enough for joggers, Hoffman said.

Also integral to the Heights is the renovation of Water Works Park, which is part of the development and sits next to the Riverwalk. Yet the park renovation, along Doyle Carlton Drive, has been delayed. Slated to have a fountain, canoe and kayak launch sites and a Tavern-on-the-Green type restaurant nearby, the park was set to begin construction in January of this year. Hoffman said it's now set for next year.

The Heights project also has yet to gain approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a seawall and about 100 boat slips. Bishop referred all questions to project spokeswoman Deanne Roberts, who said the focus has been getting that seawall approved, as well as a site plan showing how the streets and sidewalks will be laid out.

"While the current residential real estate market has slowed us down a bit, we were not planning to start construction on new homes until late next year," she said. "We still hope to follow that schedule."

* * *


Project manager Darren Booth gave a tour of the Heights in June. Standing along the northern bank in a vacant lot, Booth compared it to Georgetown and Annapolis in explaining how it will look and feel once built.

"Where we are standing now will be couples strolling together after leaving the restaurants," he said. "In five years, this will be the place to bring friends from out of town."

But the vision will be hard to accomplish, said Marvin Rose, publisher of Rose Residential Reports.

"The timing couldn't be worse," he said. "Right now, nothing is doing good now. Money isn't available. This is such a pioneering project, where its whole intent is to revitalize that entire part of town. They'd have their work cut out for them even in good times.

"If they haven't broken ground up to now, I wouldn't break ground," he said.

Neighbors, however, continue to pull for the project, said Ryan Schumann, second vice president of the Tampa Heights Civic Association.

"It has the backing of a major financial group," Schumann said. "They see this over several years. A one-year delay won't be a big deal for them. They've gone too far into this for it not to happen."

Michael Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3402 or mvansickler@sptimes.com.



More on the project

What is the Heights?

Size: 49 acres.

Residential: Includes1,517 multifamily units (315 townhomes, 1,050 condos, 152 affordable housing units).

Commercial: 260,000 square feet of office/retail space that could include a hotel, restaurants, shops.

Deadlines

Original deadlines (in 2005 development agreement) and the development's new dates.

[Last modified October 4, 2007, 07:56:40]

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/05/Citytimes/Timing_haunts_the_Hei.shtml

Developer In For Long Haul

By JOSE PATINO GIRONA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 8, 2008

TAMPA HEIGHTS - With a weak housing market and a waiting game for permits, patience is the operative word for The Heights, the $500 million, 48-acre development of condominiums, town homes, offices and commercial property adjacent to downtown.

The developer may build fewer condos and town homes than the 1,900 initially proposed and might build commercial property first - a deviation from mixed-use developments, which typically build housing first.

There also are plans to lease out the historical Tampa Armature Works building, 1910 N. Ola Ave., and two single-story buildings on Palm Avenue.

The developer, A Better Place Group, has set a 10-year timeline for the project.

"If it all gets done in the last three years, it's still done in 10 years," development manager Darren Booth said.

The developer applied more than two years ago for permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Tampa Port Authority to allow construction of a sea wall and boat slips, dredging and other work in the Hillsborough River. Booth anticipates getting the permits by the end of the year.

The developer planned to build roads and install infrastructure before selling land to other developers. Now it's considering constructing some of the buildings in order to move the project forward, Booth said.

The Heights is seeking city permits to build a three-story office building near Seventh and Highland avenues and is in talks with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce to lease part of the building.

In five years, Booth anticipates that roads, water, sewer and stormwater lines, the sea wall, boat slips and a river walk will be completed or nearing completion. At that time, he also anticipates the completion of one or two restaurants and a small office building. Hotel construction should be under way along with residential sales. "If you can accept being patient, it is not frustrating," Booth said.

The city approved the property's rezoning and a development agreement for The Heights in 2006.

Investors in the project include Bill Bishop, president of real estate development company Leslie Land Corp., and Don Wallace, the former president and chief executive officer of Lazy Days RV Center.

Michael Hatchett, a city urban development manager, said the project's slower pace is disappointing but out of the developer's control.

"It is certainly a doable project," Hatchett said. "The major hurdle has been crossed, and that is the developer owning the property. If the developer doesn't own it, you can't build on it. Your project is never going to happen if you don't own the dirt."

Given the economic circumstances, the project's pace and changes are logical, said Fran Roy, president of the Tampa Heights Civic Association.

"If anyone thinks that they are going to come out of the ground flying, you need a reality check," Roy said.

He's excited that the developer is committed to the project, which he said will enhance the area. But he thinks the community can advance while The Heights finds its course.

The Bush Ross law firm opened its offices in December in Tampa Heights; the county bar association and bar foundation opened their two-story building Feb. 21 near the law firm; and a trio of investors is rehabilitating the 1927 Rialto Theatre to open a members club for business and social networking.

"The success of the neighborhood doesn't hinge on The Heights project," Roy said.

Booth said the project's success is inevitable, given its proximity to the river, parks and downtown.

"I think the location is what it's all about - being three minutes from downtown versus an hour," he said. "That is what ultimately will make this project successful."

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/08/st-developer-in-for-long-haul/?news

I think this is another development that is also being impacted by the Strand V. Escambia case, as I believe some of their funding was supposed to be coming from TIF. But, if they can at least get something built soon that would be great for that area!

Well they did cut down all the trees and the seem to have a sea of street bricks in one of the lots

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/03/17/story3.html?b=1205726400^1604761

Friday, March 14, 2008
Heights project gets a kick start
Construction set to start on anticipated redevelopment
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Janet Leiser Staff Writer

TAMPA -- One of the area's largest general contractors plans to build its Florida headquarters at the Heights of Tampa -- a 48-acre, $500 million redevelopment project on the Hillsborough River north of downtown.

The Beck Group expects to begin construction this summer on a 45,000-square foot, four-story building at the Heights, near Stetson University's Tampa law campus and the Bush Ross PA law firm.

It will be the first vertical construction project to take place at the sprawling development that has been in the works since at least 1999 when the Tampa City Council designated the area blighted. Back then, the site featured crack houses, dilapidated boarded up houses and industrial brownfields.

"This is going to be a great year for us," said Robert Scharar, president of FCA Corp. FCA manages the Ivy Real Estate Investment Trust, which is helping finance the project.

The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce also is considering relocating its offices to the building as is a third business, according to reports.

"To us, it shows the commercial market is alive and well in Tampa," said Brian Check, director of real estate for Beck Group's southeastern division, headquartered in Tampa.

Developers expect to obtain all the permits for the project this year and to complete the required engineering work, clearing the way to begin construction of infrastructure and brick streets in 2009. Construction of the river walk and park is also expected to begin this year.

The developers, working under Tampa Heights LLC, also expect to obtain roughly $40 million in bond financing this year.

A pending ruling by the Florida Supreme Court over a bond case in Escambia County has raised far-reaching concerns about financing of major redevelopment efforts across the state and still needs to be resolved. But the current plans can go forward regardless, and, the principals say, real building on the site will be symbolic of the overall project's resiliency.

The first phase won't include residential development, as planned, because of the housing slump. Here, residential units will follow retail.

Last year, Tampa Heights LLC bought out Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), which had land at the site for years, said Scharar, who didn't disclose how much the bank received.

Investors have put up about two-thirds of the $60 million that has been spent so far on the entire project, including the acquisition of the land, which was owned by as many as 150 people, said Scharar.

Another 10 or so parcels, mostly vacant, throughout the site haven't been bought because owners wanted too much or declined to sell, said Development Manager Darren Booth.

"We're not picking up anymore parcels. We don't have to," said Scharar, a Lakeland native and founder of Houston-based FCA.

Building offices
Beck Group executives started talking to Scharar and Bill Bishop, another investor, about the office building six months ago, Check said.

The agreement hasn't been formalized yet, but a handshake agreement exists.

"Everyone agrees there are no barriers to going forward," Check said.

Beck Group will design and construct the building.

The general contractor should complete the building's design this month, and approvals for the design and permits should be obtained this spring.

Beck plans to occupy 15,000 square feet, moving in by mid summer 2009.

It's unclear what role Dallas-based Beck will play in other projects at the development. Beck has a large presence in the Southeast, and internationally.

Check said: "We believe we can offer them a lot of national support."

While commercial projects in Florida and around the country are being delayed or canceled because of the economic slowdown and subprime mortgage crisis, Scharar said the Heights of Tampa is viable and moving forward.

Beck's plans attest to that.

Still, the project is about nine to 12 months behind schedule, partly because of the delays in acquiring property as well as the slowing economy.

There have been some recent changes in the equity positions and management of the project.

Scharar recently brought in Ike Monty, president of Dallas-based Investment Builders Inc., as a partner.

Scharar said the project would benefit from Monty's expertise on multifamily developments.

In fact, affordable workplace apartments are likely to be one of the first projects built. Construction might start on that phase in 2009 or 2010, Scharar said.

However, he doesn't expect to build condo towers, even when the housing market rebounds.

"The world doesn't need another bunch of condos," said Scharar. "I don't want to see towers all over the place."

jleiser@bizjournals.com | 813.342.2468

This is good news. I was unaware that the Heights developer bought out Bank of America. I am sure this helped with moving things forward!

Good news indeed...

They have started work at the site... About a half dozen trailers set up and site prep being done.

Which part?

In front of the waterworks, off of Highland. I'll snap a pic next time I'm by. It looked like they were working to put up a sign today, so maybe there will be more information once it's up (just the wood frame when I saw).

Awesome, I wasn't really sure this project was going to continue.

lololol.... These people are so out of touch with reality...

There truly will be something for everyone, with prices ranging from $300,000 to $3 million.”

Yes, "everybody"... So long as their household income is a bare minimum $100k a year... Which for those who don't know, is almost DOUBLE the local average

I'm all for building shmancy condos for rich yuppies downtown, but first we have to build anything downtown, to make it a place even worth living in the first place.

Lol I know dude.

The local wages seem a bit off to me. I look at the stats and they seem quite low. I'm not sure I know anyone who makes the average. I wonder how they come up with those numbers.

^I don't know who you hang out with, but I can assure you that the typical Tampa household most certainly does not make $100k a year, or anything even close to that.

I don't know either but that is hard to fathom.

^???

I can only assume that you haven't had to find a 'regular' job around here for years then.

No I have. I just moved here in Feb 05 for a job. Then got another job in July 06.

What do you do again?

Wealth management for individuals worth $10 million or more.

^^

I also know many families with a combined income over 100K in the Tampa area. A lot of professional jobs in the Tampa Bay area pay 80k+. For instance, some of the fields are medical, information technology, engineering, financial, etc. If one family member is earning 80k+ and the other 40k+, that gives you 120K.

These are not entry level positions; I am talking about professional jobs (Bachelors degree minimum) in one of the fields I mentioned with 5+ years experience. It seems like a lot of people on this forum are younger than me and are in college or close to it so they might not be aware of the salaries in the area. I am not in the architecture field so I can't speak for that industry. I work in the medical research / computer science area.

Albeit, the median household income in Tampa is probably less than 100K, but remember this statistical analysis includes people 15 years or older with income. So, this includes the elderly with small part-time incomes and many student workers with small incomes. I think if you took the median household income of families working in a professional environment, the median value would be much higher. Just go on Monster.com, and get some salary data for some professions and you will see what I mean.

While the median income is surely lower - I do not think that is the measure of viability. There are millions of people in the area. IF you create a good envirnoment, tehre are enough people to fill that niche. OF course, they need housing for others, but that is not likely to occur on those lots without some tax abatement

I would venture to guess that the average person who works in downtown Tampa is actually paid above average for the area. I say that because downtown is heavy on corporate jobs but lacking in service jobs and retail jobs. Although it is also heavy on goverment jobs which may bring down the average a little.

the direction fo the thread is fine with me, but just a quick note for those who seem to be addressing what I had brought up...

If you guys read back, I was remarking on what the project rep said when asked about the project's affordability. He didn't say that enough of the market could afford it, or even that an average family could afford it. He said that there was something for everybody. Now to me, that doesn't imply a low rent project or anything, but it does imply that there's at least some 'average' housing. Afterall, if there isn't anything for the 'average' person, then how can they possibly hope to claim to even be for a majority, let alone 'everybody'? Average household income in Tampa is like $58k or something, maybe less. Very few census tracts in Tampa have a household income exceeding the $100k needed to get into this place. My ultimate point was, don't BS people. Tax dollars are subsidizing this project, people have a right to know how their money is being spent, and who will benefit from it.

If you've got an objection to that train of thought, well ok. But most of you guys are talking about variations that I wasn't necessarily talking about, and wouldn't necessarily disagree with if I was.

Carry on as normal please... cheers.

Where did you pull the quote from?

the article which originally started the thread.

^^

I also know many families with a combined income over 100K in the Tampa area. A lot of professional jobs in the Tampa Bay area pay 80k+. For instance, some of the fields are medical, information technology, engineering, financial, etc. If one family member is earning 80k+ and the other 40k+, that gives you 120K.

These are not entry level positions; I am talking about professional jobs (Bachelors degree minimum) in one of the fields I mentioned with 5+ years experience. It seems like a lot of people on this forum are younger than me and are in college or close to it so they might not be aware of the salaries in the area. I am not in the architecture field so I can't speak for that industry. I work in the medical research / computer science area.

Albeit, the median household income in Tampa is probably less than 100K, but remember this statistical analysis includes people 15 years or older with income. So, this includes the elderly with small part-time incomes and many student workers with small incomes. I think if you took the median household income of families working in a professional environment, the median value would be much higher. Just go on Monster.com, and get some salary data for some professions and you will see what I mean.

I agree with you completely.

I would say that most dual income households are grossing between $50k and $100k. So, basically, only the upper end of that would be able to afford to buy in this project (considering they have very little to no debt). This is definitely for more higher-paid professionals, entry level or otherwise. Will there be more affordable units on the rental side? I would hope so.

At any rate, it's good that progress is being made on this project.

I think $300,000 is affordable to many people in the area. If you take a two income family, I would think they would make a combined of $100,000 - or at least close to it. I guess the pattern I am noticing, when one spouse is a high earner, the second spouse is too. I'm not sure I could find one person in my office that doesn't fit into that mold.

If these price points were posted back in June, do we know or think that they will come down in price?

If not I'm sure there will be some huge buyer incentives. I know the quarter came down to 99k on 1 bedrooms that were posted as starting at 169k last year. But, that was a conversion project.

Still no sign up, though the wood frame is there. Looks to be a significant start as there are quite a few trailers set up (looks to be about a dozen AC units at least).

http://jongales.com/pics/development/heights/theheights-1.jpg

http://jongales.com/pics/development/heights/theheights-2.jpg

Drove by this today, the notice on the permit box noted this would be a 30k sq. ft. office building. I don't think this is part of "the heights" project.

Hmm, that's interesting because the lot is in the middle of where the project is supposed to be and is currently owned by the developers (under the LAND ASSEMBLE LLC shell). Perhaps they are adding an office portion to the project? There have been two large law offices built near by recently, so this could be another.

Yes, the mix of the project changed some. That occurred a couple months ago, didn't?

Could it be the new SE regional offices for Beck Group that was announced not too long ago? That size sounds about right for that.

^^Could be the case, as all the signs out front are for Beck. Are they involved in "the heights" project? Getting any news on this project has been near impossible!

I posted the following article in the "Tampa Heights Development" string back on March 18 -

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/03/17/story3.html?b=1205726400^1604761

Friday, March 14, 2008
Heights project gets a kick start
Construction set to start on anticipated redevelopment
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Janet Leiser Staff Writer

TAMPA -- One of the area's largest general contractors plans to build its Florida headquarters at the Heights of Tampa -- a 48-acre, $500 million redevelopment project on the Hillsborough River north of downtown.

The Beck Group expects to begin construction this summer on a 45,000-square foot, four-story building at the Heights, near Stetson University's Tampa law campus and the Bush Ross PA law firm.

It will be the first vertical construction project to take place at the sprawling development that has been in the works since at least 1999 when the Tampa City Council designated the area blighted. Back then, the site featured crack houses, dilapidated boarded up houses and industrial brownfields.

"This is going to be a great year for us," said Robert Scharar, president of FCA Corp. FCA manages the Ivy Real Estate Investment Trust, which is helping finance the project.

The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce also is considering relocating its offices to the building as is a third business, according to reports.

"To us, it shows the commercial market is alive and well in Tampa," said Brian Check, director of real estate for Beck Group's southeastern division, headquartered in Tampa.

Developers expect to obtain all the permits for the project this year and to complete the required engineering work, clearing the way to begin construction of infrastructure and brick streets in 2009. Construction of the river walk and park is also expected to begin this year.

The developers, working under Tampa Heights LLC, also expect to obtain roughly $40 million in bond financing this year.

A pending ruling by the Florida Supreme Court over a bond case in Escambia County has raised far-reaching concerns about financing of major redevelopment efforts across the state and still needs to be resolved. But the current plans can go forward regardless, and, the principals say, real building on the site will be symbolic of the overall project's resiliency.

The first phase won't include residential development, as planned, because of the housing slump. Here, residential units will follow retail.

Last year, Tampa Heights LLC bought out Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), which had land at the site for years, said Scharar, who didn't disclose how much the bank received.

Investors have put up about two-thirds of the $60 million that has been spent so far on the entire project, including the acquisition of the land, which was owned by as many as 150 people, said Scharar.

Another 10 or so parcels, mostly vacant, throughout the site haven't been bought because owners wanted too much or declined to sell, said Development Manager Darren Booth.

"We're not picking up anymore parcels. We don't have to," said Scharar, a Lakeland native and founder of Houston-based FCA.

Building offices
Beck Group executives started talking to Scharar and Bill Bishop, another investor, about the office building six months ago, Check said.

The agreement hasn't been formalized yet, but a handshake agreement exists.

"Everyone agrees there are no barriers to going forward," Check said.

Beck Group will design and construct the building.

The general contractor should complete the building's design this month, and approvals for the design and permits should be obtained this spring.

Beck plans to occupy 15,000 square feet, moving in by mid summer 2009.

It's unclear what role Dallas-based Beck will play in other projects at the development. Beck has a large presence in the Southeast, and internationally.

Check said: "We believe we can offer them a lot of national support."

While commercial projects in Florida and around the country are being delayed or canceled because of the economic slowdown and subprime mortgage crisis, Scharar said the Heights of Tampa is viable and moving forward.

Beck's plans attest to that.

Still, the project is about nine to 12 months behind schedule, partly because of the delays in acquiring property as well as the slowing economy.

There have been some recent changes in the equity positions and management of the project.

Scharar recently brought in Ike Monty, president of Dallas-based Investment Builders Inc., as a partner.

Scharar said the project would benefit from Monty's expertise on multifamily developments.

In fact, affordable workplace apartments are likely to be one of the first projects built. Construction might start on that phase in 2009 or 2010, Scharar said.

However, he doesn't expect to build condo towers, even when the housing market rebounds.

"The world doesn't need another bunch of condos," said Scharar. "I don't want to see towers all over the place."

jleiser@bizjournals.com | 813.342.2468

Well that explains it. Excited to see the design.

Tampa Heights' Master Plan Topic Of Thursday Meeting
The Tampa Tribune
Published: July 9, 2008

TAMPA HEIGHTS - The Tampa Heights Stewardship Team wants to discuss the neighborhood plan adopted by the city council in 2003, including which goals have been achieved and which remain outstanding.

The group is hosting meetings at 6 p.m. Thursday and Tuesday at the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation, 1610 Tampa St. It wants to gather information to hold a town hall meeting with Mayor Pam Iorio.

The neighborhood plan, which was produced by residents and the Hillsborough Planning Commission, is a blueprint for the community's development.

It places an emphasis on single-family housing and the creation of parks and a town center, as well as forming a cultural arts district and making Tampa Street and Florida Avenue two-way streets.

The team oversees the plan's implementation.

To read the plan, go to the Tampa Heights Neighborhood Association Web site at www.tampaheights.org and click on "master plan."

For information on the meeting, call Vivian Salaga, the team's president, at (813) 223-1948.

Jose Patino Girona

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2008/jul/09/st-tampa-heights-master-plan-topic-of-thursday-mee/?news

It places an emphasis on single-family housing

Don't they realize that downtown is right there? They need to be building denser then single family. I wouldn't worry to much considering The Heights is a lot of multi family and will probably be how the distrct slowly turns out if/when built.

The two waying ofr Florida and Tampa couldn't be dummer for the health of downtown - but Iorio is blind to the reality that the city is not made of villages.

Tampa and Florida both travel well because they ARE one-way.
What, some arrogant business owners hope converting to two-way will increase their revenue?

It sure doesn't seem to help Nebraska at all.

I think the tranny hookers are more of the problem on Nebraska.

I strongly agree that two-waying those streets will be a big mistake. There's no transit, so roads are all we've got. Cutting road capacity on roads already clogged during the rushes is pretty damn dumb.

Oneway-streets are a relic of the automobile-only time. The only purpose is to let them drive as fast through the streets as possible. Pedestrians were unwanted. That is against the concept of urbanity.

IF I am not mistaken, isn't Manhattan mostly one way streets. Cant get much more urban than that. It is not whether it is one way or not that gets people walking, its what is on the street to attract people to walking. In fact, it is easier to cross a one way street because the cars are only coming from one direction.

This is just another planner fetish that is counterintuitive.

You need to be able to move people around somehow - two one way raods is a pretty small prive to pay - not to mention that a lane in either road could easily be made light rail and the are made more urban

Oneway-streets are a relic of the automobile-only time. The only purpose is to let them drive as fast through the streets as possible. Pedestrians were unwanted. That is against the concept of urbanity.

I much prefer to ride a bike on a one-way road. And crossing streets on foot.

I agree, crossing a one-way street is definately less hectic than crossing a two-way.

Instead of making Tampa and Florida two way, they should consider adding a divided pedestrian/bicycle lane to each. St. Petersburg recently added such a lane to 1st Avenue South and 1st Avenue North. They feature a median divider and landscaping. Those avenues function in much the same way Tampa and Florida do currently.

http://www.stpete.org/bicycle/docs/bikemapbrochure.pdf

http://www.stpete.org/stpete/citytrailsfall2005.pdf

Or maybe they should hire a real Urban Planner.

^That would be a plus.

Oh, I would not assume they didn't. Planners had major role the mess in the first place.

http://www.tampaheights.us/

Got a reply from Darren Booth, employee for the developer of the Heights, they'll be closing Water Works Park to start renovation and also work on the Riverwalk portion up there.

Construction should begin around April 2009, according to Darren Booth

We received an invitation for some kind of reception for The Heights project at work. Looks like they went back to drawing board and have come back with a new design and look for the community, more diverse and modern than the previous look. If I get a chance I will scan the invite and post it here. The reception is the first week in December.

Here as promised the renderings from the Beck Group office launch invite:

The Heights looking toward downtown
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t296/akb1710/TheHeights-001.jpg

Beck'sNew regional headquarters, called the "Green Office" billed as a sustainable project:
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t296/akb1710/TheHeights-002.jpg

Not sure what to make of that - looks like some odd 60's college campus

I hope those are just bad renderings.

The renders aren't to fabulous, but I like the whole green building idea.

I don't know what to think of it. I don't have anything positive to say about it. The set up is awful, absolutely a mess. THe buildings look low budget and cheap. The area can handle larger structures, instead there is a couple low-rises and high-rises. Like smilye said, it looks like a college campus. Hopefully it's just the renders that makes me not want it.

wow.... that looks like a community college campus...

I'd like to see something a bit zoomed out becasue we're only seeing a portion of the project in those. but from what I can tell, the past renderings showed a much better project.

The major problem with the project at this limited glance is the lack of street interaction.

I don't like the street layout, but I like this better than the previous plan. Hey the economy is bad, what do you expect, something is better than nothing, etc., etc.

I would prefer that they don't build out the whole plot of land while the economy is bad. We've had the "something is better than nothing" attitude far too long in Tampa.

ok - so the bottom picture is the Beck building which is in the top/middle left hand side (the dark squat building).

No idea what the rest of it will be like

Those renderings are awful. bleh...

It's actually not too bad looks-wise, considering how much the project has been Value Engineered™ at this point.

I would really like to see a site plan, and see what they've done to the street level though... It doesn't exactly look 'vibrant' from what I've seen around the net.

I think the design is pretty neat

Things Are Looking Up For Heights Of Tampa
http://media2.tbo.com/mediamanager/2008/dec/05/1664_heights.orig-max-640x640.jpg
People gather Friday for the groundbreaking of The Heights of Tampa, the first step in a major redevelopment project.
http://media2.tbo.com/mediamanager/2008/dec/05/1638_120508groundbreaking.orig-max-640x640.jpg

By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Published: December 6, 2008


TAMPA - A decades-old vision to bring homes, shops and offices to land beside a prominent bend in the Hillsborough River, just north of downtown, took a key step forward Friday when developers broke ground on an office building and riverside boardwalk.

Some development has come to the area in recent years: the Tampa campus of Stetson University College of Law; the Hillsborough County Bar Association's headquarters and nonprofit foundation, and the Bush Ross law firm office.

But most of the land has remained fallow despite various plans touted by city officials and would-be developers.

The Heights of Tampa development firm, current owner of a 48-acre riverfront parcel in the Tampa Heights neighborhood, views Friday's ceremony as a significant move toward the ultimate goal of building a $500 million project that city council members approved two years ago.

"It is a huge psychological boost to start going vertical on the property," said Robert Scharar, board chairman of The Heights of Tampa and president of FCA Corp., a Houston investment advisory firm.

The firm eventually wants to build 1,900 condominiums and town homes, and 260,000 square feet of offices and shops. It also hopes to redevelop and find another use for the red-brick Tampa Armature Works building, constructed in 1914.

The plan includes boat slips, realigned streets, improved utilities, a rehabilitated Water Works Park and a riverfront boardwalk from North Boulevard to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

A Neighborhood Vision

The ambitious project has been slowed by permitting, an environmental cleanup and removal of trees to the nearby Blake High School campus. The current economic downturn hasn't helped.

But the project's first phase, though modest, is reason for optimism, the developers say.

The Beck Group, an architectural, construction and development company, will develop and lease a $7 million, two-story building at North Highland and Seventh avenues. There have been talks with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce about the business organization possibly leasing space at the future office building. Construction is scheduled to be completed next year.

The Heights of Tampa also broke ground Friday on a 600-foot segment of the river walk along Water Works Park, 1710 N. Highland Ave.

The developer will begin landscaping at Water Works Park, eventually installing interactive water features, a playground, and a kayak and canoe launch, as well as restoring the historical spring.

Scharar said he wants to begin construction next year on a modest residential development with 50 to 100 condominium or apartment units.

Eventually he hopes the area will attract restaurants, small offices, modest-sized shops and possibly a 100-room hotel in the armature building, where the Tampa Electric Street and Railway Co. once worked on its streetcars.

The delay hasn't changed the vision for the project, Scharar said. He still wants to build an urban community where residents can walk and shop for necessities, and where nonresidents can shop, dine, and walk along the river or enjoy the park.

"We don't want to do a 50-story skyscraper," Scharar said. "We really feel we have a great project if we don't get ahead of ourselves and take it one step at a time."

'Things Have Changed'

Tampa Heights resident Ralph Schuler moved to the area 10 years ago and remembers former Mayor Dick Greco's plan, called the Mayor's Heights Project.

He said he is pleased with the Beck Group project, but doesn't think the overall plan will turn out as initially proposed by The Heights of Tampa.

"I don't think it will look like it was proposed in 2006," said Schuler, an architect. "Just because they change it doesn't mean it will be bad. It's just no way its going to stay the same. Too many things have changed."

Schuler said if city officials had taken advantage of a favorable economy and quickly completed a development pact with The Heights of Tampa, there would be more progress today.

"It could have happened in six months instead of 18 months," Schuler said. "We would have been talking about the eighth building, not the first building."

The developer and city officials deny the lengthy, detailed development agreement approved in 2006 by city council slowed the process.

"I don't think the city should have gone faster or the developer drug his feet," said Michael Hatchett, the city's urban development manager for Tampa Heights and Central Park. "To me it is more of an issue in the market, not that anyone went any slower. Everybody moved as diligently as we could."

Mayor Pam Iorio, who attended Friday's groundbreaking, called it wonderful to see development happening on the land - especially considering the current economy. She said the project always has been a long-term proposition.

One developer's decision to build in the area is likely to attract more interest, she said.

"Every time you have quality development there it spurs additional development," Iorio said.

Fran Roy, who has lived in Tampa Heights for 13 years, said the new project will bring attention to the area and may attract residents and commercial developers. It also validates the decision of "urban pioneers" who years ago gambled by moving to an area with overgrown lots, vacant buildings and many homeless people.

Roy, who is president of the Tampa Heights Civic Association, said: "It will give people a positive reinforcement about their investment in the neighborhood."

Board of Directors of The Heights of Tampa:

Chairman: Robert Scharar, president of FCA Corp., an investment advisory firm based in Houston.

Ed Turanchik, developer of InTown Homes, a development company primarily working in West Tampa.

Ike Monty, residential developer in El Paso, Texas.

Steve Crawford, president of Ivy Realty in Houston.

Neil Buck, real estate analyst at CB Richard Ellis in Tampa.

William Bahlke, owner of Heidt & Associates, an engineering firm in Tampa.

Former board members include Bill Bishop, a Hillsborough County developer now studying at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Don Wallace, former president and chief executive officer of Lazy Days RV Center. Wallace remains as an investor in the project.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/06/na-things-are-looking-up-for-heights-of-tampa/news-metro/

They have fenced off the park (Waterworks/Bum park) for construction as well. Good sign!

hot tranny mess of a project.

That picture in the article that Smiley posted shows the renderings very small, but it looks nice.

hot tranny mess of a project.

:rofl:

So what you tryin' to say, Willis? :lol:

hot tranny mess of a project.

Awesome.... :banana:

The local wages seem a bit off to me. I look at the stats and they seem quite low. I'm not sure I know anyone who makes the average. I wonder how they come up with those numbers. tampa family law (http://tampabaylawyers.com)

what are they saying the average is?

Residents want historic church turned to community center
By JOSÉ PATIÑO GIRONA | The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 21, 2009

TAMPA - Tampa Heights residents want to turn a vacant, historic church into a community center.

Three neighborhood groups on Thursday asked city council members to consider allowing them to use the property, rehabilitate it and waive any building permit fees.

The organizations plan to use volunteer crews to rehabilitate the church for future youth, civic and community programs.

The city council asked its staff to present a report at the June 4 meeting explaining if the city can allow the organizations to lease the property from the city. The property is owned by Florida's Department of Transportation, which has said it is open to leasing the old church to the city, organizers said.

Faith Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 602 E. Palm Ave., was located at the site. The building has been vacant for years and its windows are boarded.

The church was built in 1923, and is known for its Gothic Revival architecture.

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/21/residents-want-historic-church-turned-community-ce/news/

Here's a link to the street view of the church:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=602+E+Palm+Ave,+Tampa,+Hillsborough,+Florida+33602&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=Fb-tqgEdJNoV-w&split=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ll=27.962135,-82.454367&spn=0.002374,0.003433&t=h&z=18&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=27.96226,-82.454287&panoid=2Rp60xdH66KMdf4gK79aWA&cbp=12,3.72,,0,5

Not sure if anyone has been to the The Heights Website (http://www.theheightstampa.com/) lately, but they have updated pictures:

http://www.theheightstampa.com/gallery/pix1.jpg

http://www.theheightstampa.com/gallery/pix2.jpg

http://www.theheightstampa.com/gallery/pix3.jpg

http://www.theheightstampa.com/gallery/pix4.jpg

http://www.theheightstampa.com/gallery/pix5.jpg

I'd like to see more density. It's better than what's there though.

What's the height limit there?

These renders look way better than the ones on the last page. But we only get renders with color on the building. The last renders were disturbing when it came to pretty much anything. And I know there is the "It's better then nothing", but the last renders had me wish they left it as nothing. Hopefully this time they decided on some more favorable paint color.

A bit slabbier then I was hoping.

Thanks for posting Youngkg. Also, the Beck office building is going up fairly quickly.

I think I'm going to a site visit there for my Materials and Methods Class. My professor is an architect for Beck.

Don't worry. Nothing major will go there for 5-10 years, if then

Maybe it was just me, but I always though that the Four Seasons Hotel and Residence would had worked out if moved in the vicinity of Tampa Heights. Out of the path of Peter O'Knight, easy to get to downtown from the area, and the design would had fit in the area more than in the center of Tampa. I wonder if Tampa could ever persuade Four Seasons to come back to Tampa and build in the area. Of course, working with neighbors with traffic and everything that would be brought up.

Maybe it was just me, but I always though that the Four Seasons Hotel and Residence would had worked out if moved in the vicinity of Tampa Heights. Out of the path of Peter O'Knight, easy to get to downtown from the area, and the design would had fit in the area more than in the center of Tampa. I wonder if Tampa could ever persuade Four Seasons to come back to Tampa and build in the area. Of course, working with neighbors with traffic and everything that would be brought up.

You'd have to finish the riverwalk first! Walking through central Tampa Heights is not the nicest looking district of Tampa. They'd either need to finish the riverwalk or have mass transit to and out from that location.

You'd have to finish the riverwalk first! Walking through central Tampa Heights is not the nicest looking district of Tampa. They'd either need to finish the riverwalk or have mass transit to and out from that location.
Not that hard to get from the location into CBD and Downtown, but if they had to, they could make Doyle Carlton Dr. a one-way street going north and use the extra lane for a trolley system connecting to plan extension. The Riverwalk phase will almost undoubtly be finish before anything developed like my plan. But it wouldn't hurt if they did so anyways.

^^^ Now that is a good option, but maybe they should look at Doyle Carlton as being the Air Cargo Road of Tampa Heights.
If you've been down West Shore in drew park at Hillsborough you'll know what I mean, that road is gonna be amazing.
Air Cargo Road is heavily pedestrianized, Sidewalks, bike paths/running path separated from sidewalk on an asphault like sidewalk elevated off the street, lots of trees and plants that give it a natural beauty. It is something else.

^Too bad it doesn't go anywhere... Like under the runway to connect with Westshore or Lois on the south side.

Dude!! I was thinking the same thing when they released the plans. My dad who is a business owner there in Drew Park says that the redevelopment from the road being built is honestly good enough. But honestly they need to connect drew park with west shore, driving on the west side of the airport is AWFUL Memorial SUCKS

May be a stupid and easy question, but where is Air Cargo Rd? Tried Google and I must be overlooking it.

It's a new 4 lane road alignment connecting Anderson Rd at Hillsborough Ave with Lauber Way at MLK... Part of it follows the old alignment for Anderson Ave, and the rest makes road where there was no road before...

Perhaps Lois Ave will also be rebuilt to be a nice 4 lane avenue now as well... Because I tell you what, Lois is the main artery of Drew Park, and that road SUCKS.

It's a new 4 lane road alignment connecting Anderson Rd at Hillsborough Ave with Lauber Way at MLK... Part of it follows the old alignment for Anderson Ave, and the rest makes road where there was no road before...

Perhaps Lois Ave will also be rebuilt to be a nice 4 lane avenue now as well... Because I tell you what, Lois is the main artery of Drew Park, and that road SUCKS.

OMG dude I have to take Lois to school because they're closing west shore to finish paving Air Cargo, I hate that street, Like dude they need to repave it atleast. And add side walks. I used to park at my dads body shop N. Hubert Ave/MLK and walk down to HCC Hawks Landing (because HCC is lame and tows, and Hawks Landing is lame because they tow.) There needs to be sidewalks on Lois!!! Thats the main st like Jasonhouse said.

My dad told me that MLK was gonna be a 4 lane ave, but I can't confirm. lol Mybad no more talking about Drew Park

Yeah, MLK will be widened from Dale Mabry to Lauber.

Development taking shape

http://centraltampa2.tbo.com/exposure/ar/385/255/2009/08/27/11520_stheights082009.jpg
A Better Place Group
The space between the long-abandoned 1907 pumping station and the red-brick building that once housed the Tampa Armature Works will become the heart and soul of the new Seventh Avenue riverfront.

By GEORGE WILKENS
gwilkens@tampatrib.com
Published: August 26, 2009

TAMPA - Plans to develop a 48-acre swath of historic riverfront north of downtown have been in the works for years, so longtime Tampa Heights residents Melisa and Yves Conze arrived early for the recent open house for updates on the planned development of restaurants, shops and more.

"We've been waiting a while. Things have gotten postponed and delayed," Yves Conze said after a tour of the former Tampa Armature Works building and short cruise past the 48-acre project called simply The Heights.

"If you look at the size and scope of this project, you can't help but be excited," he said.

"To have it so close to home will be fantastic," Melisa Conze said of the promise of restaurants, coffee stalls, delis and unique retail shops within walking distance of the West Ross Avenue house the couple bought seven years ago.

Ground was broken Dec. 5 for the $500 million mixed-use development.

Development Manager Darren Booth announced at the Aug. 18 open house the "first little cafe" of eight to 12 tables could be operational by late fall "to breathe some life back into" the long-vacant site.

That drawing card for the site initially would serve lunch, one day a week, later expanding to weekends, he said. Hopefully more cafes will open in January and February, he said, depending on the city's permitting process.

During the next two to five years, more restaurants will be built at a higher elevation, overlooking the outdoor cafes.

Following restoration of the riverbank, a canoe/kayak launching area will be added, Booth said. Also anticipated are boat slips, plus a river walk stretching 600 feet from North Boulevard to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

The development agreement between A Better Place Group and the city council approved in July 2006 includes improvements to Waterworks Park, 1710 N. Highland Ave. The city site includes a natural spring and a long-abandoned pumping station structure built in 1907.

The Beck Group is nearing completion of a two-story 30,000-square-foot building at North Highland and Seventh avenues that will open in January, providing a regional headquarters for the architectural, construction and development company. The building also is among three possible locations for the future home of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Future phases of the project include a four-story, 125-room hotel, 56,000 square feet of office space and, eventually, 1,900 condominiums and town homes. "It could be 10 years before the condo tower goes in," Booth said.

The century-old massive red-brick building that housed the armature works will be preserved and pressed into service.

Booth envisions careful conversion of the 70,000-square-foot, high-ceilinged structure, creating something similar to the famed Pike Place Market in Seattle, just south of where Booth grew up.

"You don't want to lose that," he said of the original look. "You want to lovingly restore that; caring for the old stuff and, at the same time, improving it a little bit."

"I see a mix of shops spilling out onto this public place," said Booth, calling attention to the building's large skylights, providing sufficient illumination even on a cloudy day. The massive door of the high-ceilinged structure - built as the Tampa Electric Street and Railway Co. trolley barn - might be opened during mild weather, providing a break from air-conditioning, he said.

For now, Booth works behind a heavy copper door in a space that once housed the armature works' office and conference room and, before that, served the trolley company yardmaster. Not far from the abutting three-sided protruding observation window overlooking the long-gone trolley yard is the safe where passenger fares were stored overnight.

In the early 1800s, Tampa Heights was home to business owners, lawyers and civic leaders. A century later, drugs and crime plagued the neighborhood, and civic activists and city officials began an effort to reverse the neglect, encouraging restoration of historical structures.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 259-7124

http://centraltampa2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/26/st-development-taking-shape/news/

I went on a boat ride today (Hillsborough River Taxi) sponsored by the Heights redevelopment. We ended up at the old Tampa Armature Works building which is mostly unfinished but has fixed up reception/bar area with renderings and what not. Pretty cool style actually, old meets new. Good to see that they are still hard at work despite the economy which is good to see.

The Beck HQ seems to be coming along real nice, rumor has it they will get the CO right after the new year.

TAMPA — USF Health has a nonbinding letter of agreement with The Beck Group to develop its long-sought Center for Advanced Medical Learning & Simulation at the Heights of Tampa.

CAMLS, with a price tag currently pegged between $18 million to $22 million, and an adjacent 125-room hotel, could be the flagship project needed to jumpstart the Heights development, north of downtown, and make a significant contribution to Tampa’s economic development, said Deborah Sutherland, executive director of the USF Health Professions Conferencing Corp., which would lease the medical facility and run the programs.

The deal hinges on development of both CAMLS and the hotel, Sutherland said. Beck is looking for financing for both projects.

Steve Mitchell, an attorney and former chairman of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, is working to structure the real estate deal with the Heights.


Source: http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/09/14/story1.html

so I'm watching Hillsborough county TV right now, and they have a hearing about the Tampa hieghts project, the developers are trying to get wet zoning permits, couple things,.. a couple times a couple of council member referenced light rail going to the area, not like "If we get light rail" they spoke of it as it was on the way,... not that it means it is, I just liked the way they spoke of it in a progressive manner,.. Also one of the council members flat out said "If we want Tampa to be the next great city, we need to support projects like this" .
I wish I could have seen the names of the council members, they all had positive attitudes excluding one, I think her name was luara something,... she just seemed to be against everything because everyone else was for it.

I did however get the vibe that some of the council members were being dicks just because they were in a position of power, I wanted to smack the smug out of em' ... except Charlie Miranda, he seemed cool.

God love 'em - like they can't read a map - there is no proposed light rail plan that puts rail anywhere near The Heights.

Sure it was Linda and not Laura? Linda Saul-Sena is one of the most clueless people I have ever heard from. I think she was against a couple developments in the Channelside area aswell. Not surprised Charlie was 100% positive about everything from this project, he serves the area on the council.

If light rail would be going there, it would be quite some time before it finally reaches that area. I still suggest connecting the area to the trolley system once the latest expansion is completed.

CubanBread is correct, it was Laura.

USF looking at the Heights as possible site for high-tech medical training center
By Janet Zink and Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Thursday, November 12, 2009

TAMPA — Developers of a stalled project on the edge of downtown are hoping to get a boost from a proposed high-tech medical training complex.

The University of South Florida is considering the Heights as the location for the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, a 60,000-square-foot facility where doctors from around the world could receive high-tech surgical training, and new medical devices could be developed and tested.

"Right now, we're exploring the possibility of doing this at the Heights location," said USF spokesman Michael Hoad.

The complex also would include a 126-room hotel and 450-space parking garage.

"This will absolutely catapult the Heights to the next level," said Darren Booth, development manager for the 48-acre Heights project. "It's a very difficult time to develop anything here, and a major facility like this USF training facility will jump-start all of the waterfront development. It will accelerate the arrival of those restaurants and cafes we're working on."

The Heights project was unveiled in 2004 as a mixed-use community with 2,000 residential units as well as commercial and office space.

But the slumping economy slowed the project to a near halt. So far, the only major activity there has been construction of a two-story office building that should be done this year.

Little else is on the horizon except a portion of the Riverwalk, a linear park along the Hillsborough River, which should be completed next month, and boat slips.

University officials are negotiating with the city, county and developers of the Heights to finance the medical complex.

"It is a very significant project," said Mark Huey, Tampa's administrator for economic development. "This is an opportunity to create a jewel. This training center will be one of only a handful of its kind in the world. That's why we're working so hard collectively to make it work."

Mayor Pam Iorio, USF president Judy Genshaft, USF medical school dean Steven Klasko and Hillsborough commission Chairman Ken Hagan met this week to hash out some of the details.

"It's an incredibly exciting economic development opportunity for our community," Hagan said. "However we need to ensure that in moving forward we minimize the potential risk to taxpayers."

Early plans call for the conference center to be financed by bonds backed by lease payments from the university. A private company would build the hotel.

The debt on the $9 million parking garage, though, would be shared by the university, the city, the county and the Heights development team.

USF has worked on the center for at least four years. Where to build it has been a key question.

In 2006, administrators announced plans to build it at a research park on USF's Tampa campus. At that time, they estimated the project's cost at $60 to $70 million. Two years later, they said the search for a suitable site had complicated progress.

The Heights location is appealing because visiting doctors and their families would have easy access to downtown museums, restaurants and entertainment venues, Hoad said.

In an effort to expand its continuing education offerings to surgeons, USF Health has opened two facilities similar to the one envisioned for the Heights.

In March, the $1.5 million USF Health Simulation Center opened at Tampa General Hospital. It has more than a half-dozen simulators that allow doctors to practice laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical techniques.

In August, USF Health unveiled a $4 million center — one of two nationwide — at its college of medicine to train doctors to do robot-assisted surgery. Up to 600 physicians a year are expected to train there, paying $3,000 a day for the experience.

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/usf-looking-at-the-heights-as-possible-site-for-high-tech-medical-training/1051135

That'd be cool if USF's SCAD was moving there too. They'll be building a new building soon.

What we really need in Tampa is another university all together, not another satellite campus. You can never have too many universities around these days.

Does Tampa really need another university? I would think having both USF and UT, as well as HCC and a couple smaller colleges, that would be enough. St. Petersburg on the other hand would be a good place for another university. If anything, that's what St. Pete is missing.

Back on topic, I like the idea of USF having a location over in the Heights area. And it will be nice to see how long the city will wait to extend the Riverwalk all the way up to the area.

i think this could be a fine idea, and a solid, sustainable anchor for the area.

A portion of the riverwalk will be completed in The Heights by time the first building is occupied there. Also, the Tampa Museum of Art completion will bring a lot of attention to the riverwalk project, hopefully causing the city to jump into action on the remaining portions.

Redevelopment plan clears hurdle
By KATHY STEELE: ksteele@tampatrib.com
Published: March 3, 2010

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - A vision plan and a land-use map that would help guide redevelopment of this community for the next 20 years cleared a hurdle last week as the Tampa City Council agreed to submit the plan and map for state review.

Council members are expected to bundle the Seminole Heights' plan and map with unrelated land-use amendments on March 11 and send them to Florida's Department of Community Affairs. Officials will send comments and recommendations to the city.

With that accomplished, the city can move closer to presenting a new set of regulations that will implement the long-range redevelopment of Seminole Heights. City land-use staffers hope to have the codes approved by fall or winter of this year for South, Southeast and Old Seminole Heights' neighborhoods.

"It is the first step in the process," said Cathy Coyle, the city's zoning administrator.

Coyle said more than 500 people, including residents, property owners and business owners, have participated in a series of public workshops and interactive design exercises since February 2008.

About 50 people attended a public hearing with city council members last week. Most were in favor of the plan and the map, including representatives of the three Seminole Heights' neighborhood and civic associations, the Business Guild of Seminole Heights and the nonprofit Seminole Heights Foundation.

"It's our plan. We put it together," said Susan Long, one of the foundation's founding directors. "The city didn't say, 'Here is what's happening to you.'"

The plan's intent is to foster an urban growth pattern that encourages retail and commercial establishments, and more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

The proposed zoning codes focus on the size and appearance of buildings, as well as the layouts of streets and public spaces. Traditional zoning generally separates areas based on land use and decisions of public health and safety, placing shops, homes and factories in different districts.

Not everyone liked the plan.

"I think it needs to be tweaked some more," said Gail Davis of the Hampton Terrace Neighborhood Association. "It needs to be flexible. I was quite dismayed by the CVS outcome."

The city council recently rejected a proposal for a CVS drugstore at Sligh and Nebraska avenues because it did not meet the city's urban design guidelines.

John Dingfelder, one of a minority of council members who supported the CVS project, said he hoped the new codes would not restrict the council to "yes" or "no" votes. "We wanted to sort of say 'maybe,'" he said of CVS.

Some residents at the hearing objected to land-use changes for specific parcels including residents on Hamilton Avenue who worried the proposed map would allow apartments or town homes on a street of single-family homes.

"We have a very friendly street," said Janet Altman. "I expect to be living here 20 years from now and I don't want to be next door to apartments."

http://centraltampa2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/03/st-redevelopment-plan-clears-hurdle/news/

Whoops...


Waterfront Tampa Heights development facing foreclosure

St Petersburg Times
By James Thorner, Staff Writer
Posted: Mar 26, 2010 12:48 PM

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/waterfront-tampa-heights-development-facing-foreclosure/1083027


An innovative project to revive a weed-strewn stretch of Tampa industrial riverfront has fallen into foreclosure.

Fifth Third Bank sued The Heights of Tampa LLC this month for defaulting on a $12.5 million mortgage.

Developers want to build about 2,000 condominiums and 260,000 square feet of offices and stores on 48 acres acquired over the past decade on the southern tip of Tampa Heights.

Florida's real estate collapse upset the timetable, though the University of South Florida has announced intentions to build a physician training center in the Heights dedicated to robotic surgery.

Tampa RV tycoon Don Wallace provided much of the seed money for the project in 2006, collaborating with former Newland Communities executive Bill Bishop, who helped develop thousands of lots in places like FishHawk Ranch and Westchase.

Both men ultimately withdrew from the project. Over the past several years, lenders have repeatedly renegotiated and modified the development's mortgage as the economy soured.

It's the second prominent Tampa urban renewal project that's defaulted this year.

InTown Homes, a West Tampa residential real estate venture run by former Hillsborough County Commisioner Ed Turanchik, handed most of its lots back to the bank to avoid foreclosure.

Heights representatives couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Undoubtedly a blow for Tampa Heights development - :ohno:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/focus-of-high-tech-usf-medical-training-center-moves-to-downtown-tampa/1088703

Focus of high-tech USF medical training center moves to downtown Tampa
By Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, April 20, 2010

TAMPA — The University of South Florida's ambitious effort to build a high-tech medical training center is moving from a waterfront site on the edge of downtown to a city-owned block near the Tampa Convention Center.

Until recently, USF had been looking at the Heights, a mixed-use development planned for 48 acres on the eastern bank of the Hillsborough River.

Now the focus is on the city's HART parking lot, due south of the Fort Brooke parking garage.

As proposed, USF's 60,000-square-foot center would offer high-tech surgical training to doctors from around the world. It is known as the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, or CAMLS, for short.

The city is motivated to see the $20 million facility built in Tampa because of the economic impact of thousands of doctors traveling to the city for training.

"It is obviously a priority for the city to ensure that a project of the significance of CAMLS stays within our community," Mayor Pam Iorio said.

The Heights had welcomed USF's interest, saying the center could jump-start development of the waterfront. But in a slumping real estate market, the condos, shops and cafes envisioned have been slow to arrive.

In March, Fifth Third Bank sued the Heights of Tampa LLC, contending it had defaulted on a $12.5 million mortgage on about a quarter of the property.

On April 13, the university terminated its discussions with the Heights, saying that the time and effort spent to determine whether the project could be built there had been unsuccessful.

On Monday, a university spokesman said the decision to move on was about timing.

The CAMLS project is complex and requires not only training facilities for the surgeons, but also hotel rooms for them and their families, parking and things to do nearby.

"It's not an easy project to put together," USF spokesman Michael Hoad said.

The question was not so much about the foreclosure, but whether the Heights would be in a position to participate in the project given the recession and the difficulties in moving construction projects forward.

USF had always planned to rely on a private developer to build the hotel.

"Our question was, 'Could we wait for it?' " Hoad said. Administrators worry that someone else might build a competing surgical training center first.

Heights development manager Darren Booth said his project will take 10 to 15 years to complete, but he is confident that the pieces will come together.

As it stands, the Beck Group, a construction company, is close to opening a new office building at the Heights, and the first restaurant could arrive in October.

"I think we're making pretty good progress," Booth said.

With the shift in focus, USF and Tampa officials are now talking about the HART parking lot, which is bordered by S Florida Avenue, S Franklin Street, E Cumberland Avenue and E Brorein Street.

Given the proximity of nearby hotels, Hoad said it's possible that a CAMLS center on the HART block might not need a new hotel to be built.

But it is still early. The city would have to issue a request for proposals and get an appraisal before the lot could be sold.

"We haven't even started the process yet," Iorio said.

USF has worked on creating the center for at least four years, but finding a suitable location hasn't been easy.

In the meantime, USF Health has opened two other similar but much smaller high-tech training facilities.

In March 2009, the $1.5 million USF Health Simulation Center opened at Tampa General Hospital. There, surgeons can practice laparascopic and endoscopic surgical techniques on more than a half-dozen high-tech simulators.

In August, USF Health unveiled a $4 million center at its College of Medicine. It expects up to 600 doctors a year to pay $3,000 a day for training on how to do robot-assisted surgery.

Really? A lot that could maintain something larger than a 7 story building and USF will likely build just that, a 7 story or even less building there? I don't know, I guess you can't win them all. But at the same time, they acknowledge the hotels near by and say that they might not need to build a hotel for the project due to Embassy and Marriott, but aren't them two hotels pretty much stressed out already? Even though I would rather have this project in the Heights area for the reasons that the Heights need this and would fit better in their overalll plan over there, if this project does end up in our CBD/Downtown area I do want to see them build a hotel with the project. Only fear with that is that they might build it on another site with a hotel that is only 7 stories as well.

Yeah, it would be cool if it were taller, but at least one surface lot will be replaced with something half way decent. If the design is anything like most of USF's new buildings it should at least look good for the size.

Steve

I can't believe they're wasting the HART lot on that crap. boo! hiss!

Amazing that the city didn't instead find a way to help them make it work at the Heights site. Now we'll have even more empty area surrounding the city instead of infill projects. The CBD should be reserved for high rise development not this! I mean this is the same site the proposed Tampa I and Tampa II were slated for and now we get this??? Where else do you see this kind of "development" right in the middle of the city. What a crock on Iorios part!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 2:55pm EDT
Tampa, USF target downtown for medical learning center
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Margie Manning Senior Staff Writer
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Mayor Pam Iorio is backing a proposal from top officials at the University of South Florida to build a high-tech center for medical learning in downtown Tampa.

Iorio said she would direct city staff to prepare and issue a request for proposal for the sale of the HART lot, the site USF has targeted for its proposed Center for Advanced Medical and Learning Simulation.

Any acquisition of the site would be at appraised value, and the City Council would have final approval over the sale of the property, Iorio said in an April 20 letter to Judy Genshaft, president and CEO of USF, and Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine.

Iorio’s letter came in response to a letter from Genshaft and Klasko, also dated April 20, requesting the city sell the HART lot to USF. The lot is located at 211 S. Florida Ave, south of the Fort Brooke parking garage.

USF has been trying to find a location for the CAMLS project since 2006. Most recently, the university had a non-binding letter of intent with The Beck Group to develop the facility at the Heights of Tampa. In March, Fifth Third Bank sued the Heights of Tampa LLC, contending its had defaulted on a mortgage, according to published reports.

In their letter, Genshaft and Klasko said USF had inspected and evaluated more than 20 locations in the Tampa Bay area, plus locations in Orlando, and the HART lot was the only viable site in the city of Tampa that remained on the list.


Downtown impact
The $20 million, 56,000-square-foot CAMLS facility would include an advanced surgical skills laboratory, a simulation center and virtual hospitals, an auditorium, and a research and innovations laboratory. It would attract surgeons and health professionals from around the world, providing more than 13,000 room nights annually for local hotels and creating about 65 jobs in the downtown area, according to USF Health.

The HART lot is close to quality hotels, the Convention Center, the restaurant and entertainment district, Tampa General Hospital and Tampa International Airport, the USF letter said. All those elements are needed to enhance the full operation of the CAMLS facility, the letter said.

In addition, USF said it was considering using part of the lot for the future development of other USF facilities in the central business district. That would provide an additional catalyst for economic growth and development downtown, the letter said.




Read more: Tampa, USF target downtown for medical learning center - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

In their letter, Genshaft and Klasko said USF had inspected and evaluated more than 20 locations in the Tampa Bay area, plus locations in Orlando, and the HART lot was the only viable site in the city of Tampa that remained on the list.

This is absolute HORSESHIT. Are there any other bald faced lies they would like to get out of their system while we're at it?

Wait, does USF even exist over in Orlando? Why the hell are they looking over there?

^Politics works like that.

Despite the troubles with the Heights project, I will be glad to see this center go downtown. They will also benefit from the location and the streetcar extension.

^The parcel in question provides the only opportunity to build up near the new station because the other surrounding parcels are already developed. Plus, the current streetscape on that end of Franklin St is PATHETIC, and this parcel provides the only opportunity to do something about it. A single-use structure, especially something like a medical office, will add nothing to the street environment (if anything, it will detract from it, by putting up another blank wall)... This will create a whopping 65 jobs on a parcel that could easily provide space for 1,000 or more if an office building was built. The city would be screwing itself financially.

If this facility was merely going to occupy 4 floors in a appropriately scaled mixed-use project, that would be one thing. But a single-use project built on a suburban scale has no place whatsoever in a downtown, and it especially has no place abutting a transit station that will only grow in importance over time.

^I'm guessing the city has had no better offers, if any at all, for this parcel...which is a shame.

^In this market, of course not... The problem is, the short term benefit of doing this deal will never add up to the long term benefit of sticking to a plan over time and doing things the right way.

How tall would a 50,000 / 60,000 sq. ft. structure be on this lot?

dp

4 floors would equate to floorplates small enough that they could have a bit of handicapped parking out front. But conceivably, it could be just 2 floors if the ground floor of the southern end of the Ft Brooke Garage was reworked so that handicapped parking was provided there instead.

I would assume they will have a parking garage built into the building. That was the plan for it originally and with the kind of equipment they have, the ground floor of a flood zone isn't super useful.

At $20mil, they're either getting one hell of a deal, or there's no garage.

At $20mil, they're either getting one hell of a deal, or there's no garage.

The Tampa Heights plan that called for a garage didn't include that in the total. $20m for the building, $9m for the garage. I suppose it's possible that was scrapped though as there isn't a hotel component anymore.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/dec/04/na-medical-project-could-add-life-to-core/

The plan calls for the city and county to issue a $29 million bond, which would cover construction costs - $20 million for the conference center and $9 million for the parking garage.

I hope this thing starts picking up steam once the economy starts doing the same. It's a shame as well as a let down how long this project has been on the boards and the land has been cleared and nothing has been done with it except a restaurant and some office building.

Tampa Heights Multipurpose Sports & Entertainment Arena
SEP plans to build, own, and operate a sports and entertainment arena with capacity seating between 7500 to 10,000 seats. We have a partnership with The Beck Group in Tampa to execute this plan, and they have finalized the phase one conceptual designs of the arena. The key to our success in operating the arena will be to generate multiple revenue streams by hosting and producing a variety of events. This will be important to our shareholders in achieving an attractive Return on Investment. Some of the events we plan to host in the arena are Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Trade Shows/Conferences, Basketball Camps, Music Concerts, and ABA basketball games.

Tampa Heights Multipurpose Sports & Entertainment Arena
SEP plans to build, own, and operate a sports and entertainment arena with capacity seating between 7500 to 10,000 seats. We have a partnership with The Beck Group in Tampa to execute this plan, and they have finalized the phase one conceptual designs of the arena. The key to our success in operating the arena will be to generate multiple revenue streams by hosting and producing a variety of events. This will be important to our shareholders in achieving an attractive Return on Investment. Some of the events we plan to host in the arena are Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Trade Shows/Conferences, Basketball Camps, Music Concerts, and ABA basketball games.


One of the other things I read about this arena is that they plan on having an inside station stop for the street car.

Just found out they already locked up an ABA team the Tampa Bay sharks (lame) they start play in December, I think they are going to be playing at UT for now.

I guess they are technically a professional Team, so Now we have every sport covered lol

I wish we could cash in all of the minor basketball teams and just have USF mens be the kind of team that makes the Tournament most years. ;-)

I wish we could cash in all of the minor basketball teams and just have USF mens be the kind of team that makes the Tournament most years. ;-)
agreed

Better yet, I wish we had the NBA franchise that we said "no thanks" to in the past.

lol

Better yet, I wish we had the NBA franchise that we said "no thanks" to in the past.

lol

wow, never heard about that,... fill me in..

The Magic basically wound up in Orlando because Tampa couldn't get a plan together to build an NBA caliber arena.

Not sure if it means anything significant but there are newly placed signs at the site touting new Urban Lofts. Could be they are planning something new or just trying to keep interest going in the project.

Also, there is some work going on at the site. It appears to be on the seawall.

I was actually surprised that SPT interviewed the developer of The Heights about the possibility of more casinos in the state. One, because what does have to do with the casinos in the first place? And second, you would think they would had interviewed someone from Grand Central or the Encore project. I don't know why he was interviewed, maybe to throw out his name and the whole project.

I do hope more things happen soon on that site. The USF medical center was looking like something that could actually get this area going again, but then they decided that putting in the center of Tampa made "better" sense. So now, it's back to guessing when anything will happen. Hopefully this is a sign that something will, soon.

No work on the seawall, just used the space to cut up some old out-of-commission barges for scrap.

This site has a lot of potential, but if they build it, will they come? I doubt it. Move the Rays to Tampa, and all of the attendence issues will be solved...just ask the Bucs.

The problem is, everyone wants development and progress, as long as someone else will pay to make it happen, and once the idea of something new wears off, we all forget that developments need users to continue to use them, to support them, or they will die and we all complain about how the development wasted the space and what could have been.

Word.

Tampa Heights would have been perfect for the USF facility, and could have started a nice, urban research center with supporting housing and retail. The high speed rail station a few blocks away would have further enhanced the attractiveness for companies and institutions to build facilities there. I suppose something like that could still happen there, but I guess it is back to the drawing board, so to speak.

Yeah, too bad. Sometimes the "decision makers" don't seem to know what's good for them.

Isn't their a group over in The Heights area, why didn't they protest the decision by the school and city in relocating the project? How many years have this area been ready for development? Here comes a project that had the potential of bringing some life to the area, possibly providing a hotel and some retail for the area, and laying the bricks for more development to occur around it, and all the sudden the city has USF place their medical building in Downtown Tampa where it makes no sense whatsoever. Someone over there step up and get something going for that area!

It was originally going to be in the Heights district, but that project's time table fell through at the end of the boom and USF didn't want its facility to be the only thing around.

TampaMike, the City didn't tell USF where to put their building. And I believe the Heights people fought long and hard to make it very easy to locate the project in the Heights...to the tune of designing the master plan around it.

Jonknee, seems no one wants to be first in redeveloping areas, huh? That's a big problem.

Has anyone seen the beck building (the only new bldg in the heights)? You have to give them credit for putting their money where their mouth is...surely they had plenty of options when relocating their office.

But I'm confused, was the plan to relocate to Downtown known to the public and The Heights people? If they were so influential in the planning process, you would guess that they wouldn't let the relocation of the project go so easy.

Like I said, this has the possibility of redeveloping that whole area or at least get the ball rolling. The plan included this and a hotel due to not having a hotel nearby to handle the visitors. With some encouragment, the Heights people could had got one or two retail spaces in the project to start some street interaction in that area. And I would had wanted the parking to be in a garage instead of parking lots.

I guess the money saving of not building a hotel is one reason they choose the current location.

I guess the money saving of not building a hotel is one reason they choose the current location.
That's what they said, but it's a buillshit excuse. There are parcels in Westshore that achieve that same thing. There are parcels on USF's own campus that accomplish the same thing. There are parcels elsewhere in downtown and Hyde Park that could accomplish much the same thing. This was an inside deal. They picked the HART Lot because it was fast and easy.

What I'm most interested in knowing is exactly when did the city put the HART Lot up for sale? When was the public notified that the city was seeking bids for land it was interested in selling? I recall no such notification. I know for a fact that there are other interests who would have paid more for the parcel than USF did. Why was consideration of better offers refused?

Yeah? Who would have bought it? Maybe 717 Parking? Ikea? The Seminole Tribe?

Developers aren't building. So would it have been better to sell it in a low market to some speculator at our loss?

Was there a special deal? Who knows. Have you seen the names on USF's board? Kind of a who's who of the Bay Area. That's how the world turns, gents.

So would it have been better to sell it in a low market to some speculator at our loss?
No, it would have been a better deal to not sell the parcel at the bottom of the worst real estate market in decades. USF is creating a whopping 40 jobs with this project. The jobs flat out aren't worth the millions the city just gave up on the land sale, and future tax revenues. Especially considering that the project could have been built elsewhere in town and still created the jobs, without misallocating a key downtown parcel.

"No, it would have been a better deal to not sell the parcel at the bottom of the worst real estate market in decades. USF is creating a whopping 40 jobs with this project. The jobs flat out aren't worth the millions the city just gave up on the land sale, and future tax revenues. Especially considering that the project could have been built elsewhere in town and still created the jobs, without misallocating a key downtown parcel."

How do you get out of the worst real estate market without selling real estate?

Sounds like an ancient chinese secret!

^Are you suggesting that the city selling this parcel to USF is going to singlehandedly spur the reversal of our shattered real estate market?

^^

No, that would be rediculous and you know that.

I hear your point, but with your plan, all we'd have is another parking lot and a dream... and we've got tons of those.

^^

No, that would be rediculous and you know that.

I hear your point, but with your plan, all we'd have is another parking lot and a dream... and we've got tons of those.
Land would had likely sold for more and would had been easier to develop on if it was a parking lot. I hate parking lots as much as everyone else, but if I had to choose between a parking lot that can have something 15 stories+ built on it and a this medical building, I would choose the first choice.

At least if it was a parking lot, the land would be generating property taxes.

Heights of Tampa riverfront project files for bankruptcy, faces uncertain future
By Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, August 26, 2011

TAMPA HEIGHTS — The company behind the ambitious plans for the Heights — a proposed 48 acres of condos, shops and offices on the eastern bank of the Hillsborough River — is liquidating its assets in bankruptcy court.

The Heights of Tampa LLC, plus two subsidiaries, filed under Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy code in late July.

One subsidiary, Land Assemble LLC, lists real estate worth nearly $10.7 million as its main asset, but its liabilities exceed $37.1 million. At the time of the filing, the company had less than $65 in its checking account and business income of $11,000 for the year.

The bankruptcy filings come as the Heights of Tampa also faces foreclosure suits filed by Pilot Bank and Fifth Third Bank. The Heights property is north of Interstate 275, south of Palm Avenue and across the river from Blake High School.

Pilot Bank sued in early July, saying it's owed more than $7.2 million.

Fifth Third Bank sued in March 2010. It initially sought more than $12 million, a figure that has since been knocked down to $8.3 million. The litigation continues, so far filling four volumes at the county courthouse.

So, between the foreclosures and the bankruptcies, is this the end of the Heights?

"You just don't know," said Richard Dauval, the trustee in the bankruptcy case.

Unlike Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, when a business files a reorganization plan so it can stay alive and pay creditors over time, Chapter 7 liquidation entails selling the debtor's property and distributing the proceeds to creditors.

As such, a Chapter 7 case often becomes the "organized funeral" for a company, Dauval said.

Still, much will depend on who ends up with the property — the banks that hold mortgages on it, other creditors, a new buyer who emerges during bankruptcy proceedings, or a new owner who gains title through the banks.

It's possible that a new owner could pursue the existing plans for the Heights. Darren Booth is rooting for that idea.

"This project is just going through a very painful process for the initial investors, but I would be hopeful that the vision for the project remains intact," said Booth, who has worked as the Heights' development manager for five years.

Briefing the City Council last week, acting city economic development administrator Bob McDonaugh said problems like those facing the Heights usually don't sound like good news, but this could be different.

"I think that we'll finally be able to sort out all of the issues that exist in that development agreement," McDonaugh said. "We are having active conversations with the existing landowners."

The roots of the Heights go at least to the administration of Mayor Dick Greco, when the city requested redevelopment proposals from national development companies, court records say.

But those efforts came to naught because of the difficulty, cost and time it took to assemble the land and development rights, according to a sworn statement in the Fifth Third foreclosure case from Robert W. Scharar, the chairman of the Heights of Tampa LLC.

Scharar said he had been involved in the Heights since 2003. An early backer was Tampa RV tycoon Donald W. Wallace, who provided $8 million in 2005, according to court records. FishHawk Ranch and Westchase developer Bill Bishop was another initial leader, but later withdrew from the project.

Early on, local officials were dazzled by the lofty plans for the Heights: 1,900 multifamily housing units, 100 boat slips and 260,000 square feet of offices, stores and cafes. Projected population: 4,300.

In 2007, Hillsborough County's Planning Commission gave the project an award for design excellence in urban redevelopment. Then-Mayor Pam Iorio called it crucial to changing the urban landscape and even offered the city's power of eminent domain to buy up scattered properties.

By the end of 2010, Scharar estimated, the Heights of Tampa had invested about $75 million in acquisitions, securing development rights and starting construction.

Today, however, the project features just one new office building that houses three companies and a work-in-progress redevelopment of the historic Tampa trolley barn, the huge brick building with "Tampa Armature Works" painted across the top.

Booth, the Heights' development manager, formed a company, Sunset Grill Tampa, and has a plan to open a wine bar in part of the trolley barn. The barn also is home to Channelside Watersports, which rents kayaks, personal watercraft and pontoon boats for excursions on the river.

Another Heights business, the Heavenly Touch Massage Lounge & Wellness spa, is nearby on Palm Avenue.

Meanwhile, Tampa officials are moving ahead with plans to extend the Riverwalk in Water Works Park, just south of the trolley barn.

The Heights already has built a piece of the promenade, as required by its development agreement with the city.

Now the city plans to go out for bids by the end of the year on a project to extend the Riverwalk north to Seventh Avenue and south to Doyle Carlton Drive. The project, estimated to cost $260,000, will include benches, trash receptacles, a fence and security lighting along the river.

Work is expected to start in the first quarter of 2012, city parks spokeswoman Linda Carlo said.

Booth looks for those improvements to enhance the area in ways that he hopes make redevelopment more attractive.

The hard part, he said, will be persuading the first pioneering businesses to open.

Walking the site last week, Booth pointed out spots for sidewalk cafes and coffee shops. He was confident that with the right ownership and development plan, crowds would come to appreciate the Heights for its sweeping views of the river, cool breezes and cosmopolitan energy.

"No one wants to be the first," he said. But "by the time there's three establishments happening down here, an outsider will say, 'I want to be part of that.' "
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/heights-of-tampa-riverfront-project-files-for-bankruptcy-faces-uncertain/1187700

What a shame. This was to be the next up and coming area of Tampa. There's so much land around there that is just sitting empty.

^Welcome to Tampa, where we either do it half-assed or we don't bother doing it all.

This is the prime example of what happens when you wait for the boom to get the project thought out. By the time you can get anything going, you hit the bust. Someone needs to buy up the land and plan it now.

This is the prime example of what happens when you wait for the boom to get the project thought out. By the time you can get anything going, you hit the bust. Someone needs to buy up the land and plan it now.
Agreed smiley, but many are having trouble getting the finance situation situated first, getting loans and such. Many developments across the country are currently getting their loans from other countries at the moment, so anyone serious building right now will get financial help from international banks.

But I would love to see some developments get going right now. If the economists are right, we'll probably see the economy stable around 2013. Any development starting right now will still be a year or so late for a stable economy, but it would be better for them and for the city for it being one year late before missing the chance 4 to 5 years too late.

Bankruptcy or no, work is continuing on Water Works Park. They're currently installing a bunch of solar panels. Not sure what for. It looks like they're on a new small building as well. Anyone have more information?

Bankruptcy or no, work is continuing on Water Works Park. They're currently installing a bunch of solar panels. Not sure what for. It looks like they're on a new small building as well. Anyone have more information?
Just a one-story building or does it have some floors to it?

Yes, one story. It looks to have a corrugated exterior and could be something like a pump house. There are supposed to be fountains in the park, maybe they are powering them with solar? You can't get a great view from the street and I have always been moving (in the car), so I'm going on rough estimations here. Definitely solar panels though, they had a little crane out there this morning.

Yes, one story. It looks to have a corrugated exterior and could be something like a pump house. There are supposed to be fountains in the park, maybe they are powering them with solar? You can't get a great view from the street and I have always been moving (in the car), so I'm going on rough estimations here. Definitely solar panels though, they had a little crane out there this morning.

Sorry to burst your bubble...it is not staying there...

Google flexhouse or solar decathlon or something like that...team Florida.

Sorry to burst your bubble...it is not staying there...

Google flexhouse or solar decathlon or something like that...team Florida.

No bubble burst, that's why I asked if anyone knew something. Thanks!

Pretty neat project actually and the website is updated with photos:

http://www.flexhouse.org/media/image-gallery/

Tampa releases RFP for Water Works Building
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Tampa Bay Business Journal
Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2011, 9:56am EDT..

Related:
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The city of Tampa is requesting proposals for the acquisition and redevelopment of parts of the historic Water Works Building as a café or restaurant.

“We are long overdue for a waterfront restaurant along the river in this community,” said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn in a statement from the city.

Proposals are due Oct. 13 before 4 p.m.

“We are long overdue for a waterfront restaurant along the river in this community,” said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn in a statement from the city.
I'm not sure I would consider the Water Works building to be "waterfront"... but whatever. Hopefully something good is done with it.

What's not waterfront about it?

I took my jogging route up that way one time in the late afternoon. I couple of beat up impalas with 30" rims, limo tints, and thumping bass rolled up to me real slow. I don't know what their intentions were, but it definitely brought my run time down.

I haven't gone back.

I took my jogging route up that way one time in the late afternoon. I couple of beat up impalas with 30" rims, limo tints, and thumping bass rolled up to me real slow. I don't know what their intentions were, but it definitely brought my run time down.

I haven't gone back.

Maybe they can be your new personal trainer? I live around the corner from there (same street, just South of the I-275 bridge) and it would be great to have Riverfront Park opened up.

What's not waterfront about it?
The property is on the river, but the building is probably about 200 feet away from the water. There's nothing wrong with that... it's just that "waterfront restaurant" conveys a slightly different image.

The property is on the river, but the building is probably about 200 feet away from the water. There's nothing wrong with that... it's just that "waterfront restaurant" conveys a slightly different image.

They're restoring the spring, which is currently being piped to the river. It will flow naturally instead, so it will be waterfront by all variants of the definition (though I still think being the last parcel before the water along with unobstructed views counts).