Quegiebo
April 4th, 2007, 10:07 AM
Towering Hopes
By SHANNON BEHNKEN The Tampa Tribune
Published: Apr 4, 2007
TAMPA - For two years now, commuters into the city have watched towers grow.
They've navigated dusty streets, passing cranes and construction workers dangling high above what will become thousands of new homes.
When that happens, commuters will tangle with a species that has become rare in Tampa's downtown: the urban resident.
The first six of two dozen condo projects planned in the downtown area are expected to open by August, and pioneering condo dwellers are moving in. The combined 1,495 residential units promise a lot: a boost in downtown's population, a flock of retailers willing to serve those residents, and a bustling atmosphere of night life, cafes and thriving restaurants to draw outsiders.
Is this the year Tampa's downtown blossoms? City planners and developers think so. But how long will the transformation take, and will the slowing real estate market postpone their dreams, as it has for developers who have already pulled their projects?
And will it all happen soon enough for new residents such as Matt Schuck and Lindsey Snyder?
The pair are among the first to move into the first of the six projects to open its doors. Both 25 years old, they moved in July from Charlotte, N.C., and failed at suburban life in New Tampa. So in December, they bought a 1-bedroom, 820-square-foot unit in Grand Central at Kennedy for $265,000, a sum that could have purchased a nice three-bedroom home on a cul de sac.
They moved in three weeks ago and say they're paying for an urban lifestyle, not space. So far, it's not quite what they're looking for. There is one other tenant on their floor, they say, and it's lonely. But they have faith that will change soon.
"We were hoping there would be people moving in just like us so we could make friends," Schuck said. "We're excited. We feel like Tampa is going through a revitalization, and we want to be part of it."
The couple enjoy walking their dog, Simon, on the ninth-floor pool deckand hope dry cleaners, coffee shops and bars will come to the neighborhood. They enjoy riding the trolley to Ybor City and Channelside.
But they do worry about their growing neighborhood. Will there be enough residents living in their tower, or will investors leave units dark and empty? The couple want to enjoy urban life for a few years, then sell their condo and possibly move back to the suburbs.
"It's in the back of our minds," Schuck said.
Just Be Patient, Experts Say
The experts offer hope to Schuck and Snyder. Commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield forecasts 5,000 total residents in the downtown areaby the end of 2008 and 7,500 by the end of 2010.
About 600 people currently live downtown, according to the Tampa Downtown Partnership.
Christine Burdick, president of the partnership, said she's excited to see years of planning start to pay off.
"This is the year that it will really be obvious that things are changing," Burdick said. "We will start to see things happening."
During the recent real estate boom, developers pitched 30 condo projects for the downtown area. With the real estate market slowdown, some developers have canceled projects, are without financing or are still looking for buyers.
Trump Tower Tampa, for example, is stalled. The original developer, which has a licensing agreement to use Donald Trump's name, has had trouble securing financing to move forward on the project. A New York hedge fund is negotiating to provide financing. The project faces $3.3 million in construction liens, and it's unclear when vertical construction could start or when the project would be completed.
Such slowdowns are normal and Tampa is on the right track, said Bill Hudnut, senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington.
"The problem is people want to seeinstantaneous results," Hudnut said. "It will take 10 years or more to see how it will all come together."
The first residents will need to be patient, Hudnut said. They may have to live without some of the services they moved to the city to be near, but those luxuries will come.
Some condo developers may have a difficult time selling all their units, especially to full-time residents instead of investors, but people will move in over time.
"Florida is growing so much that I have no doubt those condos will fill up," Hudnut said.
Retailers Cautious But Coming
Ken Stoltenberg is a developer with Mercury Advisors, which is working on the second building of Grand Central at Kennedy and is developing The Martin, a 22-story tower at 1115 E. Twiggs St.
The majority of sales at Grand Central have closed on time, he said. Others haven't been able to close, for various reasons. Some are investors who can no longer afford their purchases.Some people can't close because of life changes. One buyer has since died after reserving a condo.
Several blocks south are the twin Towers of Channelside. The first tower is scheduled to open in July, said Michael McGuinness, a partner in the project, and he expects a full house. His company did a random sample of buyers, and everyone reached said they were poised to close on their units. But if some aren't, he said, it could mean more money for the developer.
"On average people have $50,000 down," McGuinness said. "Even in today's market, they probably have another $50,000 in equity. We'll take that if they want to walk away."
The retail space in the towers was sold, and McGuinness said he has been told retailers include a health club, pizza parlor and sushi restaurant.
Many of the condo developers opening buildings this year are selling some of the retail space and leasing the rest. National retailers tend to want to wait for more residents to show up before they take a chance on Tampa, some developers say.
McGuinness said he is so confident of what Tampa will become that he and his wife plan to open a day care center, Carlton Academy Day School, this fall at 205 Brush St.
New downtown resident Schuck said he's happy to wait - as long as he gets to live in the urban environment he's paying for.
"If there is ever a time to live in a place like this, it's now, when you're 25 and single," he said.
Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.
http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBW9NU830F.html
By SHANNON BEHNKEN The Tampa Tribune
Published: Apr 4, 2007
TAMPA - For two years now, commuters into the city have watched towers grow.
They've navigated dusty streets, passing cranes and construction workers dangling high above what will become thousands of new homes.
When that happens, commuters will tangle with a species that has become rare in Tampa's downtown: the urban resident.
The first six of two dozen condo projects planned in the downtown area are expected to open by August, and pioneering condo dwellers are moving in. The combined 1,495 residential units promise a lot: a boost in downtown's population, a flock of retailers willing to serve those residents, and a bustling atmosphere of night life, cafes and thriving restaurants to draw outsiders.
Is this the year Tampa's downtown blossoms? City planners and developers think so. But how long will the transformation take, and will the slowing real estate market postpone their dreams, as it has for developers who have already pulled their projects?
And will it all happen soon enough for new residents such as Matt Schuck and Lindsey Snyder?
The pair are among the first to move into the first of the six projects to open its doors. Both 25 years old, they moved in July from Charlotte, N.C., and failed at suburban life in New Tampa. So in December, they bought a 1-bedroom, 820-square-foot unit in Grand Central at Kennedy for $265,000, a sum that could have purchased a nice three-bedroom home on a cul de sac.
They moved in three weeks ago and say they're paying for an urban lifestyle, not space. So far, it's not quite what they're looking for. There is one other tenant on their floor, they say, and it's lonely. But they have faith that will change soon.
"We were hoping there would be people moving in just like us so we could make friends," Schuck said. "We're excited. We feel like Tampa is going through a revitalization, and we want to be part of it."
The couple enjoy walking their dog, Simon, on the ninth-floor pool deckand hope dry cleaners, coffee shops and bars will come to the neighborhood. They enjoy riding the trolley to Ybor City and Channelside.
But they do worry about their growing neighborhood. Will there be enough residents living in their tower, or will investors leave units dark and empty? The couple want to enjoy urban life for a few years, then sell their condo and possibly move back to the suburbs.
"It's in the back of our minds," Schuck said.
Just Be Patient, Experts Say
The experts offer hope to Schuck and Snyder. Commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield forecasts 5,000 total residents in the downtown areaby the end of 2008 and 7,500 by the end of 2010.
About 600 people currently live downtown, according to the Tampa Downtown Partnership.
Christine Burdick, president of the partnership, said she's excited to see years of planning start to pay off.
"This is the year that it will really be obvious that things are changing," Burdick said. "We will start to see things happening."
During the recent real estate boom, developers pitched 30 condo projects for the downtown area. With the real estate market slowdown, some developers have canceled projects, are without financing or are still looking for buyers.
Trump Tower Tampa, for example, is stalled. The original developer, which has a licensing agreement to use Donald Trump's name, has had trouble securing financing to move forward on the project. A New York hedge fund is negotiating to provide financing. The project faces $3.3 million in construction liens, and it's unclear when vertical construction could start or when the project would be completed.
Such slowdowns are normal and Tampa is on the right track, said Bill Hudnut, senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington.
"The problem is people want to seeinstantaneous results," Hudnut said. "It will take 10 years or more to see how it will all come together."
The first residents will need to be patient, Hudnut said. They may have to live without some of the services they moved to the city to be near, but those luxuries will come.
Some condo developers may have a difficult time selling all their units, especially to full-time residents instead of investors, but people will move in over time.
"Florida is growing so much that I have no doubt those condos will fill up," Hudnut said.
Retailers Cautious But Coming
Ken Stoltenberg is a developer with Mercury Advisors, which is working on the second building of Grand Central at Kennedy and is developing The Martin, a 22-story tower at 1115 E. Twiggs St.
The majority of sales at Grand Central have closed on time, he said. Others haven't been able to close, for various reasons. Some are investors who can no longer afford their purchases.Some people can't close because of life changes. One buyer has since died after reserving a condo.
Several blocks south are the twin Towers of Channelside. The first tower is scheduled to open in July, said Michael McGuinness, a partner in the project, and he expects a full house. His company did a random sample of buyers, and everyone reached said they were poised to close on their units. But if some aren't, he said, it could mean more money for the developer.
"On average people have $50,000 down," McGuinness said. "Even in today's market, they probably have another $50,000 in equity. We'll take that if they want to walk away."
The retail space in the towers was sold, and McGuinness said he has been told retailers include a health club, pizza parlor and sushi restaurant.
Many of the condo developers opening buildings this year are selling some of the retail space and leasing the rest. National retailers tend to want to wait for more residents to show up before they take a chance on Tampa, some developers say.
McGuinness said he is so confident of what Tampa will become that he and his wife plan to open a day care center, Carlton Academy Day School, this fall at 205 Brush St.
New downtown resident Schuck said he's happy to wait - as long as he gets to live in the urban environment he's paying for.
"If there is ever a time to live in a place like this, it's now, when you're 25 and single," he said.
Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.
http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBW9NU830F.html