Kress building DT Tampa

jonknee · May 19th, 2007, 11:52 PM

The Kress building was getting worked on today. I walked by this afternoon and the door was open. It's all one big room and looked quite interesting. Unfortunately I was playing with a new phone and the camera was set to a really low resolution (for picture messaging) and the photo I took is pretty much useless. There was some construction equipment inside but only one or two workers. Does anyone know what's happening? I thought the proposals had been shot down. It's a great looking building with a lot of history.

JBrisco · May 20th, 2007, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonknee

The Kress building was getting worked on today. I walked by this afternoon and the door was open. It's all one big room and looked quite interesting. Unfortunately I was playing with a new phone and the camera was set to a really low resolution (for picture messaging) and the photo I took is pretty much useless. There was some construction equipment inside but only one or two workers. Does anyone know what's happening? I thought the proposals had been shot down. It's a great looking building with a lot of history.

Ya I saw people working on the corner building next to it, the old Newmans building I think is what that one is called.
could this mean that the new Kress Towers are going to be made!?!

emoore625 · May 20th, 2007, 04:52 PM

I saw a carpenter or a painter leaving the Kress about a month ago when Element had their big kickoff. I doubt the towers are going to be made but maybe they're renovating the block.

jonknee · May 20th, 2007, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emoore625

I saw a carpenter or a painter leaving the Kress about a month ago when Element had their big kickoff. I doubt the towers are going to be made but maybe they're renovating the block.

Well this work was going on inside, there have been no changes to the outside. If they were renovating the block, it would be the other way around.

John F · May 20th, 2007, 05:25 PM

I hope they keep Kress as is and rehabilitate the building. Perfect location for a trendy restaurant as well as a plus to preserve older buildings downtown (instead of demolishing them for an ambiguous condo project).

FloridaFuture · May 20th, 2007, 05:47 PM

Well Doran Jason has trying to sell the project, so possbly if they can't sell it it will be turned in to some retail with a few lofts. Or they are fixing it up to make it easier to sell.

jonknee · May 20th, 2007, 06:00 PM

It would be huge for a restaurant, but I agree about the location. While I was looking at the inside I thought it would make a fun concert hall. No matter the use, parking is the issue since it doesn't have any of its own.

I did some digging and it appears that the Doran Jason Group is still trying to sell the Kress condo project to another developer. It's listed at $32 million. Apparently they don't believe their own marketing because their estimated $386M gross sales in condos less the $201M development expense leaves a tidy profit. All this can be yours!

Update: FloridaFuture beat me to the note about the project up for sale. If you Google around you can find the sales listing PDF. No interior photos of Kress though. Or square footage figures.

John F · May 20th, 2007, 09:02 PM

RE: Parking

Whatever ends up at that location needs to be a neighborhood mainstay, not a regional mainstay that lures people in from outside of downtown.... Or at least it shouldn't be looked at as the sole reason to go downtown at current. People from Skypoint and Element (and Twelve, and the hotel north of Twelve) along with lunchtime business people would be a pedestrian element for a restaurant or other (small -- not large) retail business in Kress. There's enough downtown parking as is for other events and the walk isn't terrible for those who are in Channelside that want to venture elsewhere in downtown.

I'm just not keen on making parking a big issue when you're trying to promote pedestian traffic and mass transit in the city... But then again, with the current situation - parking is a very important detail and it just isn't there (though there will be a floor of space on Element and Twelve for post-office hour parking).

Jasonhouse · May 20th, 2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloridaFuture

Well Doran Jason has trying to sell the project,

Or they are fixing it up to make it easier to sell.

That's what I'm thinking...

I wouldn't put much stock into this... Probably just plugging leaks, tidying up a bit and so on... These are old, abandoned buildings we're talking about here.

Jasonhouse · May 20th, 2007, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

RE: Parking

Whatever ends up at that location needs to be a neighborhood mainstay, not a regional mainstay that lures people in from outside of downtown.... Or at least it shouldn't be looked at as the sole reason to go downtown at current. People from Skypoint and Element (and Twelve, and the hotel north of Twelve) along with lunchtime business people would be a pedestrian element for a restaurant or other (small -- not large) retail business in Kress. There's enough downtown parking as is for other events and the walk isn't terrible for those who are in Channelside that want to venture elsewhere in downtown.

I'm just not keen on making parking a big issue when you're trying to promote pedestian traffic and mass transit in the city... But then again, with the current situation - parking is a very important detail and it just isn't there (though there will be a floor of space on Element and Twelve for post-office hour parking).

So long as mass transit is essentially non-existent in the area, then ample parking will continue to be the lynchpin to the success of just about anything which gets developed DT, just as it has been basically ever since the transit system was gutted decades ago.... For people to be able to walk around DT, they first have to be able to get there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonknee

Update: FloridaFuture beat me to the note about the project up for sale. If you Google around you can find the sales listing PDF. No interior photos of Kress though. Or square footage figures.

Square footage can be found on the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's website if nowhere else.

tampamobster21 · May 29th, 2007, 09:49 PM

Has there been any other news on Kress?

Jasonhouse · May 30th, 2007, 12:52 AM

^No, and please don't spam threads with posts asking... If there's one thing that's a certainty, it's that when there is news about it someone will inevitably post the news here.

(Not trying to get on your case, but people get banned for doing that too much)

tampamobster21 · May 30th, 2007, 05:42 AM

Sorry Jason.

jonknee · March 28th, 2011, 04:16 PM

Was anyone else at the Gasparilla film fest's wrap party at the Kress building? They did an amazing job turning a 25+ year unused building into an event space. I hope this has opened the owners and city up to doing more things like this.

Del Mayberry · March 28th, 2011, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonknee

Was anyone else at the Gasparilla film fest's wrap party at the Kress building? They did an amazing job turning a 25+ year unused building into an event space. I hope this has opened the owners and city up to doing more things like this.

You mean people can actually go inside Kress now?

TampaMike · March 28th, 2011, 10:00 PM

I actually drove by there coming back from the Storms game (they lost) and had no idea what was going on. It still looked like a amazing event going on there and it was good decision to close off the street and allow everyone to hang out between Element and Kress. Lets hope this becomes an annual kind of thing (allowing the street to be closed).

jonknee · March 28th, 2011, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Del Mayberry

You mean people can actually go inside Kress now?

Not usually, this was a special ticketed event. It was done really well, they spent a chunk of change setting it up. I took a few pics that I'll dig up for you guys.

Jasonhouse · March 28th, 2011, 10:37 PM

^Looking forward to them.

HARTride 2012 · March 29th, 2011, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

^No, and please don't spam threads with posts asking... If there's one thing that's a certainty, it's that when there is news about it someone will inevitably post the news here.

(Not trying to get on your case, but people get banned for doing that too much)

Wow! And I used to do that a lot too. (shakes head)

jonknee · March 29th, 2011, 08:29 PM

These aren't mine (mine were taken on my phone and didn't come out too sweet), but here's the Kress building's interior. Click through on either to see the full gallery, there are literally hundreds of photos from the party up there.

May 19th, 2007, 11:52 PM	#1
jonknee Downtown resident Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tampa Posts: 2,293 Likes (Received): 0	Kress building DT Tampa The Kress building was getting worked on today. I walked by this afternoon and the door was open. It's all one big room and looked quite interesting. Unfortunately I was playing with a new phone and the camera was set to a really low resolution (for picture messaging) and the photo I took is pretty much useless. There was some construction equipment inside but only one or two workers. Does anyone know what's happening? I thought the proposals had been shot down. It's a great looking building with a lot of history.

May 20th, 2007, 05:25 PM	#5
John F Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Palm Harbor, Florida Posts: 2,218 Likes (Received): 0	I hope they keep Kress as is and rehabilitate the building. Perfect location for a trendy restaurant as well as a plus to preserve older buildings downtown (instead of demolishing them for an ambiguous condo project). __________________ Raw Charge - Tampa Bay Lightning hockey

May 20th, 2007, 09:02 PM	#8
John F Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Palm Harbor, Florida Posts: 2,218 Likes (Received): 0	RE: Parking Whatever ends up at that location needs to be a neighborhood mainstay, not a regional mainstay that lures people in from outside of downtown.... Or at least it shouldn't be looked at as the sole reason to go downtown at current. People from Skypoint and Element (and Twelve, and the hotel north of Twelve) along with lunchtime business people would be a pedestrian element for a restaurant or other (small -- not large) retail business in Kress. There's enough downtown parking as is for other events and the walk isn't terrible for those who are in Channelside that want to venture elsewhere in downtown. I'm just not keen on making parking a big issue when you're trying to promote pedestian traffic and mass transit in the city... But then again, with the current situation - parking is a very important detail and it just isn't there (though there will be a floor of space on Element and Twelve for post-office hour parking). __________________ Raw Charge - Tampa Bay Lightning hockey

May 29th, 2007, 09:49 PM	#11
tampamobster21 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 1,336 Likes (Received): 0	Has there been any other news on Kress? __________________ Jacques Derrida (1930 - 2004) To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend.

May 30th, 2007, 05:42 AM	#13
tampamobster21 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 1,336 Likes (Received): 0	Sorry Jason. __________________ Jacques Derrida (1930 - 2004) To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend.

May 20th, 2007, 04:52 PM	#3
emoore625 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 47 Likes (Received): 0	I saw a carpenter or a painter leaving the Kress about a month ago when Element had their big kickoff. I doubt the towers are going to be made but maybe they're renovating the block.

May 20th, 2007, 05:47 PM	#6
FloridaFuture Former Mod Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Tampa/Gainesville Posts: 5,238 Likes (Received): 1	Well Doran Jason has trying to sell the project, so possbly if they can't sell it it will be turned in to some retail with a few lofts. Or they are fixing it up to make it easier to sell.

May 20th, 2007, 06:00 PM	#7
jonknee Downtown resident Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tampa Posts: 2,293 Likes (Received): 0	It would be huge for a restaurant, but I agree about the location. While I was looking at the inside I thought it would make a fun concert hall. No matter the use, parking is the issue since it doesn't have any of its own. I did some digging and it appears that the Doran Jason Group is still trying to sell the Kress condo project to another developer. It's listed at $32 million. Apparently they don't believe their own marketing because their estimated $386M gross sales in condos less the $201M development expense leaves a tidy profit. All this can be yours! Update: FloridaFuture beat me to the note about the project up for sale. If you Google around you can find the sales listing PDF. No interior photos of Kress though. Or square footage figures.

May 30th, 2007, 12:52 AM	#12
Jasonhouse Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 12,319 Likes (Received): 8	^No, and please don't spam threads with posts asking... If there's one thing that's a certainty, it's that when there is news about it someone will inevitably post the news here. (Not trying to get on your case, but people get banned for doing that too much)

March 28th, 2011, 04:16 PM	#14
jonknee Downtown resident Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tampa Posts: 2,293 Likes (Received): 0	Was anyone else at the Gasparilla film fest's wrap party at the Kress building? They did an amazing job turning a 25+ year unused building into an event space. I hope this has opened the owners and city up to doing more things like this. __________________ What I've been up to in the kitchen

March 28th, 2011, 10:00 PM	#16
TampaMike Moderator Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 6,154 Likes (Received): 7	I actually drove by there coming back from the Storms game (they lost) and had no idea what was going on. It still looked like a amazing event going on there and it was good decision to close off the street and allow everyone to hang out between Element and Kress. Lets hope this becomes an annual kind of thing (allowing the street to be closed). __________________ Corporations Are People Too - Mitt Romney For the People that dress up like Corporations.

March 28th, 2011, 10:37 PM	#18
Jasonhouse Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 12,319 Likes (Received): 8	^Looking forward to them.

March 29th, 2011, 08:29 PM	#20
jonknee Downtown resident Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tampa Posts: 2,293 Likes (Received): 0	These aren't mine (mine were taken on my phone and didn't come out too sweet), but here's the Kress building's interior. Click through on either to see the full gallery, there are literally hundreds of photos from the party up there. __________________ What I've been up to in the kitchen Last edited by jonknee; March 30th, 2011 at 12:27 AM.

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