Jannus block property owners to propose settlement on historic landmark designation
By Eric Snider
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 3, 2015

Owners of buildings that rim the Jannus Live courtyard in downtown St. Petersburg are upset about the city's move to designate the block a local historic landmark.

They maintain that the designation will gravely devalue their property, largely because it hampers their ability to develop vertically or sell to someone who wants to.

As a result, the Jannus block property holders have scheduled a meeting for 4 p.m. Tuesday to craft a strategy, said Tony Amico, the tract's largest landowner. He's hoping to get full support from his peers on a proposal to the city.

"We'll maintain the façade of the building that's already there if we build on top of it, as high as the building goes," Amico said. "So if it's red brick, the rest of the building will be red brick. We'll accept the historic designation under those terms."

That caveat could solve the issue that the owners claim most hampers their property value - the potential to build vertically.

Last year, St. Petersburg Preservation submitted a third-party application to deem the entire Jannus Landing block (which the city calls Block 25) historic. The initiative gained steam with city staff. A public meeting on the matter was held Feb. 12.

Amico was there. "It was a joke," he said. "[The city's Historic Preservation department] tried to tell us, it wouldn't [negatively] affect our property value and may even enhance it. By taking away our right to build. I told them they were liars."

Request for comment from the department's manager Derek Kilborn is pending return.

Amico sounded confident of the compromise proposal, but wasn't entirely sure about universal buy-in from his fellow owners. "That's what we'll be discussing at 4," he said.

Amico said he and his group plan to bring the offer to the Community Planning and Commission Meeting on March 10. Here's a more detailed account of the issue.

Eric Snider is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.