23-story tower on downtown Tampa's Grant block to break ground this summer
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 20, 2015

The 23-story tower Atlanta-based Carter proposed last fall in downtown Tampa is moving forward, with plans to start construction in the summer.

Conor McNally, Carter chief development officer, said Friday that the group is "highly confident" in its plans, which include 360 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail space. The site is referred to as the Grant block and is one block north of the historic Kress building on North Franklin Street.

"We're happy to have gotten to a point where we've got the major pieces in place to close," McNally said.

He declined to disclose specific dates for the closing or the start of construction, both of which can change frequently in a large deal like this one.

Those pieces include the financing of the tower, which can be tricky to secure for a project like this one, especially in a market like Tampa, where there are few examples of successful high-rise developments. McNally said the group has identified its capital partners, though he declined to disclose the partners or the construction costs of the project.

"There was definitely a good amount of people with interest," McNally said. "And we spent a good amount of time bringing people to the market. They really like what they see - they like the location, the market, they like everything that's happening."

Rule Joy Trammell Rubio of Atlanta has been selected as the architect on the project. DPR Construction will be the general contractor.

McNally said Carter, which is connected to Tampa-based Carter Validus Real Estate Investment Trust, is exploring more opportunities in the Bay region.

"We're in Tampa quite a bit and looking at several other things," he said. "We're very clued in to Tampa."

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.