Tribune's pending real estate deal signals confidence in downtown Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 20, 2015

If the Tampa Tribune's pending real estate deal comes to fruition, it will be a ringing endorsement of the potential for development deals in the urban core.

The Tribune's riverfront site in downtown Tampa is under contract to a developer who is planning a residential project there that could possibly include commercial uses, multiple real estate sources told the Tampa Bay Business Journal on Friday. The developer pursuing the project is believed to be The Related Group, which is based in South Florida and has been active in Tampa Bay in recent years.

The rumored sales price is $19 million for the 4.4-acre site.

Tribune Publisher Brian Burns did not return TBBJ's request for comment, but the Tribune's ownership, Los Angeles-based Revolution Capital, confirmed to the newspaper late Friday that it was "fielding offers" for the site and that "any deal that we would do would have a provision for a long-term sale leaseback arrangement."

Real estate sources say the sales-leaseback arrangement will be necessary to give the newspaper time to determine what to do with its printing presses, which are in the building that would be redeveloped. The presses could be relocated or the newspaper could outsource the printing. It would also need to buy or lease new office space.

But the fact that a developer is willing to move on such an encumbered property - sources say it could be at least two years before the Tribune is able to vacate the site - signals long-term confidence in the Tampa market. It means that the developer is projecting a steady demand for downtown residential units that could last for years, possibly through multiple real estate cycles.

That kind of faith in the Tampa market - which like most of Florida is known for a boom-and-bust cycle - is largely unprecedented. Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik's real estate executives have acknowledged that building out Vinik's billion-dollar, mixed-used district will likely span multiple cycles, but Vinik isn't a traditional developer at the mercy of traditional financing sources.

If Related closes on the Tribune site, it could spur others to take a look at Tampa and consider pursuing similar deals here. Beyond new development, that should mean an increase in land values as interest in the city rises.

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