23-story apartment tower in downtown Tampa moves forward
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 14, 2015

An Atlanta developer is moving forward with plans for a 23-story apartment tower on downtown Tampa's Grant block.

Carter closed on the three parcels at 910, 911 and 915 N. Franklin St. on Sept. 9, paying $6.4 million for the one-acre site, according to a Hillsborough County deed filed Friday.

The tower will have 362 apartment units and 8,000 square feet of street-level retail, chief development office Conor McNally said Monday. The building's fitness center will also be on the ground floor.

The development will include an eight-story, 460-space parking garage topped off by an eighth-story amenity deck that will include a pool and garden area and a club room. A smaller lounge will be on the top floor of the tower.

The sellers were father-daughter duo Jeannette and Doran Jason, who also own downtown Tampa's historic Kress building.

The developer first filed plans with the city for the tower in September 2014.

Closing on land is a major step forward in any development. It brings credibility to the deal because it usually signals that construction is imminent. It's also a major endorsement of downtown Tampa's residential real estate market, because Carter has faith that it will be able to command top-of-market rental rates to justify the construction costs of building a tower.

Carter is working through environmental issues on the site, McNally said. It will then seek demolition permits for the strip of abandoned storefronts on the property, and McNally anticipates vertical construction beginning by the end of the year.

The first residents will be able to move in 2017.

The Grant block is directly north of a key property in downtown Tampa: The historic Kress building, a former department store that has sat vacant for years. A group of local developers was under contract to buy the Kress, with plans to redevelop it into a mixed-use, 22-story tower.

That deal has since fallen apart, and the Jasons have signed listing agreements with national brokerage firms to market the property.