Hotly contested apartment tower on Harbour Island appears to be moving forward
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 4, 2015

A hotly contested apartment tower in downtown Tampa appears to be moving forward.

Harbour Island residents had sought to reverse the city's approval of The Manor at Harbour Island, a 21-story apartment tower proposed at 402 Knights Run Ave. Miami-based Related Group is the developer.

The second district court of appeals affirmed the circuit court's March decision that the city of Tampa did not break the law in its development review process of the tower. The affirmation was handed down Nov. 20, said John Grandoff, the attorney representing the Harbour Island citizens.

Grandoff declined comment on the group's next move. Representatives from Related and the city attorney's office could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Residents protested the tower because they say it doesn't provide sufficient parking on site and relies on off-site parking, across the street in the garage at Two Harbour Place.

A city official had decided that Related's plans for the site - 340 apartment units - were not a substantial change from previously approved plans and therefore did not require a rezoning hearing. The rezoning hearing would have given those residents a chance to make their case to the city council.

Related also owns the Tampa Tribune's real estate and is planning to demolish its building next spring to make way for a new residential development.

"We have a long-term horizon in the city of Tampa," Arturo Pena, a Related executive, previously told TBBJ. "We have our eye on Tampa not just for now but for the long term."

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