Developer revives plans for mixed-use project near Oxford Exchange
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 28, 2016

A South Florida developer is resurrecting its plans for a mixed-use building near Oxford Exchange - and this time, the owner of Oxford Exchange is in full support of the development.

Altman Cos., based in Boca Raton, is proposing a building with 9,750 square feet of retail space and 314 residential units on a 2.5-acre site bound by Grand Central Avenue to the north and Cleveland Street to the south, Cedar Street to the east and Magnolia Street to the west.

The group had proposed an apartment-and-retail development in early 2015. Oxford Exchange owner Blake Casper led "Tampa Deserves Better," a crusade against the project, saying the proposal would quash the potential of Grand Central to becoming a shopping and entertainment district. (Tampa City Council ultimately rejected Altman's rezoning request in September 2015.)

The Parido family, which owns the land, said after the city council vote that it would continue to pursue multifamily development for the site.

Altman has come back to the city with a significantly different proposal - one with nearly double the retail space that is more intertwined with the existing streetscape. The new building has 9,750 square feet of retail space (compared to 5,000 square feet) and slightly more units (the first version had 296 units). It will be built with 100 percent reinforced concrete, with residential buildings that vary between 6 and 8 stories.

"We want to be a good neighbor. Many of the design changes we have incorporated into the new Altis Grand Central are the result of our ongoing dialogue with the community and our desire to extend amenities beyond Altis Grand Central to the greater Grand Central District,” Jeff Roberts, president of Altman, said in a statement.

This version of the development will include a renovation of the Bryn-Alan portrait studio building at 502 Grand Central Ave. that converts it into retail space - including an outdoor café.

It also saves one grand tree on the site and relocates the second grand tree to a nearby public site. A grand tree is a specially designated tree with a trunk more than 34 inches in diameter that can only be removed in certain circumstances. (The removal of grand trees was a sticking point for Tampa City Council in striking down Altman's rezoning request in September 2015.)

Retail bays along Cedar Avenue will be extended, with plans for a covered pedestrian walkway from the garage to the corner retail plaza at Grand Central. The walkways and pedestrian plazas will be widened.

Ponds, fountains, landscaping, covered seating, cafe tables and a public bike repair station along Cedar and Magnolia avenues are also part of this version of the plan.

"This discussion is as much about science as it is about art. It's about human needs and human wants, both are important, and one does not preclude the other," Casper said in a statement. "The Altman Cos. and the Parido family have come back with a much improved mixed-use development for Grand Central Avenue.

"They have clearly heard the concerns of the neighborhood stakeholders and city leaders. More importantly, they have designed a project that balances the many functions of a healthy, vibrant urban neighborhood. Their project will go a long way in making Tampa an even better city."

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