Developer moves forward with affordable apartments near South Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 2, 2016

An Atlanta developer is moving forward with plans to build affordable apartments near South Tampa.

Pollack Shores Real Estate Group has closed on the 12.3-acre site between Lois and Manhattan avenues, just south of the Walmart Supercenter on Gandy Boulevard. It will build M South, which will consist of 288 units - an average of 1,065 square feet - at projected average rents of $1,390.

Pollack Shores paid $6.75 million for the property in a deal that closed Friday, said Anthony Everett, Central Florida director for Pollack Shores.

Jan Boltres and John Jackson of Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the sellers in the transaction.

Demolition of the industrial buildings on the site will begin immediately and is expected to take 30 days, Everett said. Pollack Shores anticipates a 15-month construction timeline.

Because most of the apartment development across the Tampa Bay region has been top-of-the-market luxury units, Pollack Shores is aiming for more affordable units.

"We're just building too many units at the top end of the market," Everett said. "This will be more affordable to people who work in downtown Tampa but just can't find any affordable housing."

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