Tampa Housing Authority picks developer for massive West River project
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 29, 2016

A household name in Florida real estate circles has been selected for a massive redevelopment project in West Tampa.

The Tampa Housing Authority on Wednesday announced that it has selected Related Urban Group to redevelop the city's oldest public housing site, North Boulevard Homes and Mary Bethune.

Related Urban is a joint venture between The Related Group and The Urban Development Group, with Related's Jorge Perez and Urban's Alberto Milo Jr. as principals.

The joint venture will serve as the master developer partner with the housing authority for the nearly 200 acres known as the West River area of Tampa's Center City - north of Interstate 275, south of Columbus Drive and west from Hillsborough River to Rome Avenue.

A mixed-use development that will include 1,636 mixed-income residential units and more than 177,000 square feet of commercial space are planned for the property.

"Under the partnership agreement, at least 820 rental units and 30 percent of the for-sale units will be affordable to families earning less than 80 percent and 120 percent of area median income, respectively," the housing authority said in a statement.

Current residents of the public housing will be given "first priority" to return to West River once the housing is rebuilt, the authority said.

"With a developer of the caliber of Related Urban on our team, I am very confident we can leverage these predominantly public land holdings and transform the West River area into a vibrant, walkable, transit-oriented and diverse community,” Mayor Bob Buckhorn said in a statement.

Related is under construction on a hotly contested apartment tower on Harbour Island and will soon knock down the former Tampa Tribune office space on the west bank of the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa.

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