Mixed-use, 8-story building proposed on prime corner in Tampa's Channel district
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 22, 2018

One of the last remaining industrial blocks in downtown Tampa's Channel district is being targeted for a new mid-rise building that will include apartments, street-level retail and self-storage space.

A joint venture of developers - Tampa's Framework Group and MTC Corp. of Atlanta - have proposed an eight-story, 314,370-square-foot building at 111 N Meridian Ave., according to plans filed with the city on Friday.

The partnership is under contract to buy that block of North Meridian Avenue, from East Whiting Street to East Washington Street, as well as the property along East Whiting Street between Meridian Avenue and North 11th Street, said Rob Gidel, an attorney with Gardner Brewer Martinez-Monfort.

Gidel represents the partnership. The group wants to rezone the property to accommodate the proposed building, which requires city council approval and a public hearing, which is currently slated for November.

The exact breakdown of the building has yet to be determined, Gidel said. A maximum of 40 percent of the building can be devoted to self-storage according to city development guidelines for the Channel district, Gidel said.

The developers are still determining the mix of apartment sizes, Gidel said. It will include an internal parking structure.

The Channel district has been one of Tampa's most active construction corridors in recent years. A hotel is under construction on Meridian Avenue two blocks north of this proposed mid-rise; four blocks from the proposed building, a 21-story apartment tower and a Publix Super Markets Inc. store are also under construction.

Construction at Water Street Tampa - the mixed-use district between downtown Tampa and the Channel district - is also getting underway. The University of South Florida's Morsani College of Medicine is under construction at Meridian Avenue and Channelside Drive, and a roadway realignment project has been underway for about two years to create Water Street's new road grid.