Exclusive: Developer to raze Westshore office buildings for apartments
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 30, 2021

A South Carolina developer plans to raze two small office buildings in Westshore and replace them with apartments.

Woodfield Development will file a rezoning request with the city for the 2.84-acre property at 5415 Mariner St. and 5420 Bay Center Drive to make way for 328 apartments. The new development will be eight stories and include an integrated eight-story parking deck with up to 618 parking spaces.

Fifth Dimension Architecture and Interiors LLC is the architect on the project; Coen & Co. is the engineer.

The office properties on the site are "outdated and dilapidated," according to Woodfield.

"The site is in close proximity to the waterfront, and the surrounding area is characterized by luxury homes, condos, and apartment complexes, with older office buildings being phased out due to the area’s extreme value and desirability," the developer writes in the project narrative.

It is the third apartment development proposed in that corner of Westshore, which is just south of the Interstate 275 and Kennedy Boulevard interchange. Dinerstein Cos. is proposing a project at 200 S. Hoover Blvd, a project that would also redevelop an aging property. Crescent Communities has plans to build a luxury project on a vacant waterfront parcel in Bay Center, an office park owned by Highwoods Properties.

The novel coronavirus pandemic, initially projected to significantly impact Tampa Bay's apartment market, only briefly paused activity in the sector. By the end of 2020, investment sales were closing, and new projects were being proposed.

Apartment developers remain bullish on Tampa Bay and Florida overall, given the influx of new residents moving here in the wake of the pandemic, though efforts are underway in city hall to regulate apartment development. Business leaders worry that a pending moratorium on certain types of development could have a chilling effect on the region's growth.