South Florida condo developer Kolter buys prime block in downtown Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 8, 2021

A South Florida condo developer has purchased a strip of historic storefronts and a vacant lot in downtown Tampa, with plans to build hundreds of luxury units on the property.

Kolter Group, which has become one of Tampa Bay’s most prolific and credible condo developers, paid a total of $11.64 million for four parcels, according to Hillsborough County property records: 520 N. Tampa St., which is home to First Watch; the Dohring Building at 514 N. Tampa St.; a small alley next door to the Dohring Building; and the vacant lot at 507 N. Ashley Drive.

M&T Bank provided an $8.86 million mortgage for the acquisition, according to property records.

Brian Van Slyke, regional president for Florida’s West Coast for Kolter Urban, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that plans for the property are in very early stages. All of the existing buildings will be razed, and Kolter plans to build at least 200 condos on the site. It’s too soon, Van Slyke said, to say how tall the tower might be.

The vacant lot at Ashley Drive and East Twiggs Street was previously targeted for a condo tower by Ascentia Development Group, though those plans never came to fruition. ADG proposed a 34-story tower on the site in 2019.

Kolter was the first developer to bet on a large-scale condo project in downtown St. Petersburg; in 2014, it announced plans for the 41-story ONE St. Petersburg, which has gone on to set multiple records for condo sales. The developer is now under construction on Saltaire in downtown St. Petersburg and Hyde Park House in South Tampa. Another yet-to-be-named tower is also in the works in downtown St. Pete.

The lifestyle in downtown Tampa, Van Slyke said, is “catching up to other areas.”

“With the completion of the first phase of Water Street and the continued migration from the Northeast and all the employment activity that’s going on downtown, we think the time is right,” he said.

Van Slyke said Kolter has reached agreements with the businesses that occupy those storefronts to remain in place through most of 2022. Construction won’t begin until 2023. The approval process for the development within the central business district is administrative, and the plans are not subject to a public hearing before Tampa City Council.

Abbey Dohring Ahern, principal of Dohring Co.’s brokerage division, said the decision to sell the Dohring building was not an easy one. Her firm, as well as Moxie’s Cafe and Caterer and Bamboozle, all plan to relocate within downtown Tampa.

“I think our city skyline will forever change,” Ahern, the incoming chairwoman of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, told the Business Journal, “and we didn’t want to impede that.”