Demolition begins to make way for 42-story condo tower in downtown Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Feb 6, 2023

Demolition has begun on the building that previously housed a First Watch in downtown Tampa to make way for a 42-story luxury condominium tower.

Developer Kolter Urban plans to build the 225-unit One Tampa on a site that consists of 520 N. Tampa St., which was 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.

Cross Construction Services Inc., based in Pasco County, is handling the demolition, according to city building records. Demolition began Saturday; by Sunday evening, only the first story of 520 N. Tampa remained standing.

Brian Van Slyke, regional president for Kolter Urban’s West Florida division, declined to share sales figures but told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the condos have “received a tremendous response, and reservations have been significant in only the first few weeks.” Presales launched the second week of January; units are priced from the $800,000s.

Kolter closed on the One Tampa site in late 2021 and spent the summer of 2022 mired in a legal controversy with the city of Tampa, which opposed its plan to demolish 520 N. Tampa, claiming the building had historic significance. The city’s historic preservation committee asked city council to take emergency action to stop the demolition.

In response, Kolter filed a legal petition accusing city staff of withholding public records and “secretly communicating” with the state’s historic preservation office about the building in an attempt to get the property on the National Register of Historic Places. A federal statute prevents the historic designation status against a property owner’s wishes, and the state determined in May 2022 that the building would not be placed on the register.

By September, the city reached a settlement with Kolter that allowed the tower to move forward with redesigned northern and eastern facades that will resemble the 520 N. Tampa building. The facade is not being preserved; the new tower will feature a recreation of 520 N. Tampa St.