Three groups bid on Tomlinson building redevelopment for Pinellas County Schools workforce housing
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 14, 2023

Three developers have submitted bids to transform the historic Tomlinson building in St. Petersburg's Mirror Lake district into housing for Pinellas County Schools teachers and staff.

The school district issued a request for proposals for the project last fall. The RFP asked for plans for the development and management of a residential or mixed-use project at the site that would “address the shortage of workforce housing for school district teachers and employees in Pinellas County.”

The RFP asked developers to preserve the 40,942-square-foot building, which sits on 1.7 acres. Bids were due Feb. 1 and an evaluation committee has begun ranking the responses according to the RFP timeline. Presentations are scheduled for the end of the month and then the process will move on to the school board.

HP Capital Group, Sherman Associates and a partnership between White Keys Real Estate and JCT Developers submitted proposals. Read on for a look at each group's plans.

HP Capital Group

St. Petersburg-based HP Capital Group — under the affiliate HP Capital Managers — proposes building The Terraces at Tomlinson. Their proposal has two different plans.

The development group is also building the Reflection Condominiums on Mirror Lake, an 88-condo, 18-story tower.

Plan A is to refurbish and modernize the Tomlinson building and use it for office and retail space. The developer then intends to build a 13-story tower adjacent to the Tomlison building. It will have a three-story parking garage as its base and include 222 residential units.

Plans show approximately 40% of the total units will be for those making 60% of the Area Median Income. This breaks down to 45 one-bedroom workforce housing units, 37 market-rate one-bedroom units, 38 two-bedroom workforce housing units, 84 market-rate two-bedroom units, six three-bedroom workforce housing units and 12 three-bedroom market-rate units.

The one-bedroom units will be 630 square feet; the two-bedroom units will be 900 square feet, and the three-bedroom units will be 1,150 square feet.

Plan B is to refurbish the existing building into 48 units. There will be 24 one-bedroom units, 15 two-bedroom units and nine three-bedroom units. All of these will be offered for those making 80% of the AMI. The developer would also resurface the existing parking lot.

The developer intends to give district employees a first chance at the units. Once a period expires, if the units aren't claimed, they'll be made available to the general public.

HP Capital Group said in its proposal that it is concerned there may be an “expensive issue regarding the Frontier Fiber Optic lines that potentially run through the center of the Tomlinson parking lot.” Relocating the lines could cost up to $1 million, according to the proposal.

Birmingham-based Arbour Valley Management will manage the Terraces at Tomlinson.

Sherman Associates

Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates’ affiliate Sherman Ventures Management LLC proposes building the Tomlinson Historic Lofts and Tomlinson Tower.

The group will preserve the school, which will be called Tomlinson Historic Lofts. The first floor would have retail and office space. Plans show a “café and patio, dog park, coworking offices, and a space for meetings and small events.” There will be 14,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space with 27 loft units on the second and third floors of the school.

The 1960s addition to the building will be removed and replaced with a courtyard. A statue of Edwin Hyde Tomlinson – an early benefactor of St. Petersburg who died in 1938 – would be in the front of the building.

The developer then intends to build the 17-story Tomlinson Tower, which will have 208 apartments. The developer said they could add an additional 20 to 40 units by raising the height and adding another one or two stories, which would not exceed the maximum allowable height of 200 feet. The group said it aims to have approximately 50% of the units set aside for workforce housing for teachers and staff — those who earn between 90% and 120% of the AMI.

Amenities will include a fitness center, pool, pet spa, and “a quiet space featuring east-to-west views of Mirror Lake and St. Petersburg.” Residents from both the Lofts and Tower can access the amenities and the 265 parking spaces located in the tower.

Sherman Associates will be joined by Tampa-based Design Styles Architecture, St. Pete-based LEMA Construction as the general contractor, All Trades Historical Restoration as the restoration contractor and WRH Realty Services as the property manager.

White Keys Real Estate

White Keys Real Estate, based in the Tampa Bay region, is partnering with JCT Developers to build The Quartier, a 214-unit mixed-use development.

The team will renovate the school, and plans show it will have a 10,000-square-foot cafe and co-working space, a 7,000-square-foot fitness center, “a gallery commemorating the history of Tomlinson along with a retail incubator space for residents with small businesses, to name a few.”

The third floor would have 14 studio apartments.

The developer will also build a new 12-story building next door. The first three floors will have parking, a lobby and utilities. Floors four to 12 will have 200 units that will range from 550-square-foot studios to 1,025-square-foot two-bedroom apartments.

The units will be rented to those who make 90% to 120% of the AMI. The plans show there will also be a 4,000-square-foot swimming pool and grilling area.