Developer proposes affordable housing on city-owned site near Tropicana Field
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 2, 2023

A Fort Lauderdale-based real estate firm has submitted a proposal to build affordable housing on the city-owned parking lot at 800 First Ave. S, following an unsolicited bid by Tampa-based Third Lake Partners for the site.

Third Lake’s bid in April triggered an open-bid process for the property, which is near Tropicana Field. Alexander Goshen’s proposal to redevelop the lot is the only other offer for the site. Bids closed at 10 a.m. on May 31.

Alexander Goshen is offering to lease the parking lot from the city for 99 years. The proposal shows they would pay the city $75,375 annually, adjusted every five years.

The developer is proposing affordable housing units with 50% of the total residences set aside for workforce housing at 120% area median income while the other 50% will be for units ranging from 50% to 80% AMI, according to a spokeswoman for Alexander Goshen. The plan is to build a “modern-style, residential mid-rise.”

The submitted proposal does not detail how many units would be built or the overall scope of the project; however, a representative for Alexander Goshen told the Tampa Bay Business Journal there will be no more than 200 residences at the site.

“We recognize the need for quality affordable housing and look forward to being the developer to advance the cause,” Miles Alexander, principal at Alexander Goshen, wrote in the proposal. “In addition to our commitment to affordable housing, our developments are community focused, rather than investor focused, and we pride ourselves on being long-term faces within the community."

Third Lake has offered the city $6 million for the site. Despite the open bid process, Third Lake assumed a long-term lease for the parking lot as part of its purchase of the adjacent UPC Insurance headquarters building in November 2022. The lease expires Sept. 10, 2086.

Third Lake said in its bid that it would terminate its lease if given the opportunity to purchase the lot. City Development Administrator James Corbett confirmed to the Business Journal the current parking agreement is in effect unless Third Lake agrees to exit the agreement prior to its expiration.

A spokeswoman for Alexander Goshen did not provide clarification on their plans to navigate Third Lake's lease.

Third Lake’s bid doesn’t detail what it intends to build on the site, but the letter of intent states that the developer will begin construction within five years. Third Lake has also acquired several other nearby United Insurance Holdings properties.

The parking lot was once part of a proposal for a Moffitt Cancer Center facility, residential tower and parking garage. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch killed the proposal in August 2022 saying the plan did not offer enough affordable housing.

St. Pete-based Feldman Equities — in partnership with Miami-based Property Markets Group/PMG Affordable — has bid on a parcel directly north of the site that was also part of the failed Moffitt proposal.

The group has plans for a two-phase development on the property. Phase one will build 111 affordable residences for those making 80% AMI or less. Phase two will have 259 market-rate apartments and a minimum of 110,000 square feet of office space. The project will also have 14,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

This is not the first project Alexander Goshen has expressed an interest in St. Pete. The firm is part of a development team with Dantes Partners that is vying to redevelop the historic Tomlinson Adult Education Center near city hall.