Miami's Related Group wants to try again for condo tower on Bayshore synagogue site
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 11, 2023

A Miami developer whose plans for luxury condos were thwarted by Tampa City Council intends to try again.

Related Group said Monday that it has asked the city whether it can submit another rezoning application for the Congregation Rodeph Sholom’s preschool property on Bayshore Boulevard to make way for a 26-story, 42-unit luxury condo tower.

The synagogue has said that selling the land to Related was necessary to renovate and secure its home on Bayshore Boulevard for decades to come.

The city’s land development code allows developers whose rezoning requests were denied to submit a new one within 12 months as long as it “adequately addressed the grounds for denial identified during the public hearing.” Tampa City Council voted unanimously against Related’s plans for the property in May.

Related has become one of Tampa Bay’s most prolific developers; its executives consider Tampa its second biggest market outside of Miami. Several of its luxury apartment projects have broken sales records in the Tampa Bay region.

“Before submitting a revised rezoning application, our team fully intends to listen to neighbors and work to address concerns,” Eric Fordin, managing director at Related Group, said in a statement. “From conversations we’ve already had with neighbors, organizations and other stakeholders, and hearing the passionate testimony at city council earlier this year, we’ve made very significant adjustments and concessions to the originally proposed project. The current proposed project is better as a result of these neighborhood conversations, which will only continue.”

Related hasn’t yet determined the timing of its new rezoning application. The developer said it has redesigned its plans to no longer need waiver requests — which were major sticking point for several council members — in the first rezoning application. The new application will address the following issues, according to a news release:

Preserve all Grand Oak trees onsite Retain more than 50% of the required live trees onsite

Increase landscaping and open spaces by providing nearly double the required green space and nearly triple the required native trees and total number of trees required by city code

Provide sidewalk and lighting enhancements for safer pedestrian mobility

Make the building and parking podiums narrower, thus increasing the distance from neighbors

Increase the vehicle use area buffer on, and setback from, Ysabella Avenue

Increase the setback from the north property border (Tampa Garden Club) to 20 feet

Increase parking to eliminate a previously approved parking waiver

The majority of opposition to the project came from the Tampa Garden Club, whose members said the proposed tower would negatively affect the club’s event and wedding business.

“At day’s end, we just want to be a good neighbor,” Fordin said in a statement. “We believe that the best projects arise from a mutual understanding of concerns. We will engage in robust community outreach, not only leading up to our site plan consideration but afterward as well. We are proud of our Tampa community presence and work hard to ensure that our neighbors feel the same.”