Movie theater owner wants courtyard construction at St. Pete's Sundial stopped immediately
By Henry Queen
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 26, 2024

The owner of the AMC movie theater in downtown St. Petersburg has hastened its monthslong attempt to halt construction at the Sundial shopping and dining complex.

Florida 2005 Theaters LLC, which owns the AMC Sundial 12, filed an amendment on Wednesday in Pinellas County court to its motion for preliminary injunction seeking an immediate end to the construction of a canopy in the courtyard fronting the theater. It also wants the canopy removed.

A joint venture between St. Pete-based Paradise Ventures and Tampa-based Ally Capital Group is renovating the open-air lifestyle center, which it acquired in early 2022.

On July 15, a circuit court judge ordered attorneys for each party to mediation. Since then, the movie theater’s owners received a photo of the construction work accelerating, according to the motion.

“Given the sudden installation of the canopy in the courtyard despite Florida Theaters’ withholding consent and [Sundial owner PV-Pelican Walk LLC’s] prior representations to the contrary, it is increasingly unclear whether PV will continue these violations during the pendency of this litigation,” the motion said.

Paradise Ventures President and CEO Mike Connor said the legal action against the renovation has nothing to do with the canopy.

"It's just posturing," Connor said. "It about, 'What can we do to disrupt them at the last minute after they've already spent $2 million ripping it up?' They had renderings over a year ago. We haven't changed from those renderings."

Connor said Florida 2005 is angry that Sundial's owners won't allow Florida 2005 to build a residential tower on the AMC property.

"They could care less about AMC," Connor said. "They don't care about their tenant, and they don't care about what we're doing in the courtyard."

Florida 2005 started the legal battle in April by suing PV-Pelican Walk LLC, the officially listed owner of the Sundial. A countersuit was filed by the Sundial owners in May. Forbici Modern Italian signed a deal in July 2023 to be located in the space vacated by Locale Market rather than the courtyard, according to Sundial ownership.

Attorneys for Florida 2005 didn't respond to a request for comment.

The canopy is “much larger” than expected, according to the motion. Florida Theaters also maintains that the canopy, along with the plan to bring Forbici Modern Italian to the site, violates an existing operating and easement agreement since it has consented to neither.

Renovations to the Sundial are expected to bring new life to a property that has experienced some historical shortcomings. It is in a seemingly perfect position to become the Tampa Bay region’s next hot shopping and dining destination due to its prime downtown location just blocks from the St. Pete Pier.