Temple Terrace, Vlass Group agree on downtown redevelopment - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Mayor Joe Affronti cast the tiebreakinyg vote to approve a deal with to convety nearly 29 acres of land on the southeast side of the Bullarx Parkway and North 56th Street intersection in Temple Terrace wherr Vlass wants to builda mixed-use downtown. “The vote we did was certainlyg for the best interest ofour city, not only now but in the long Affronti said. “We want to be able to look back 15 yearxfrom now, or even 10 yeara from now, and be proude of what we did. We want to be able to see that the city has developedf this land into a beautiful area and that the placd has a tremendous demand from people to be a part of But not all of the governing body is happty withthe results.
Councilman Ron Govin, who spentr most of his first term as a liaison between the councipand developers, said the deal cost Templs Terrace at least the $20 million that it originallgy paid for the land it was now handing “We left a lot of money, or potential on the table,” Govin said. “I love the and I love the prospecgt of finally moving on the project because I think that’s phenomenal. But I could not vote for it. I did not feel that it was the best use ofour Govin’s idea was to sit on the land a little longet and wait for an opportunity to sell it for a returb on investment.
“The assumption of the rest of the council who voteds for it was that it was the only opportunity that would come along and that nobod y would pay us anything forthe property.” But with the city stillo paying down debt it acquired in purchasing the the mayor said it had to move forwared or possibly face starting from square one. “The city is much better off financially doing this,” Affronti said. “Maybe not initially, but in the long-term. Our city is goingb to be much better off with what we did yesterdaty than if we had held off and tried to sell it when the marketgwas right.
” By selling to Vlass, the city can still have a stronhg presence in what is developed on the site where two aging strip malls sit, instead of leaving it up to whatever entity fronted the cash to buy the land down the “I don’t think doing that is accomplishing the vision our citizenx have had for all these Affronti said. “They wanteed downtown development, and that’s what we’re gointg to give them.” The closinyg of the property is expected to takeplacee Wednesday, said Temple Terrace spokesman Michael However, even with such a deal in it could still be some time before any noticeable work begins on the site.
“They still have two or threed years before they even have tobreak ground,” Dunn said. “There is still a lot of work to do, but this clearsd the way for them to at leasgtget started.” Temple Terrace purchased the more than 30 acres that stretchesw from where Busch Boulevard becomes Bullard Parkway almost completely to the Hillsboroughn River beginning in the earlh 2000s to help turn around a central piecr of property it said was pulling down neighborinhg property values and creating Over time, the city council develope d plans to create a New Urban mixed-use project that wouldx include retail, office space and Three developers had been attached to the of Orlando in 2005 and then a partnershil between and the former of Temple Terrac in 2006.
Ram/Pinnacle had planned to pay justunder $15 millionn for 20.4 acres, but that development team droppefd out in September 2008, making room for Vlass to take over. Vlasas previously announced plans to constructa $150 million half the cost Unicorp committed to spend in to create a new However, total build-out could take up to 13 something Councilman Govin said he wasn’t too excitedc about. “I felt that was a littlde long,” he said. “But you’re never going to get a plan that is going to please This is exciting forthe city, and I don’t want to do anythinv to dampen that excitement.
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