Downtown Development Update: What's rising, what's delayed

[Ken_FSU]

Great get for downtown.

Hoping that a solid, lunch time and late-night pizza spot follows soon behind it.

[thelakelander]

https://floridayimby.com/2023/01/site-plans-filed-for-33-acre-mixed-use-waterfront-development-ybor-harbor-in-tampa.html

I grew up in Central Florida and have a soft spot in my heart for the what's left of the old school working Channel District waterfront that disappearing. Do you know if that shipyard (International Ship Repair & Marine Services) is relocating or closing?

Update

I found the answer:

For years, one of the most closely watched plots of land between Ybor City and Tampa’s Channel District has been a privately held 25-acre ship repair site at the north end of Port Tampa Bay, directly south of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.

The site may finally have a buyer — and it’s a familiar one.

Darryl Shaw, the veterinary entrepreneur turned Ybor City real estate investor, has a deal in place to purchase the land occupied by International Ship Repair and Marine Services, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The three-parcel property would be purchased in two phases over the next five years. The first, encompassing the north and west sides of the ship repair yard in Ybor Channel, could close in late 2023. The second will take a few more years as International Ship Repair looks to relocate its operations, including 300 employees. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The land is owned by a corporation controlled by longtime International Ship Repair owner and influential port figure George Lorton, who died in July; the sale is being managed by a trust in his name. A representative from the trust did not return requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.


The hurdles to moving the ship repair business would be significant, said International Ship Repair senior vice president Hugo Ortiz.

“It’s not a matter of saying we will relocate,” Ortiz said. “Who will pay for the relocation? Who will find a cheap place to move? Also, the Tampa Port Authority needs to be involved. So there are several factors. It’s not (possible) to come with this kind of news to say, ‘OK, we want to take over.’”

Ortiz said it was always Lorton’s intent to keep the company at Port Tampa Bay, but it would have to work with the port to find enough available berths along a deep enough channel for relocation. If a channel had to be dredged to get that depth, it would require federal approval.

“Those permits take one year, two years, three years,” Ortiz said. “Then you talk about the environmental aspects; that can be another challenge. So it’s not easy to say, in two, three years, it’s going to be done.”

It’s a historic piece of land. International Ship Repair has operated there for some 40 years, acquiring most of the property in 1995 and 2004 for about $15.6 million, according to Hillsborough Records. The eastern side of the property covered in the sale’s second phase once housed Tampa Marine, which built many ships during World War II, said Rodney Kite-Powell of the Tampa Bay History Center.

“Not battleships, more ancillary ships like tenders that were still a very important part of the war effort,” he said.

The western part of the property along Channelside was once part of Tampa’s banana docks, where longshoremen unloaded bananas from ships to be sent by train and truck to other cities, Kite-Powell said. The docks dated back to the late 1920s and became a sort of tourist attraction, with people gathering to watch the hub of activity there.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2022/08/31/darryl-shaw-to-buy-develop-25-acres-between-ybor-city-port-tampa-bay/#:~:text=The%20first%2C%20encompassing%20the%20north,its%20operations%2C%20including%20300%20employees.

[Jax_Developer]

https://floridayimby.com/2023/01/site-plans-filed-for-33-acre-mixed-use-waterfront-development-ybor-harbor-in-tampa.html

I grew up in Central Florida and have a soft spot in my heart for the what's left of the old school working Channel District waterfront that disappearing. Do you know if that shipyard (International Ship Repair & Marine Services) is relocating or closing?

Update

I found the answer:

For years, one of the most closely watched plots of land between Ybor City and Tampa’s Channel District has been a privately held 25-acre ship repair site at the north end of Port Tampa Bay, directly south of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.

The site may finally have a buyer — and it’s a familiar one.

Darryl Shaw, the veterinary entrepreneur turned Ybor City real estate investor, has a deal in place to purchase the land occupied by International Ship Repair and Marine Services, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The three-parcel property would be purchased in two phases over the next five years. The first, encompassing the north and west sides of the ship repair yard in Ybor Channel, could close in late 2023. The second will take a few more years as International Ship Repair looks to relocate its operations, including 300 employees. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The land is owned by a corporation controlled by longtime International Ship Repair owner and influential port figure George Lorton, who died in July; the sale is being managed by a trust in his name. A representative from the trust did not return requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.


The hurdles to moving the ship repair business would be significant, said International Ship Repair senior vice president Hugo Ortiz.

“It’s not a matter of saying we will relocate,” Ortiz said. “Who will pay for the relocation? Who will find a cheap place to move? Also, the Tampa Port Authority needs to be involved. So there are several factors. It’s not (possible) to come with this kind of news to say, ‘OK, we want to take over.’”

Ortiz said it was always Lorton’s intent to keep the company at Port Tampa Bay, but it would have to work with the port to find enough available berths along a deep enough channel for relocation. If a channel had to be dredged to get that depth, it would require federal approval.

“Those permits take one year, two years, three years,” Ortiz said. “Then you talk about the environmental aspects; that can be another challenge. So it’s not easy to say, in two, three years, it’s going to be done.”

It’s a historic piece of land. International Ship Repair has operated there for some 40 years, acquiring most of the property in 1995 and 2004 for about $15.6 million, according to Hillsborough Records. The eastern side of the property covered in the sale’s second phase once housed Tampa Marine, which built many ships during World War II, said Rodney Kite-Powell of the Tampa Bay History Center.

“Not battleships, more ancillary ships like tenders that were still a very important part of the war effort,” he said.

The western part of the property along Channelside was once part of Tampa’s banana docks, where longshoremen unloaded bananas from ships to be sent by train and truck to other cities, Kite-Powell said. The docks dated back to the late 1920s and became a sort of tourist attraction, with people gathering to watch the hub of activity there.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2022/08/31/darryl-shaw-to-buy-develop-25-acres-between-ybor-city-port-tampa-bay/#:~:text=The%20first%2C%20encompassing%20the%20north,its%20operations%2C%20including%20300%20employees.

I personally really like the plan. Great location of course. It would be nice if Jax had more marina-incorporated projects. I'm not entirely sure why we don't other than I guess demand.

[thelakelander]

It may be decades away from fruition but it looks similar to the early 2000s version of the Shipyards.

[Jax_Developer]

Most recent DIA documents reveal that One Riverside has been significantly delayed (likely one year, plus or minus a few months). Phase 1 completion not required until Sept. 2026. Restaurant is included in that timeline.

(https://dia.coj.net/getattachment/41e4242d-c6f6-4ca8-a079-67a040060804/.aspx)

[acme54321]

Where is this restaurant by the fountain supposed to be going?

[Ken_FSU]

Most recent DIA documents reveal that One Riverside has been significantly delayed (likely one year, plus or minus a few months). Phase 1 completion not required until Sept. 2026. Restaurant is included in that timeline.

(https://dia.coj.net/getattachment/41e4242d-c6f6-4ca8-a079-67a040060804/.aspx)

Does anyone know any specifics about what happened to delay/extend the McCoys Creek Improvement project?

I believe the hold up here with the Whole Foods and restaurant is that McCoys Creek was supposed to be finished in October 2023, but now isn't scheduled to be completed until the end of 2025.

Force majeure delays, as noted in the above, seem to suggest something wildly unexpected happening. Did it?

[acme54321]

Most recent DIA documents reveal that One Riverside has been significantly delayed (likely one year, plus or minus a few months). Phase 1 completion not required until Sept. 2026. Restaurant is included in that timeline.

(https://dia.coj.net/getattachment/41e4242d-c6f6-4ca8-a079-67a040060804/.aspx)

Does anyone know any specifics about what happened to delay/extend the McCoys Creek Improvement project?

I believe the hold up here with the Whole Foods and restaurant is that McCoys Creek was supposed to be finished in October 2023, but now isn't scheduled to be completed until the end of 2025.

Force majeure delays, as noted in the above, seem to suggest something wildly unexpected happening. Did it?

COJ probably happened

[Jax_Developer]

Most recent DIA documents reveal that One Riverside has been significantly delayed (likely one year, plus or minus a few months). Phase 1 completion not required until Sept. 2026. Restaurant is included in that timeline.

(https://dia.coj.net/getattachment/41e4242d-c6f6-4ca8-a079-67a040060804/.aspx)

Does anyone know any specifics about what happened to delay/extend the McCoys Creek Improvement project?

I believe the hold up here with the Whole Foods and restaurant is that McCoys Creek was supposed to be finished in October 2023, but now isn't scheduled to be completed until the end of 2025.

Force majeure delays, as noted in the above, seem to suggest something wildly unexpected happening. Did it?

COJ probably happened

That's right based on what I was told. The city didn't file in time for their ERP permit, and it held up some of the site work.

[thelakelander]

The One Riverside restaurant isn't located near the creek. I can't imagine it being held up by creek construction.

[Jax_Developer]

The One Riverside restaurant isn't located near the creek. I can't imagine it being held up by creek construction.

Was the retail (restaurant) permit ever issued? I think it's tied up in the FDEP Permit somehow (proximity to the River? or because of the lack of Phase 2 apartments). The project is so delayed beyond its current capacity, because the site was only confirmed by FDEP 2/26/2024. Meaning... they couldn't pull any permits that had any footprint in any environmental area. Add on the current FDEP/USACOE stuff, it seems more complex than what meets the eye.

[Steve]

The restaurant is built into one of the apartment buildings. The shell of it is almost complete. I can’t imagine build out of the restaurant is held up by the creek.

Now the Whole Foods doesn’t have a lot of activity yet.

[thelakelander]

That part (Whole Foods) is held up by the reconstruction of the creek.

[Ken_FSU]

I might be wrong, but I believe I heard that Whole Foods can’t break ground because of delays on the city’s end with the creek project (as others noted above), and that the restaurant isn’t dependent on the creek project, but is instead dependent on the projected foot traffic from the delayed retail component.

[Jax_Developer]

That makes sense. Although, even the Phase 1 apartments seemed delayed (intentionally or not, IDK).