Just north of Kennedy Boulevard, six professional office buildings have recently been completed or are under construction.

Some developers predict that Howard from Kennedy to Interstate 275 will become an office building row.

"It is your almost-Hyde Park location," said Martin Lum of LIST Realty of Tampa. "We feel that it is the up-and-coming area."

LIST has purchased four lots - 306, 401, 403 and 407 N. Howard Ave. - which the company is developing, has sold or plans to develop.

Howard has high visibility, constant traffic and a central location near downtown, South Tampa and Tampa International Airport, Lum said. He predicts some of the remaining property along the stretch, which includes houses and vacant lots, will probably be converted to office buildings.

"That is the highest and best use," he said.

Gary Cohen, president of ABC Capital Corp. in Tampa, echoes Lum's view.

ABC Capital created the City Central development by rehabilitating the former American Red Cross site and building a similar structure next to it.

One of the buildings, 217 N. Howard Ave., has been purchased by three law firms and a commercial-building project consultant. The other, at 215 N. Howard Ave., is for sale.

Cohen said the corridor, with its visibility and accessibility, may become a hot spot for stores and offices.

Plans to redevelop the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory property, 522 N. Howard Ave., could bring more businesses.

Three groups are vying to transform the 1941 armory building, with proposals ranging from a video, film and sound studio with creative arts businesses, to an ice rink with stores, restaurants and condominiums, and a hotel with cafes, restaurants and a cultural center.

Keith Koehler of Koehler & Co. CPA said the changes along Howard will affect the neighborhoods, potentially drawing new residents.

Koehler paid LIST $225,000 for property at 401 N. Howard Ave., where he plans to move his accounting office in two months. He said the 2,400-square-foot office will cost $350,000 to build.

Koehler, 40, isn't new to the area. In 2004, he built a 2,700-square-foot office at 502 N. Armenia Ave. and relocated his business there from South Tampa. He's selling the two-story Armenia building for $750,000.

Neighbors say they are pleased with the development along Howard.

Eight years ago, Jose and Aurora Llorente moved to a modest rental home at 308 N. Howard Ave. It was a tough neighborhood with drug dealers, said Jose Llorente, 65, a retired truck driver, but the new office buildings have helped clear out the bad element.

"This is the most beautiful thing that could have happened in this zone," said Llorente, a native of Cuba.

But he worries his landlord may sell the property.

"I wouldn't like it if it happened," Llorente said.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at 98130 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.