TAMPA -- Cutting costs is something The Related Group of Florida is known to do in construction projects it takes over. And while the $309 million price tag on Trump Tower Tampa is a steep one, new project executive Eric Fordin says the project could come in well below those numbers without having to redesign or cut back on units.

"There are a lot of buyers out there who are anxiously awaiting construction of this," said Fordin, who is working on his first Trump-related project despite Related's history in building other Trump projects in Florida.

"We're still in the preliminary stages. We're still inking out the partnership agreement and doing our due diligence," Fordin said. "Plans are to go back out to bid with our preferred subcontractors, and to talk to our buyer base. We're not just going to go in there with guns ablaze. We're going to do the right thing."

Obstacles trump project
Related, which will act as Trump Tower Tampa's managing partner from Miami in association with Orlando-based Mirabilis Ventures, is already building three towers with Trump's name in Sunny Isles north of Miami as well as a fourth one in Hollywood. Coming into the project, they have all but moved out original developer SIMDAG LLC, which had stayed on as a partner after Mirabilis' takeover of the project last November.

Cost overruns won't be the only obstacles Related faces. Soil issues at the site, unpaid contractors and a general perception from the community that the 52-story luxury condominium tower will never be built also stand in the way of making the tower a success.

Public opinion, however, has a way of swaying when promises are fulfilled, and Related has an opportunity to do that, said Paul Ayres, director of marketing and business development for the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

"It will wash away," he said. "People will be excited to watch it go up."

Finding a broader focus
Attaching Trump's name always draws attention, many times dwarfing similar projects in the same downtown core. Usually it's good, but if a project begins to struggle, that attention could become unwanted. That shouldn't, however, force people to think downtown Tampa isn't developing, Ayres said.

"We have other significant investments that are being made in the downtown area that really equals what the hype is about the Trump project," he said. "For example, SkyPoint -- which is opening in April -- will have 300-plus residents occupying units downtown in the near future. And the same developer [Novare-Intowngroup] has started progress on Element and is promising a third."

Getting a lot of the positive attention focused back to the Trump project is important, however, Related's Fordin said. Part of that will be building the tower as originally proposed despite cost savings that could be found by going in another direction.