Historic YMCA sold, but ownership still in dispute
By JOSH BOATWRIGHT
Tampa Tribune
Published: Nov 14, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG - With an appeal still pending regarding an earlier contract to buy the historic downtown YMCA, developer Nick Ekonomou closed on the property for $1.4 million late Wednesday.

His Miami-based development company, NE Apartments Associates Inc., plans to rename the 1920s landmark The Edward Building and transform it into a boutique hotel, spa and restaurant.

Ekonomou had planned to buy the property on Fifth Street South in September after a Pinellas County Circuit Court judge ruled the building's first buyer, Tom Nestor, had breached his original purchase contract.

Nestor, a local music promoter who has been raising money for several years to restore the property as a community center, filed an appeal shortly after the judge's ruling, arguing he met the terms of the contract.

This week, Ekonomou decided to move forward with purchasing the property from owners VPC3, expecting to move forward with renovation plans and permitting that will allow him to act quickly on his vision should Nestor's appeal be rejected.

His name for the redevelopment project, The Edward Building, comes from his grandfather, who came from the 1920s generation that built the YMCA.

Although the appeal may preclude him from obtaining a construction loan for several months until the case is resolved in court, Ekonomou said he wanted to go ahead with more extensive repairs to shore up leaks in the roof and mitigate rust on the building's steel support beams to ensure it doesn't deteriorate.

"The smart thing for me to do was to close on the building, so it's my building, and I could at least secure it,” said Ekonomou, a former Florida State University football player.

In a written statement, Nestor said the closing on the property won't change plans by his nonprofit group Historic St. Pete Inc. to appeal the judge's decision.

"I have no control over what the other parties do. I believe my group and I fully performed to purchase the building back in July and that's why there's an appeal. My attorneys expect to win on appeal, my team and our supporters believe we will win on appeal, and the community and the landmark will be the better for it,” he said in an email.

jboatwright@tampatrib.com
(727) 215-1277