Developer says 23-story tower in downtown Tampa will break ground soon
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 18, 2015

Plans to build a 23-story residential apartment tower on downtown Tampa's Grant block are behind schedule, but they are still in the works.

Atlanta-based Carter told Tampa Bay Business Journal earlier this year that it had intended to close and break ground on the tower this summer. The group is under contract to buy the block of North Franklin Street known as the Grant block and demolish a strip of abandoned storefronts to make way for the tower.

"We are still working full steam ahead on this project and fully intend to close and move forward," Conor McNally, chief development officer, wrote in an email Monday. "Closing should happen in the next 45 days, with demolition and construction start coming shortly thereafter."

McNally said there were "no concerns or issues" holding up the project. Some developers have expressed concern that the market was becoming too heated, with too many units in the works and land prices getting too expensive. The combination of those forces means more competition for the highest rents the city has ever seen - and no one can be sure of the depth of the pool of high-end renters.

"This is just a large and complicated project, and sometimes things take a little longer to come together than planned," he said.

Tampa developer Jeannette Jason, who owns the Grant block with her father, Miami developer Doran Jason, confirmed McNally's statements. The Jasons also own downtown's historic Kress building, which was slated to be redeveloped into a 22-story hotel, though that deal has since fallen apart.

The Kress is now being marketed nationally as a redevelopment opportunity.