Channel district apartment tower on the market
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 10, 2015

A just-completed luxury apartment tower in the Channel district is on the market.

SkyHouse Channelside, the 23-story, 320-unit tower at 112 N. 12th St., is being listed for sale by ARA Newmark in Tampa. Atlanta-based Novare Group, which wrapped up construction in July, confirmed on Tuesday that the tower is for sale.

"SkyHouse Channelside has leased up well, now being at 70 percent and continuing to make progress. We are developers as opposed to long-term owners, and therefore we often go to market to attract long-term capital upon delivery of the building," Jim Borders, Novare president and CEO, said in a statement. "That is what we are doing here, although a closing would not occur until sometime in 2016."

The tower also includes street-level retail space; a restaurant, District Tavern, is under construction there. Apartment rents start at $1,200 per month.

If a sale comes to fruition, it could be a near-record number for Tampa - and almost certainly for the Channel district. Real estate sources say the tower could fetch close to $300,000 per unit, which represents the upper end of Tampa Bay's apartment market. Crescent Bayshore - since renamed 2 Bayshore - sold for more than $300,000 per apartment in fall 2014.

If the property is sold at that high a number, it will likely mean higher rents for residents and retailers. Rental hikes would be necessary to make the projected returns on which the new owner based their offer.

Beyond Novare's strategy, the buzz around Tampa and the Channel district make it a great time to market real estate there. Strategic Property Partners, the real estate company controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment LLC, is planning a $2 billion development between downtown Tampa and the Channel district.

That development is in the planning phases, but it's generated significant interest in Tampa, real estate investors and brokers say.

"I think people are buying into the story now that downtown Tampa will become a real downtown," Mike Davis, an executive director with Cushman & Wakefield of Florida, previously told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "I'm not saying it's going to be New York City or anything, but people can now touch it and feel it. It's not just a promise. It's really there."

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.