Development teams pitch mixed-use projects for downtown Clearwater sites
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 10, 2022

Clearwater officials will soon select from three development proposals for two city-owned properties on the downtown waterfront.

Bids were due on Thursday for the 1.43-acre former Harborview Center site at Cleveland Street and North Osceola Avenue and the 2.6-acre former city hall site at Pierce Street and South Osceola Avenue.

The city sought proposals to transform the sites into “vibrant mixed-use properties that will bring activity and regeneration to downtown.” Three teams — GSP Development, Elevate Clearwater and The Bluffs — submitted proposals according to city documents.

Bidders will make presentations before city council on June 13. According to public documents, the city wants to select its preferred developer on June 17. The city is required to then hold a public referendum to sell or lease the city-owned properties for non-city-facility use.

The Bluffs

The Bluffs is a development team comprised of The DeNunzio Group and Gotham. Some of their partners are Stantec, Coastal Construction, Behar + Peteranecz Architecture and owner’s representative Joe Burdette.

Stantec is currently working on Imagine Clearwater for the city. BeharPeteranecz has more than 15 active projects in Clearwater and St. Petersburg.

The DeNunzio Group built the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Clearwater Beach in 2016. Behar + Peteranecz Architecture’s portfolio includes more than 10 commercial projects on Clearwater Beach.

The team is proposing creating a “dramatic overlook and pedestrian bridge.” The overlook plaza would be at the base of the Harborview building, and the pedestrian bridge would have a transparent guardrail to give views through the structure. The bridge would go from the Harborview overlook plaza to the retail dining terrace on the former city hall site.

"We could not be more enthusiastic to be a part of the next chapter of this amazing city," project partner Matthew Picket, vice president of acquisitions and development at Gotham, said. "This comprehensive vision for Clearwater is unparalleled. Our team is comprised of world class local talent who will work to create an immersive, transformative and visionary plan that seamlessly integrates with the park and Clearwater's pristine waterfront. We hope this exciting project will create a destination for the community for generations."

Harborview site

According to the proposal, The Bluffs team intends to build a 150-key hotel with 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space.

The development will also include a 1,000-person conference center, 2,000 square feet of private event space/performance hall, parking, a 4,000-square-foot rooftop bar and restaurant, a rooftop biergarten and a pool deck for the hotel.

The DeNunzio Group is affiliated with Maine Course Hospitality Group, which owns and operates 24 hotels in five states. It also operates the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Clearwater Beach.

The plan is to have a branded hotel at the site. Maine Course Hospitality will hire a “dedicated sales representative to work with the brand and determine the right mix of prospective guests to target,” according to the proposal. Many of Maine Course Hospitality Group’s hotels have had partnerships with Marriott and Hilton brands.

Former city hall site

The plans for the former city hall site include building 25,000 square feet of ground-floor local retail and restaurant space, having a park-facing cafe and 600 parking spaces below ground.

Via two separate towers, the group will build 600 residential rental homes and will have a residence pool and activity deck that is “closely tied to the park.” According to the proposal, the development team “will consider allocating up to 10% of the apartments as workforce housing for residents earning up to 120% of the area median income.”

Elevate Clearwater

Smart City Group, led by The Ring Workspaces co-founder Daniels Ikajevs, has proposed a vision focusing on innovation and sustainability. Ikajevs shared his proposals with the Tampa Bay Business Journal and said the combined development would cost $285 million.

Ikajevs has assembled two teams — one for each site — that include established local developers. Each proposal emphasizes sustainability in urban redevelopment.

“We expect a lot more vibrancy,” Ikajevs said. “I think for many reasons, we hear a lot of comparisons to a ghost town, and there’s a lot of synergy with what the city of Clearwater is working on in terms of programming for the park. The park obviously helps a lot with solving the puzzle, but it’s not a silver bullet. Bringing residences and businesses to downtown Clearwater — that’s ultimately what’s going to make the downtown sustainable.”

Harborview site

The lead developer for the Harborview site will be Solaris. Smart City Group and Experiential Ventures are co-developers. Killian Construction Co. would be the general contractor. The proposal is to bring a music-themed hotel — Harmony 12 — to the site along with 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space and underground parking.

Harmony 12 will include 200 rooms, a speakeasy, a signature restaurant and outdoor seating. The development will feature a “jazz walk” — a sidewalk with massive musical note arches with built-in projection systems to project stories related to Clearwater’s jazz history.

Steve Burks, Solaris developer, is a Clearwater resident and told the Business Journal once Ikajevs informed him the city was looking to redevelop the site, he began envisioning a music-themed hotel to plug into Clearwater’s history and the amphitheater being built as part of the Imagine Clearwater project nearby.

Autograph Collection by Marriott, Curio by Hilton or the Unbound Collection by Hyatt are likely contenders for the hotel flag.

“It will have a music theme but really will work as an amenity to the city and drive the connectivity to Ruth Eckerd Hall’s activities and bookings,” Burks said, “and will work very harmoniously with Clearwater Jazz Holiday.”

The hotel’s roof would have extensive solar panels and a drone passenger pad for air taxis.

Former city hall site

Smart City Group has partnered with Atlanta-based ECI Group and Tampa’s KD Keller on this proposal. ECI Group and KD Keller will be the lead developers, with ECI Group also being the operator. Smart City Group and MADE Investments & Development will be the co-developers. Their proposal is for Park Place, a 388-market-rate apartment development with 40,000 to 45,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

For the retail space, the developers will target a specialty grocer, a “food hall-style” kitchen incubator, and restaurants. Small entrepreneurs could utilize the incubator concept, each occupying a 500- to 1,000-square-foot space, to launch their restaurants.

Ken Stoltenberg, principal owner of KD Keller Development, worked with ECI Group to develop downtown Tampa’s Channel Club, a mixed-use tower sold in November 2021 for a near-record $136 million. Stoltenberg’s track record includes Grand Central at Kennedy, a mixed-use development with condos and street-level retail. It was the first major project to break ground in the Channel district.

“I look at Clearwater and see where downtown Tampa and the Channel district was 20 years ago,” Stoltenberg said. “We think if this project can be successful, the biggest thing it will do is attract other developers and other capital to invest in the downtown core of Clearwater.”

The two Clearwater sites would connect to Imagine Clearwater’s waterfront park, making one walkable area.

“This is long overdue,” Stoltenberg said. “Clearwater has a good set of building blocks that are already there. There’s a Publix supermarket downtown, a Walgreens and a CVS. Those are things that took me 15 years to get in the Channel district. We’re convinced demand for the multifamily will be robust.”

GSP Development

Illinois-based GSP Development, which built 1100 Apex Clearwater Apartments on Cleveland Avenue, proposes two mixed-use buildings, including retail and residential on each property.

Harborview site

The proposal shows a six-floor building. The plan is for the first and second floors to have parking, 12,565 square feet of retail space, 4,122 square feet for a leasing office, 3,615 square feet for a restaurant/bar and 720 square feet for a pop-up restaurant.

The third to sixth floors will be in a u-shape and include 111 residential units. They will range from 450-square-foot studios to 1,260-square-foot three-bedroom layouts.

Amenities like a pool, theater room, fitness room, club room, golf simulator, pet wash and tenant storage are included.

Former city hall site

GSP Development proposes building 393 residential units via two towers on the former city hall site. Tower A will have 193 units, and tower B will have 200 units. The layout will range from studios to three-bedroom units with the same square footage as the Harborview site.

The towers will wrap around a courtyard and a pool. The first floor and basement level will be for parking. Amenities will be on the second floor in tower A. Across from the courtyard will be two separate buildings. One will feature 4,850 square feet of retail, and the other will include 1,500 square feet of space used by a civic, cultural or nonprofit organization.