14-story apartment tower in Westshore gets preliminary approval from Tampa City Council
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 9, 2022

A mixed-use development with twin apartment towers and a street-level restaurant has received preliminary approval from Tampa City Council.

Council on Thursday unanimously approved a rezoning request to make way for the construction of the development, which will replace the former The Auto Club Group, also known as AAA, office building.

It will include 360 apartments in two towers and a 7,000-square-foot restaurant with a large outdoor patio. BDG is the development's architect; Kimley-Horn is the civil engineer. Randy Coen is the transportation consultant on the project, and Ricky Peterika, president of Dark Moss, is the arborist.

Rezoning requests require two readings before city council. A second reading on the project will be held Oct. 6, said Kami Corbett, a land-use attorney and partner in Hill Ward Henderson who represents developer Ally Capital Group.

Ally Capital, controlled by Franklin Street founder Andrew Wright, bought the AAA property in 2021 for $8.75 million.

Westshore, primarily a business district until the early 2010s, has seen an influx of residential development over the last decade. Multifamily developers see opportunities in the district's proximity to major employers, Tampa International Airport and Interstate 275. A Dallas developer wants to raze an aging hotel in the district and replace it with apartments.