Pinellas County businessman Fred Bullard — the developer of upscale Feather Sound and founder of the Durango Steakhouse chain — is the new owner of BayWalk, an entertainment and retail center that helped spark the renewal of downtown St. Petersburg.

Bullard, an original investor and equal partner in the complex, bought out the Sembler Co.’s 50 percent interest.

Both Sembler and Bullard declined to release details of the deal, which closed Aug. 31. Bullard did say it was “a fair deal.”

A hunt for suitors

St. Petersburg-based Sembler had been trying to sell the complex for about a year. At least one previous deal fell through in the due diligence process.

“The Semblers wanted to get out,” Bullard said. “They handle much bigger projects than this. They simply felt it was time to hand it over to me to see what I could do with it.”

In the last few years, the complex, which includes a 20-screen theater, restaurants and stores, reported slow sales and less customer traffic. And the Pinellas County Property Appraiser lowered its market value by $2 million in 2007 to $16.2 million.

BayWalk has an overall occupancy rate of about 84 percent, said Sembler Chief Executive Officer Greg Sembler. Tenants include Ann Taylor, Chico’s and Happy Feet Plus.

“The center hasn’t really been marketed appropriately for the past several years,” said Bruce Rabon, who owns two BayWalk stores, Hurricane Pass Outfitters and Metropolitan Outfitters. Retail sales are suffering everywhere, not just BayWalk, Sembler said.

That’s true, Rabon said. But soft sales have been a problem for several years at BayWalk, in part because of news reports about rowdy, unchaperoned teens hanging out at the center on weekends.

That’s no longer a problem, but many people don’t realize that, Rabon said.

City ready for change

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker said the time is right for a facelift at BayWalk, which was a key catalyst in downtown’s renaissance since it was built in 2000.

That renaissance also led to increased competition for the complex.

Said Bullard: “BayWalk really was a victim of its own success. By attracting people to downtown St. Pete, it got a lot of competition.”

Bullard, a Jacksonville native, hasn’t yet decided what improvements he’ll make at BayWalk.

“We think it needs a little breath of fresh air,” said Bullard, who owns two BayWalk restaurants, Ammazza Pizza and Gratzzi’s Ristorante.

“It’s a very tough market,” Bullard said. “The economy is not being kind to us today.”

Bullard’s other recently completed developments include the $200 million Queen’s Harbor Yacht and Country Club project in Jacksonville and the Ritz-Carlton on Fort Lauderdale Beach, he said.