A long-awaited vision for Tampa’s Westshore Marina District
TAMPA —Eleven years after plans to develop a waterfront tract on the Tampa side of the Gandy Bridge were first announced, a new rendering gives a hint of what Westshore Marina District ultimately will look like.
BTI Partners, master developer of the $600 million district, has started an “interest list” of potential buyers in the 16-story Marina Pointe tower overlooking Tampa Bay.
Prices for the seven townhomes and 112 condos in the boomerang-shaped tower will range from the $600,000s to more than $1.5 million. Among the features: a two-level lobby with concierge service; a Residents’ Pointe Club with bar; a massage, yoga and exercise studio; and locker rooms with steam rooms and showers. An elevated amenity deck is to include a pool, fireplace, bocce ball court and summer kitchen.
Smith & Associates will handle sales, set to start this fall in a waterfront sales center on the site near the corner of Gandy and Westshore boulevards.
“We’ve actually had a lot of interest before this project even came on line,” Beck Daniel, the BTI executive in charge of the marina district, said Wednesday. “Even though we are not going to take active contracts right now we are looking for a pre-approved list of interested parties and we’re really excited about this.”
A different developer bought the 52- acre district for $54 million in the mid 2000s but plans for a grandiose mixed-use project collapsed during the recession. Fort Lauderdale-based BTI acquired the site through various transactions and began marketing parcels to individual builders a few years ago.
Miami-based Related Groups is about to start construction on 396 units on a tract it bought for $11.81 million in February. Adjacent to that, WCI Communities plans 35 townhomes and is under contract for buying additional waterfront acreage.
Daniel said “another large sale” is expected to close next month for an apartment project but he did not disclose the name of the prospective buyer.
“Beyond that we are going to develop everything ourselves,” he said. The marina district eventually could include a grocery, restaurants, shops, hotel and a 1.5 mile waterfront park.
Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow @susanskate.