The clock is ticking on Oldsmar’s Market Square project.
After signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Smith Equity Builders, Inc. back in February, city officials hoped to have a development agree-ment for the mixed-use project in place by July 28.
But after months of prelim-inary talks and periodic updates and with no definitive plans in place, Oldsmar city councilmembers recently expressed doubts to SEB president Stephen Grimme that the deadline could be met, putting the entire project in a state of limbo.
“To be honest I’m a little discouraged, for lack of a better term,” Mayor Doug Bevis said during a May 26 workshop. “We did the proposal…and decided to move forward with the Memorandum of Understanding, and you had kind of given us why you thought it was good and why you thought you were the right person for it.”
“Since that point it seems like…more people are jumping off this Market Square bandwagon than are jumping on,” he added. “I know it’s a process, but I feel like we are going backwards rather than forward, and I don’t see us meeting the July deadline.”
Grimme explained that he has been working hard trying to bring development partners on board.
But he said a number of obstacles, from a changing market to concerns about the project’s location, have hampered him with potential investors for what is said to be a $50 million dollar project that will have residential, commercial and retail components on six-plus acres of land adjacent to Oldsmar City Hall.
“This is somewhat boastful, but I don’t think anyone can work as fast as I can, because I’m agile,” he said. “There’s been no less than 20 groups that I’ve brought to this site, and 40 face-to-face meetings…It’s just a matter of picking that perfect partner.“
“I can stick to the schedule and sign the development agreement, but it’s going to be complicated,” he added. “If I can clear the hurdle with Mr. Swain, then I can go back to the people, pick the best two or three or one, and say this is as close to the project as I can give you.”
The hurdle Grimme was referring to is a piece of property owned by local businessman Bruce Swain that is located in the middle of the development site.
Grimme recognized early on that he would have to come to some sort of agreement with Swain — either purchase his property outright or do a land swap — or else build around it, a prospect no one involved with the project wants to see happen.
Swain, who attended the workshop, said that he is waiting for an appraisal of his property to be completed, something he hoped would be done in the next couple of weeks, and after that, he and Grimme will discuss where to go from there.
“That’s a critical piece of getting this thing done,” Councilmember Eric Seidel noted.
Towards the end of the two-hour meeting, after Grimme showed them a number of potential plans he has been working on, councilmembers clarified their priorities for the project.
“For me the hotel is the least of my priorities,” Vice-Mayor Gabby McGee said. “I think residential and retail is most important.”
Councilmember Seidel concurred, saying “if we don’t do a hotel, we need to focus on residential.”
Ultimately, the group agreed to meet again after Swain’s appraisal came back, and then they would decide how to proceed from there.
After the workshop, the involved parties spoke about the future of the project.
“The July deadline was something the council and Smith Equity Builders agreed was adequate enough,” Mayor Bevis told Oldsmar Connect. “But if the deadline comes and goes and if the council doesn’t feel comfortable, we have to decide whether to continue the deadline or move on.”
“If we can’t come to terms on a development agreement, we might have to call off the wedding.”
Grimme said although he strongly believes in the project and “knows the site better than anybody,” he understands it’s coming close to the time where decisions have to be made in regards to moving forward.
“Right now I have an agreement with the City, and I have a tremendous amount of time, skill and effort in this project,”Grimme said. “My question is, how long will you let me work for free? Because I only get paid if I pull this off. I don’t think many people would do that with any municipality.”
“The City is my partner,” he added. “If I win, they win. If I lose, they don’t lose. This is not a game for me. I take it very seriously.”
Related:
Leave a Reply