St. Pete Catalyst; Published By Veronica Brezina
Fort Lauderdale-based real estate firm Alexander Goshen is proposing to lease the parking lot at 800 1st Avenue South and transform it into an affordable housing complex.
The group submitted a letter of intent in late May to the city after Tampa-based investment advisory firm Third Lake Partners made an unsolicited bid, offering $6 million to acquire a portion of the vacant parcel. TLP’s unsolicited bid triggered an open process for others to submit proposals.
Alexander Goshen is also a partner in a joint development team with the Dantes Partners firm that’s pursuing to acquire and redevelop St. Petersburg’s historic Tomlinson Adult Education Center.
“We offered the city a 99-year term [for Lot 3 of the 800 Block site], which is the same term we are proposing for the Tomlinson building. This lease creates more of a partnership where we hold each other accountable,” Alexander Goshen Principal Miles Alexander said to the St. Pete Catalyst. “The city will have control of the site, and if a developer does not complete what they intended to do, the city can take that property back.”
By entering into a lease agreement, Alexander said the group would not have an upfront cost burden for the affordable housing project, as opposed to a traditional property purchase.
The group also plans to build affordable housing at the Tomlinson site, although that housing would specifically target teachers.
Per the letter Alexander shared with the Catalyst, the firm would pay the city $75,375 annually, or $376,875, for the first five years of the long-term lease as the lease terms may be adjusted. Read more
