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Redevelopment Activity to Pick Up After New Year

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By Jessica  Bair | The Suncoast News

Published: December 29, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - After many redevelopment and construction projects were set to revive the city this past year, some highly anticipated projects found it hard to get off the ground.

In January, however, growth in this gulf- and river-front community is expected to kick into high gear.

Developers hoping to restore the city-owned Hacienda Hotel added a new element to their plan this month, a three-story parking garage with 25 residential units on the roof.

The Georgia-based Community Development Partners teamed up with Three Oaks Hospitality, of Boca Raton, to propose a plan last year.

The design phase is complete and the groups will work into the new year to finalize the development agreement.

The now vacant hotel, a relic of the Florida land boom of the 1920s that saw silent film stars fill its rooms, will now house residents in a 40-unit mix of townhouses and stacked flats.

To make this happen the existing structure needs to be extended to the east, requiring the closing of a portion of Bank Street.

In the process the stucco-covered Spanish-style downtown landmark would be transformed into an upscale hotel with spa, restaurant and meeting space.

Another subject of much discussion last year was the stalled Main Street Landing project, on the corner of River Road and Main Street, also in the downtown district.

On July 17, 2006, work on the residential and retail complex, which was supposed to jump start downtown redevelopment, stalled. At the time, Ken McGurn, the Gainesville-based developer behind Main Street landing, cited the housing slump and a price rise in construction materials as reasons for the pause in construction.

The City Council had rejected a request for help in arranging new financing for Main Street Landing from McGurn and his local partner in the venture, former Mayor Peter Altman.

The halt left a cinder block shell on the dormant riverfront construction site.

On Wednesday, McGurn said he was exploring the idea of breaking up the construction into phases.

Since the project was stopped construction material prices "have come down in some areas" like concrete and wood, while the price of materials made from copper and steel have risen, McGurn says.

McGurn is considering restarting work on the two buildings that face Main Street, which would mostly contain commercial space. At the same time, construction would take place on a limit number of the 55 condominium units planned as part of Main Street Landing.

"We're not ignoring it," McGurn says of the project. "We're looking at other alternatives more seriously now and trying to be creative."

McGurn, who with wife Linda developed Union Street Station, in downtown Gainesville, intends to "look real hard" at building costs and the housing market after Jan. 1, he said. If he were to decide to move forward with Main Street Landing, construction could start next summer, he said.

Also slated for early January is development of the Landings at Orange Lake. The 3-acre site is off of Circle Drive, across from Sims Park.

The city bought the land from First Baptist Church, of New Port Richey, which is relocating, in December 2005, for $3.1 million.

New Port Richey officials hope the area can be developed for mixed uses, including retail, office space, a parking garage and housing, says Caprina Latimore, the city's redevelopment officer.

The city will issue a request for Landings at Orange Lake development proposals after Jan. 1, Latimore says.

In addition, she said, the Cracker Barrel restaurant under construction at the northern end of the Southgate Shopping Plaza, on U.S. 19, could be open by April.

Three retail spaces are also being erected surrounding the country-theme restaurant and store.

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