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City, Developer Consider Main Street Landing Deal

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: March 18, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Nearly five years ago, as ground was being broken on the Main Street Landing construction site, city officials at the time looked forward to March 2009.

That's when, if all went as planned, the Community Redevelopment Agency would have happily presented a $1.25 million check to Gainesville-based developer Ken McGurn if the Mediterranean-styled commercial-residential development was significantly built out and half the units leased or sold.

March 2009 has arrived, and McGurn met March 10 with City Council, which was acting in its role as CRA board. Instead of a grip-and-grin check presentation, the two sides were meeting to figure out what they might do to restore a now-strained business relationship and get the project moving again.

The level of that strain was evident as McGurn spent the better part of 30 minutes defending his company's actions.

There has been an impression that he abandoned the Main Street project, he said. On the contrary, his company has never stopped trying to figure out a way to finish the project. Particularly since last September, he said, he has been in constant contact with the city.

"We're taking steps," McGurn said. "We have to get the plans, we have to get the surveys, we have to get bids and we have to know what we're talking about with the costs. We're spending thousands and thousands and thousands heading in that direction."

Those thousands are on top of nearly $7 million already spent on site preparation infrastructure, he said. It's an investment he has no intention of abandoning.

McGurn straddled the fence between being defensive and conciliatory, as did council members as they considered three possible outlines for where Main Street Landing goes from here.

One idea, proposed at a CRA meeting in October, was to decorate the façade of the existing shell at the southeast corner of Main Street and River Road. Main Street Landing would match the CRA in putting up to $40,000 to fill in the door and window openings. Artists would be hired to paint the panels, continuing the style of other murals downtown.

Another plan called for the city to buy the property, with zero down and a low interest rate.

Consensus among the council was that neither of these plans was acceptable. The decorative façade scenario was characterized as "creating a movie set," resulting in little practical gain and dubious aesthetic improvement. Purchasing Main Street Landing in today's economic environment when the city already owns so many other properties is also a nonstarter, council said.

The third option was considered the one with the most potential. It calls for city to loan $1.45 million over two years for the completion of the building that was started, with the understanding that the loan must be paid back within five years or the entire property will be deeded over to the city.

The city and the company would work together on an incentive program to draw potential tenants. Once tenants were secured for 13 of the 15 commercial spaces, Main Street Landing would finish installing utilities, parking and other details.

This wouldn't produce a Main Street Landing as originally conceived but it would turn the existing eyesore into a complete and functioning part of downtown, and would be a huge leap in the right direction.

"I still think it's a good project," Councilman Bob Consalvo said. I still feel this would really help the economy of the city.

Mayor Scott McPherson concurred.

"When we have an unfinished project sitting there, it affects our ability to bring in new businesses," he said. "There's sort of a 'closed' sign when people see that."

While conceding the plan is not perfect, both sides agreed it's a starting point to move Main Street Landing along in a constructive way.

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