TMCnet News
Vinik withdraws rezoning request for downtown office tower [Tampa Tribune, Fla.](Tampa Tribune (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 16--TAMPA -- A company controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has withdrawn an application to rezone a downtown tract for a major office building near Amalie Arena. A spokesman for Vinik declined to comment on the action. But the move comes after word that a potential tenant, the telecommunications company Syniverse, distanced itself from the project. Original documents filed with the city referred to the project as the "Morgan St. Syniverse Office." Vinik and his partners filed last month to rezone a pair of parking lots immediately north of the arena, formerly the Forum, with architectural renderings suggesting a building of about 10 stories. The same day Vinik's team filed the request, Syniverse's president and chief executive resigned. After the executive shakeup, the company, which has headquarters in New Tampa, said it had no plans to move downtown. The land owned by Vinik is split by Euclid Avenue, and the developer also filed a petition to have the city vacate the portion of that street between Morgan and Jefferson streets. The application states that the intention was "to consolidate co-applicants' property both north and south of Eunice into a single site for urban development within the City of Tampa's Central Business District." The city council was to have taken up that issue Thursday, but in a letter to the city dated Sept. 9, Vinik's team stated simply, "Please accept this as applicants' withdrawal of both applications," with no further detail. The structure would have been one of the largest new office projects downtown, with 202,000 square feet and a 200-space parking garage. It was to have included retail and restaurant space. The move does not affect Vinik's plans to build a 400-room hotel complex nearby. In May, his team filed a rezoning request to build a hotel with 50 residential units and 45,000 square feet of retail space across Morgan Street to the west of the arena. Vinik bought the Lightning in 2010 and has been buying up property around the hockey team's downtown home ice. His companies won control of Channelside Bay Plaza this summer. Vinik's development efforts have won the praise of Mayor Bob Buckhorn. In his re-election announcement last week, he said of Vinik, "When you have somebody who's that credible, who's that committed to Tampa and has that many resources and the passion to do it, it's a combination that's going to pay dividends for a long time." Vinik is expected to unveil a master plan soon for the 20-plus acres he controls in the Channelside area. [email protected] (813) 259-7834 ___ (c)2014 the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.) Visit the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.) at www.tampatrib.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |