TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

City Seeks New Bids For Church Site

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 19, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Wanted: Developer to convert 81-year-old church property, in the heart of a historic downtown, into a mixed-use residential and commercial complex.

City officials are seeking new proposals to redevelop the landmark First Baptist Church after contract negotiations with a development firm broke down several weeks ago.

Two years ago, the city bought the church property, 6561 Circle Blvd., for more than $3.1 million after the growing congregation announced it was moving to a larger site.

With the purchase, city officials hoped to find a developer who wanted to build a retail and commercial use project that would put more foot traffic in downtown.

Quality Holdings of Florida had proposed converting the church site across from Orange Lake into a mix of condominiums or town homes, retail shops and an upscale restaurant.

But the negotiations with city planners over financial incentives and other details broke down late last month, and the Palm Harbor-based company scrapped the proposal.

"We're caught in a situation where we're paying interest on a property that's bringing us nothing," Deputy Mayor Ginny Miller said at Tuesday night's city council meeting.

Paid for with tax revenue from the Community Redevelopment Agency fund, the church property is one of several major downtown real estate purchases by the city council.

In the past two years, the fund has been used to buy the First Church of Christ Scientist on River Road for $1.05 million, and the former Hacienda Hotel for about $2.2 million.

Because the city used tax increment financing - borrowing based on future CRA tax proceeds - to buy the property, they will be paying several million dollars in interest.

In the interim, the city is receiving $1,000 a month in rent from the church, which hasn't moved to its new site off Trouble Creek Road. The lease is set to expire Feb. 28.

There's even been talk of renting it to a local group for a performing arts center.

Council members had weighed the possibility of tearing down the church and steeple to make it more attractive to developers. But the price tag for that is more than $100,000.

"Bulldozing it would be a very expensive proposition," Councilman Rob Marlowe said.

They considered putting the property back on the market, but with the slowdown in commercial real estate sales, the prospects of finding a buyer for the church are slim.

"The reality is the market's not there," Councilman Bob Consalvo said. "It won't sell."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT