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Owner Gives Peek At Centro Ybor Vision

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By DAVE SIMANOFF, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 8, 2007

TAMPA - Now that there there is a new owner and new development plan at Centro Ybor, are you expecting a lot of grand openings for stores and restaurants?

Don't hold your breath.

M&J Wilkow, the new owners, say they're committed to turning around the retail-and-restaurant boondoggle in the heart of Tampa's historic Latin neighborhood - but the first phase of their strategy calls for a costly, lengthy construction project that reconfigures some of Centro Ybor into office space, hotel rooms or condominiums.

Once the conversion project is complete and more people are passing through Centro Ybor every day on their way to work, home or their hotel, the company can turn its attention to securing new stores and restaurants, according to M&J Wilkow partner David Harvey.

'We are not trying to attract new retailers into that property just yet,' he said. 'The first step is to establish this new presence of either regular office use, hotel use or residential use.'

The additional foot traffic would help attract, support and retain retailers and restaurants, Harvey explained.
Centro Ybor opened in 2000 with much fanfare, but never fully lived up to its promise of transforming Ybor City's reputation for nightclubs and bars into one of family-friendly entertainment, stores and restaurants.

Adding To The Mix

Entertainment centers sometimes fail 'when they're a variation of something, or something that hasn't been tried before, or a new concept, a new market, or a new way of doing something,' said Anita Kramer, director of retail development for the Urban Land Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that promotes urban planning and growth management.

Kramer said she's not familiar with Centro Ybor or Wilkow, but she said other entertainment centers have proved successful with the addition of office, hotel or residential space.

People from the offices, hotel and homes will patronize nearby stores and restaurants, but they alone won't provide enough business to support those places, Kramer said. However, activity provides 'one component' for retailers and restaurants, and the activity may draw more people into the area, further supporting the businesses, she said.

'It adds to the feel of the area,' she said.

Next Steps

Wilkow is moving closer to putting its reconfigure-first-then-refocus-on-retail strategy into action. Last week, the Tampa City Council OK'd Wilkow's development plan. Harvey said he expects to announce his company's next step - exactly what it will build, and how big it will be - around the middle of this month.

Harvey said he's now evaluating plans to convert up to 50,000 square feet of space, currently leased by Muvico, into condominiums, office space or a 150-room hotel. He's working with a Tampa-based architecture firm, Lyman Davidson Dooley. The conversion would require a new floor and windows.

Muvico would continue operating at least 8 screens at Centro Ybor.

Harvey said he thinks a hotel or office would make the most sense for Centro Ybor, because it would bring more people to the center. Construction could begin by the end of this year, and the converted space could be ready for tenants, hotel guests or residents by the end of 2008.

The improvements are expects to cost about $8 million.
Centro Ybor won't be Wilkow's first attempt at fixing up an underperforming retail and restaurant center. The company has bought and improved similar properties across the country, Harvey said.
Centro Ybor 'is actually an excellent property, but it was built prematurely,' he said. 'We bought this in such a way that we could be patient with it.'

Reporter Dave Simanoff can be reached at (813) 259-7762 or dsimanoff@tampatrib.com.

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