TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Progress On Track For Commercial Complex

ADVERTISEMENT

By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2007

RIVERVIEW - A Chicago-based development firm is transforming the site of a former service station into a two-phase retail and office complex at the northeast corner of Bloomingdale Avenue and Providence Road.

The first phase of the project, a one-story retail center, should be completed within weeks, said Tom Karpenske, a real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis, the leasing agent for Bloomingdale Palms.

Construction on the second phase - a two-story office and retail complex - will get under way almost immediately, Karpenske said.

The property had remained vacant since November 2003, when a worker was killed there as he cut open an old underground gasoline tank. Gasoline fumes trapped inside the tank ignited and exploded when the man cut into the tank with an electric saw. The convenience store and gas station, known as Victory Market, was closed for renovation at the time.

The 5-acre property is being developed by Capri Development LLC. The new plaza will be the first development project for Capri in Florida. The company has been developing in the Midwest since 1980.

In all, the completed complex will include 22,000 square feet of retail and 12,000 square feet of second-story office space.

One out-parcel being developed will be a SunTrust Bank, Karpenske said. He would not disclose tenants for the other retail spaces, but he did say there will be a sit-down family restaurant and a 'traditional tenant mix.'

The two-story second phase will have retail stores on the first floor and offices on the second.

The developer is obligated by the county to construct a new turn lane on Bloomingdale Avenue. Those traveling west on Bloomingdale will be able to use the lane to turn north onto Providence. Karpenske did not know the time frame for the turn lane, and Capri spokesman Michael Cairo did not return phone calls.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or yhammett@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT