Developer: Seminole Heights is becoming attractive to investors

There’s a notable change in the attitudes of investors and lenders toward deals in Seminole Heights, says a development pioneer in the neighborhood.

Wesley Burdette, who converted an old warehouse into loft-style apartments, struggled to find a bank willing to take on his development in 2014. After talking to at least 10 other lenders, Burdette connected with Sunshine State Bank, which financed the project.

He was the sole equity investor in that project, The Warehouse Lofts, which is now leasing… …read more

Tampa ranked among top 10 cities for residential remodeling

Residential remodeling in the United States increased by 9 percent from December 2014 to December 2015 and Tampa had some of the most activity in the country, according to a report from BuildFax.

Tampa was ranked No. 6 for residential remodeling in the BuildFax report, which calculated the ranking by using construction records with more than 23 billion data points, including number of residential remodeling projects per household, the statement said.

The top 10 cities are:

Colorado Springs, Colorado… …read more

Exclusive: Camden sells off multifamily development site in Westchase

A national player in the apartment market has sold off a development site in Tampa’s Westchase area.

Houston-based Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT) sold nearly 6 acres adjacent to Camden Westchase Park to a buyer who plans to build a 120-bed senior living community there.

The purchase price was $2.15 million. Vertica Commercial Advisors, a subsidiary of Tampa-based Vertica Partners, represented Camden in the transaction.

The site — which Camden owned after building the 348-unit Westchase Park… …read more

Florida sweeps this home price index with largest price increases

Florida’s metropolitan cities are experiencing some of the the highest housing market growth rates in the country, according to the latest data by Jacksonville-based Black Knight Financial Services.

The 10 metros that increased the fastest were all from Florida , according to the firm’s December price index released Tuesday.

Sarasota (1.4 percent), Punta Gorda (1.3 percent), Port St. Lucie (1.2 percent), Naples (1.2 percent), Cape Coral (1.1 percent), Homosassa Springs (1.1 percent), Sebring (1.1… …read more

Inside Dr. Kiran Patel’s palatial Carrollwood estate, three years after breaking ground (Photos)

Past the strip centers, drive-thrus and cookie-cutter housing developments that define suburban Tampa, a palatial multifamily compound is rising above the Carrollwood landscape.

Surya Estates, the formal name of Dr. Kiran Patel’s luxuriant residence, has been under construction since March 2013 on a 17-acre site about three blocks from the intersection of North Dale Mabry Highway and Linebaugh Avenue. Patel paid $3.2 million for the land in 2003.

The home will be the largest residential structure… …read more