TLH Development Newsletter: 04/23/2019
City of Tallahassee to Acquire Hooters, El Jalisco, Milano Pizzeria, and my Gym Membership
I'm late to the party on this one and I know it. Such is the curse of producing a bi-weekly development newsletter; sometimes I miss a story by the nature of my writing process. I'm certain you're all caught up to speed on this development by now, but here we go anyway. We (the City) have won an auction and are set to acquire a lot of land. In short order: an Enterprise Rent-a-Car, a vacant bank, one animal hospital, four restaurants, the Anytime Fitness I have a membership at, and the age-old behemoth, Northwood Mall.
Total purchase price? $6.8 million. Viewed purely from a real estate angle, it's a relatively fair transaction for 34.5 acres of land along North Monroe. And as mentioned, the transaction comes with several leasable buildings, some of which are already income producing. There is a caveat though. The land and buildings will have carrying costs for the City which are unclear at this point. The abatement of environmental concerns (asbestos, lead, bats) at Northwood and ensuing demolition will likely carry a price tag similar to the property's cost. Whatever replaces the aging and dilapidated Northwood Mall will certainly be a sight for sore eyes. I never much used my gym membership in any case.
Vale Continues to Expand Operations
Vale Food Co. is a restaurant you're probably familiar with because it's a restaurant in Tallahassee. They parleyed with Domi Station for a bit and opened shop on Madison Street in 2014. They did meal prep and served up fast casual health food, and they did it well. It doesn't feel like a lot of people know where this local company has gone since then. They have locations in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale. All originating from an idea sprouted in little old TLH. Now, they'll be opening up an innovation center/test kitchen at 1210 S Adams, where they will be joined by RedEye.
Additional Student Housing Planned for Collegetown
It's apparent to me that I've been spending too much time covering the blossoming consortium of medical marijuana dispensaries in town. So, why not switch gears back to student housing. A developer has submitted a pre-application for the construction of a student housing complex at 629 W. Pensacola. Plans describe a 6-story building with 90 units for a total of 375 bedrooms, along with a parking garage and clubhouse.
SunStop Urban Market to Open on Capital Circle
SunStop, a subsidiary of SW GA Oil, currently has two locations in town. One is a regular gas station on Capital Circle NW, and the other is an Urban Market Prototype in Collegetown. Now, they're looking to expand their Urban Market concept to the Capital Circle location. Of their 78 locations, Tallahassee will be the only city with 2 of these Urban Market prototype stores, of which there are currently only 4 locations. These SunStop Markets feature grocery items, a deli, and hot food selections for patrons.
Margo's on Gaines Street to Get a New Look
The owner of the old Margo's building located at 451 W Gaines has decided to give it a fresh look. Renderings show a rebuilt exterior facade with large open windows, rebuilt siding, and preservation of the existing street trees. The construction will be managed by local company OliverSperry.
Do you have a new development tip? Hit me up, I'm always on the lookout.