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Last week, the Review profiled Hennessy Construction, a 90-year-old Tampa Bay construction company that is finding additional work in new markets.
One such market is senior living facilities. With so many failed condominium projects scattered across the Gulf Coast, opportunities for land for new retirement homes are numerous.
A project that fits that mold is Horizon Bay Hyde Park. The six-story assisted living facility will be built on slightly less than two acres of land at South Boulevard and Horatio Street, which was purchased for $3.4 million.
Is Horizon Bay the first of many similar projects that will lead the Gulf Coast's real estate and construction recovery?
Coffee Talk spoke with project leaders at the ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday about the subject. Their cumulative response: Not quite.
From the development side, Greg Iglehart of GWI Investments says the South Tampa market has a unique imbalance of supply and demand, largely caused by what he calls “high barriers to entry” for the location. To that end, the Horizon Bay project's unique location provided developers with an advantage that won't necessarily be characteristic of all senior living projects.
Ken Coppedge of BB&T, the project's bank, seconded Iglehart's comments. Coppedge also cited a lingering cloud of certainty that continues to bear down on potentially viable project ideas, suggesting fears related to pending changes in health care and taxation policies may prevent additional growth of any kind.
Leaders from Horizon Bay Senior Communities also mentioned continued difficulties in the construction market. Thilo Best, the company's chief executive officer, says borrowers need “a lot more equity” now than they did a few years ago to get projects moving.
Overall, the Horizon Bay project benefited from a unique combination of qualifications that make it a rare kind of project. But in spite of all that, many argue the senior living construction market may continue to play a key role in the recovery of the region's construction industry for one reason.
Their stance: anything's better than more condos.
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