Novare Group, Batson-Cook prepare to start SkyHouse Channelside Development

BUYER: Skyhouse Channelside LLC, Atlanta
SELLER: Novare Channelside LLC
PROPERTY: 104, 107 and 112 N. 12th St., Tampa
PRICE: $4.7 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.95 million, February 2008
LAW FIRM ON DEED: King & Spalding LLP, Atlanta

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A joint-venture partnership of Novare Group and Batson-Cook Development Co. purchased 1.54 acres north of East Whiting Street from an affiliated entity, Novare Channelside LLC, for $4.7 million.

The price equated to $3.05 million per acre.

The partners plan to develop a 23-story, 320-unit luxury apartment project on the site called SkyHouse Channelside. Units will range from one to three bedrooms. The project also features community amenities on the 23rd floor with a clubroom, fitness area and outdoor plazas that include a swimming pool, fireplaces and covered outdoor lounges.

Construction is set to start next month for completion in 2015.

Batson-Cook Construction is the general contractor for the project, and Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart designed it.
The high rise is the partners' ninth residential project overall and second in Florida, following the SkyHouse Orlando, which opened in November. The joint venture targets the SkyHouse brand to young professionals. Novare and Batson-Cook already have SkyHouse projects in several cities including Austin, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Raleigh, N.C.

Both of the partners also have a connection to Tampa. Novare Group co-developed both Element, a condominium tower on Franklin Street, and SkyPoint, a condominium tower on Ashley Drive. Batson-Cook Development Co.'s sister company, Batson-Cook Construction, has an office in Tampa.

“Our experience is that it pays to be early in Tampa, since heavy frame construction costs tend to rise very quickly across the entire state as activity picks up in South Florida,” Jim Borders, president of Novare Group wrote in an email to the Business Observer.

Wells Fargo Bank NA is providing construction financing for the project through a $52.88 million mortgage.