Fight over Related building persists even as it rises

Rendering of the Manor in Tampa's Harbour Island area
Rendering of the Manor in Tampa's Harbour Island area

The Miami-based Related Group has started construction of a 21-story apartment building in Tampa’s Harbour Island area. But some residents persist in opposing it.

Related so far has built three stories of the 21-story rental property, called the Manor, a 340-unit apartment building that will have 35 on-site parking spaces.

The other 560 required parking spaces for the Manor will be shared nearby at a garage for an office building. A pedestrian walkway on the third level of the garage will connect to the apartment building.

Brent Divers, a Tampa attorney for opponents of the Manor, has asked city officials to suspend or revoke Related’s building permit, claiming that the city miscalculated the project’s required parking.

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Divers said in a recent letter to the city that the parking garage at the Two Harbour Place office building has 1,185 spaces but should have 1,425 based on the number of spaces necessary to support the office building, the Manor and nearby businesses.

But Tampa city attorney Julia Mandell contends the city has no authority to stop construction of the Manor.

Opponents of the Manor development tried to block it by filing suit, but Related broke ground soon after Florida Second District Court of Appeal rejected the challenge.

Opponents have filed a second suit based on similar claims, including the city’s alleged parking miscalculation and its failure to reject the Manor based on its size. A court hearing on the City of Tampa’s motion dismiss is scheduled for July 25. [Tampa Bay Times] — Mike Seemuth