New Port Richey's Community Redevelopment Agency has picked its favorite to remake the long-vacant Main and Bank Building downtown: a $22.4 million proposal called Main Street Reserve that promises a parking garage, retail space and a 160-seat restaurant on the site. City staff can now begin negotiating the terms of a deal with the development team behind it.
CRA Ranks Main Street Reserve First
The CRA voted on Oct. 26 to rank Main Street Reserve as its top choice for the city-owned property at 5640 Main St., according to Tampa Bay Beacons. The board directed staff to enter discussions with the Main Street Reserve developer to hammer out terms, a process City Manager Debbie Manns said could take up to 120 days. The vote caps weeks of deliberation over what should replace the vacant building at the center of the city's downtown core, with the Tampa Bay Times also Tampa Bay Times reporting on the selection.
Total project costs for Main Street Reserve are estimated at $22.4 million, with a proposed CRA contribution of just over $3.9 million, per the same outlet's report. The plan calls for a 285-stall smart parking garage paired with 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, plus a 160-seat restaurant named Hearth & Cellar. Main Street Reserve LLC founder and CEO Corey Penza has described the project as a multistory hospitality, culinary and events destination.
How the City Narrowed the Field
Five applicants pitched their ideas for the Main and Bank Building site at an Oct. 5 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting, the Beacons reported in an earlier article. Rather than ranking a winner that night, the board opted to postpone further discussion to another work session, setting up the later vote that elevated Main Street Reserve above the competition.
The field included a mix of renovation-focused concepts and full teardown proposals. A Citizen Portal account of the Oct. 5 session noted that one presenter urged full demolition of the old bank and a new mixed-use project tied to a privately financed parking deck, as described by Citizen Portal. That same account put the capital stack for the winning concept at an estimated $22.5 million, a figure that differs slightly from the Beacons' $22.4 million total project cost; the available reporting does not explain the gap between the two numbers.
What the Other Bidders Offered
The runners-up ranged widely in scale and ambition. Brainstorms Science Discovery Center proposed a rehabilitation project with a $9,825,000 capital need and a $7.2 million CRA contribution, while the Museum of Archaeology, Paleontology & Science pitched a far smaller $1.15 million project seeking $750,000 from the CRA, according to the Beacons' coverage of the five proposals.
Quamitry Labs Inc. offered Signal House, billed as an all-day hospitality and events destination, with estimated project costs of $9.26 million and a proposed $1.45 million CRA contribution. Sterett Holdings LLC proposed The Cotee, envisioned as a multilevel venue for weddings, events, coworking, offices, hospitality suites and meetings, carrying estimated costs of $7.65 million and a requested $4.55 million CRA contribution that would include the value of the building itself.
Main Street Reserve's own original pitch described a hospitality and events destination featuring a conference center, full-service restaurant, rooftop lounge, and potential retail, office and residential space alongside a city-owned parking garage, the Beacons reported from the Oct. 5 session. That early framing lines up closely with the scaled-up version the CRA ultimately ranked first 21 days later.
What Comes Next
With the ranking vote behind them, city staff and the Main Street Reserve team now move into the negotiation and due diligence phase that Manns said could stretch up to 120 days.
