There are now three lawsuits plaguing development of an 18-story luxury condo overlooking Tampa Bay and Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete. The latest lawsuit filed by the developer alleges one of the other two suits is hindering his ability to secure funding for the project.
Brain Taub’s Taub Entities-St. Pete is suing Michael Levy for threatening his funding for the proposed Bliss Condominium project through First Florida Integrity Bank. According to the lawsuit, Taub’s funding is “contingent on the fact that the City’s approval of the site plan would not be appealed.”
Levy, the 61-year-old co-owner of a condo in the neighboring Parkshore Condos, sued the city arguing Taub’s development plans don’t comply with the city’s comprehensive plan.
Among the allegations are that the site plans exceed the city’s maxium floor area ratio. The lawsuit says Bliss is about 10,000 square-feet too big.
Despite complaints, the city approved the plan moving forward, arguing those details would be hammered out when Taub’s team enters the permitting phase.
Regardless, the lawsuit threatens a reversal on that decision and thus could affect Taub’s funding. In the lawsuit Taub alleges Levy’s intent was to “delay and frustrate Bliss.” He says Levy’s unspoken main concern is that Bliss would obstruct his view of Tampa Bay.
The lawsuit does not name Parkshore Condominiums who have filed a separate lawsuit against Bliss arguing over a proposed parking garage that would include car elevators rather than ramps to get vehicles to their parking spaces.
The Parkshore lawsuit was filed based on concerns that the two elevators would lead to a backup of cars in the alleyway between the two condos while vehicles waited for the elevator.
Following that complaint, the developer made a couple of offers – one would be to set aside a couple of parking spaces for cars to wait rather than waiting in the alley. They later offered to increase that to six spaces.
Once completed Bliss will boast 30 high-end condos. There will only be two-per unit with stairways and elevators separating them. Each unit would open into its own private foyers and no unit would share a single wall with another. Each unit would also capitalize on downtown views with floor-to-ceiling glass walls.
The outside of the condo is planned to leave a small footprint and also serve as an interesting eye piece for the city. A zig-zagged landscaping design is planned to run along the side of the building vertically.
According to Bliss’s website, even though there are still legal challenges and other issues pending, all but three units have been sold. The cheapest remaining unit is nearly $850,000 on the second floor on the North side of the tower. A 14th-floor unit on the South side is going for more than $1.3 million.
And for the truly lavish, a two-story penthouse is still available for just under $3 million. It’s a 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath unit spread over 3,700 square-feet with a private elevator, two balconies and direct access to amenities on the 19th floor.
