Retail, real estate experts mixed on whether proposed Rays complex in Carillon is viable

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer Drew HarwellTampa Bay Times In Print: Wednesday, October 17, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG The Tampa Bay Rays are seeking permission to bat around ideas for a new ballpark, a hopeful sign for developers of a potential stadium in the Carillon Business Park.

But to really take off, the Rays Park at Carillon project will need support from an even bigger team: the office, retail and apartment leaders who would run the businesses beyond the field.

Commercial real estate brokers and lenders said the proposal pitched by developer Darryl LeClair has legs: centered among Tampa Bay's biggest cities, Carillon has a booming office sector and plenty of room to grow.

But some doubt that the striking project, which LeClair's firm CityScape estimated could cost up to $570million, could attract enough business muscle to keep it from falling apart.

"There's a lot of skepticism that people would go there, a lot of skepticism that it would get funded, and a lot of skepticism that it would be successful," said Darron Kattan, a managing director at Tampa commercial real estate firm Franklin Street.

"The Rays do not have a track record of drawing in a big audience, and that's something lenders and developers will look for," Kattan added. "Real estate investors would be very cautious about putting their money out there, simply because it's unproven."

No major league stadium blends nonbaseball construction and the playing field to the same extent as this proposal, where 1.6million square feet of attached buildings and retail space form a large part of the outer walls.

Site plans call for a halo of Mediterranean Revival-style offices, retail space and apartments surrounding the ballpark's outer plaza, with a "premier hotel" on the first-base line and a concert venue beyond center field.

CityScape has promoted Carillon's mid Pinellas location as key to its success, better able to entice Tampa fans than the Rays' downtown St. Petersburg home at Tropicana Field.

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Retail, real estate experts mixed on whether proposed Rays complex in Carillon is viable