Bay Plaza Corporate Profile by Bob Andelman

In 1986, the city fathers decided downtown needed a make-over to rejuvenate it and to help it begin generating its share of tax revenue. After a period of courtship and proposal, the J.C. Nichols Co. of Kansas City developer of Country Club Plaza and the Elcor Cos. of Phoenix were selected as the city's master planners. They, in turn, created the Bay Plaza Cos. as a joint venture.

The first question the partnership considered was whether Tampa Bay had a need for or an ability to support high-end specialty retail shops and department stores.

"As to St. Petersburg itself and the regional questions," says Neil Elsey, president of the Bay Plaza Companies, "we looked at Tampa Bay and felt there wasn't one true focal point. Where was it in Tampa Bay there could be a true recreational, retail and entertainment focal point and how accessible would that be to the most people? St. Petersburg is on the waterfront and we think that's a huge amenity. The interstate access is tremendous. It has an uncommon amount of feeders that serve the area. And St. Petersburg's downtown isn't a downtown the way most people think of downtowns. It's a waterfront community, a wonderful setting, centrally located.

"Pinellas County is totally in-filled. It has one of the highest per capita retail sales rates in the state. High-end specialty retail just didn't exist we saw that void. Our conclusion was that between now and 2000, this market deserves high-end, specialty retail," says Elsey.

In taking responsibility for refueling the city's downtown district, Bay Plaza asked for the marketing and management reigns of St. Petersburg's triple crown jewels as part of the deal. It recognized potential few others did in linking the Florida Suncoast Dome, Bayfront Center and The Pier.
The city independently made the decision to build the stadium and rebuild the Pier and Bayfront Center before Bay Plaza, notes Martin Normile of St. Petersburg Progress. "The city expected to run those facilities as independent enterprises," he says. "It wasn't until Bay Plaza that there was seen some inter-relationships and cross-marketing potential.

"I think that's the genius of Bay Plaza," says Normile. "We look at the plan to develop 1.2 million square feet of retail and say, 'That's ambitious.' But they say those facilities (Florida Suncoast Dome, The Pier and Bayfront Center) will generate 6 million people downtown."

Elsey simply calls the three facilities "engines." To get to them in the near future, people will have to drive through a waterfront retail district, says the master planner. "These engines are going to attract people and will continuously introduce new people to the waterfront in St. Petersburg," says Elsey. "With that kind of activity, it's a marvelous location for retail and fine restaurants."

What's most important, he adds, is that The Pier has demonstrated that a downtown location can draw a crowd.

"It is easy to get here," he says. "That's good news for The Pier but it's also a good indication of the location and the reorientation of people to the waterfront. It's also a positive sign because The Pier doesn't have near the drawing power of a high-end retail center."

Following the opening of the Florida Suncoast Dome, the next visible signs of downtown improvement provided by Bay Plaza was construction of the South Core retail center/parking garage and the Mid-Core Garage. Then came Plaza Parkway, a $4 million streetscape enhancement that brightened the look of the district from Interstate 275 east to the waterfront. Changes include new sidewalks, street lights, traffic signals, signage, benches, drinking fountains, bike racks, trees, planters and banners.

"You're going to know, the minute you get off the freeway, that you're someplace special," says Elsey. "What we thought could be true of St. Petersburg is happening."

Will St. Petersburg's Central Business District, or CBD as Elsey refers to it, one day be rechristened as "Bay Plaza"?

"I don't know how it will end up being referred to," says Neil Elsey. "It just happens the name of the retail district is Bay Plaza, the name of the company is Bay Plaza. How that historically will sit, I can't project. But when you land in Kansas City and you get off the plane, you tell the taxi driver you want to go to the Plaza. You don't say 'mid-downtown Kansas City.'"

The agreement between St. Petersburg and its downtown developer calls for St. Petersburg to invest $40-million in the central business district; Bay Plaza will spend $100-million. Thomas McKinnon Securities is a backer for the project.

J.C. Nichols provides the cash and assets that make the big projects associated with Bay Plaza possible. Bay Plaza is being modeled after the retail district of Nichols's 8,000-acre Country Club Plaza development in southern Kansas City. The company also has shopping centers in Kansas City, hotels in St. Louis, Chicago and San Francisco and apartment complexes and office parks in Des Moines, IA.

In almost every case, Nichols maintains perpetual ownership of its properties; it doesn't get into a build-and-sell cycle like some developers do.

"We've disposed of a few things over the years," says Lee Fowler, vice president of J.C. Nichols and a company employee for 30 years. "But you can count them on one hand. We develop them, manage them and continue ownership. We maintain a very high level of maintenance on all the properties we own in a manner that would make them more valuable tomorrow than they are today."

Neil Elsey, the president of Elcor and the Bay Plaza Cos., learned property management and acquisition with J.C. Nichols before going off on his own. He bought, sold and built apartment and office complexes in Phoenix, New Mexico, Texas and Kansas City before turning his sights on St. Petersburg.

Elsey has become "Mr. Bay Plaza" to the Tampa Bay business community. He oversees a company with more than 100 employees on its payroll and an ever-burgeoning civic role that includes contributions to St. Petersburg schools, churches, museums and minority groups and scholarships at the University of South Florida and Eckerd College.

Remaking downtown St. Petersburg into Bay Plaza is far and away the most intricate project Neil Elsey has ever undertaken. "The key," he says, "is to figure out where St. Petersburg is going, not where it's been. We see opportunity. It's not just a 'downtown' project. St. Petersburg is preparing for the 21st Century and we just happen to be involved."

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