{"id":154393,"date":"2026-02-13T14:50:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/154393\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:50:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:50:07","slug":"developer-explains-why-tampas-downtown-police-hq-drew-zero-bids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/154393\/","title":{"rendered":"Developer explains why Tampa\u2019s downtown police HQ drew zero bids"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tampa\u2019s attempt to sell its downtown police headquarters ended without a single offer.<\/p>\n<p>The City of Tampa <a href=\"https:\/\/tbbwmag.com\/2025\/12\/09\/tampa-police-hq-sale\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">issued a request for proposals<\/a> in December seeking a minimum bid of $36 million for the property at 411 N. Franklin St.<\/p>\n<p>The site includes the 10-story headquarters and an adjacent garage, which together occupy an entire city block in the central business district.<\/p>\n<p>The RFP required the buyer to lease the building back to the city for $1 per year while the Police Department relocates. The bid window closed Feb. 6. No proposals were submitted.<\/p>\n<p>A developer\u2019s perspective<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tbbwmag.com\/2025\/12\/09\/tampa-police-hq-sale\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joshua Pardue<\/a>, managing partner of JPRE Development LLC, said the numbers likely drove the outcome.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout reading the RFP, it\u2019s probably a purchase price issue,\u201d Pardue said.<\/p>\n<p>He said redevelopment sites must clear strict return thresholds before investors and lenders commit capital.<\/p>\n<p>Developers calculate what a finished project could be worth, then subtract land cost, demolition, construction, parking, design fees, financing costs and required profit.<\/p>\n<p>Pardue said that is the core challenge with the city\u2019s ask: redevelopment sites trade on \u201cresidual land economics,\u201d meaning the land price must reflect what a finished project can realistically support after costs and required returns.<\/p>\n<p>READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/tbbwmag.com\/tampa-bay-real-estate-news\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TAMPA BAY REAL ESTATE NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you factor in demo, vertical construction, structured parking, soft costs and timing risk, margins compress quickly,\u201d Pardue said.<\/p>\n<p>He said developers must also price in risk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA developer should make 20% markup or profit,\u201d he said. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t left in the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hillsborough County property records show roughly 281,000 square feet between the building and garage. Pardue estimated that about 160,000 square feet could be rented out, depending on future use.<\/p>\n<p>That estimate reflects gross income assumptions and does not include redevelopment costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe future value based on income at a cap rate is less than the cost of it, plus the minimum bid the city would accept,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>What could work on the site<\/p>\n<p>Pardue described the block as one of the most visible and strategic sites in downtown Tampa. The property sits near City Hall, Lykes Gaslight Park and major office towers along Franklin Street.<\/p>\n<p>He said the block is still a tier below sites with direct park and waterfront views along North Ashley Drive, which can command a higher land premium.<\/p>\n<p>He said a residential or hotel-led mixed-use project with ground-floor retail could fit the corridor as private investment continues along Franklin Street.<\/p>\n<p>READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/tbbwmag.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TAMPA BAY BUSINESS NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pardue said that kind of project could be \u201ctransformative\u201d for downtown, but only if the deal structure clears today\u2019s financing environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe opportunity is significant,\u201d Pardue said. \u201cIt just needs to be structured in a way that clears today\u2019s development math.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also said the current building configuration could affect reuse options. Large floor plates can limit residential or hotel layouts because interior rooms may sit far from windows.<\/p>\n<p>Pardue pointed to the Aloft Hotel downtown as an example of a building with depth that supported a successful conversion.<\/p>\n<p>What we don\u2019t know<\/p>\n<p>The city has not announced whether it will reissue the RFP, adjust the minimum bid or pursue a different approach to relocating the Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>  Stay Informed<\/p>\n<p>\n    Stay up to date on Tampa Bay business news, executive profiles and the companies shaping the region.\n  <\/p>\n<p>\t\tPost navigation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa\u2019s attempt to sell its downtown police headquarters ended without a single offer. The City of Tampa issued&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[5752,1127,2152,6184,2161,39076,5756,20224,480,135,1703,5759,137,136,11863],"class_list":{"0":"post-154393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-commercial-real-estate","9":"tag-construction","10":"tag-development","11":"tag-downtown-tampa","12":"tag-government","13":"tag-infrastructure-development","14":"tag-jane-castor","15":"tag-office-space","16":"tag-real-estate","17":"tag-tampa","18":"tag-tampa-bay-business","19":"tag-tampa-development","20":"tag-tampa-headlines","21":"tag-tampa-news","22":"tag-tampa-real-estate"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}