FloridaHomesMag.com | 31
SUN COAST
TAMPA, DAVIS ISLANDS, ST. PETERSBURG, CLEARWATER, LARGO,
PALM HARBOR, TARPON SPRINGS, APOLLO BEACH
NEWS
Sun Coast
Photography:
Fotolio
T
Tampa is the next market likely to
attract foreign investment, drawn by
the influx of snowbirds and interna-
tional visitors. Tokyo-based Kajima
Corp is investing $15 million of the
$68 million needed to build SkyHouse
Channelside by developers. Skyhouse is Tampa's newest
skyscraper apartment dwelling, which just broke ground
at the end of February. Kajima built Japan's first skyscraper.
Their revenues totaled $19 billion last year. According to
the Florida Realtor's Association, foreign buyers, who in-
vested in Florida homes, townhomes or condos last year,
spent more than $6 billion. It is estimated that around $370
million of that amount was spent here in Tampa Bay, largely
from investors in Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
30 | FLORIDA HOMES MAGAZINE
The WestShore Plaza is courting
more than a few potential restau-
rants that are vying to take over the
location where The Palm closed its
doors on March 24. More than a
half-dozen restaurants, including a
couple of chains, have expressed in-
terest in the 7,500 square feet space.
Sam Ellison, who built: Airside C
at Tampa International Airport,
Rivergate Tower and Howard W.
Blake High School is leaving the firm
Beck International in Mexico City to
return to Tampa to participate in the
family business his son Casey Ellison
began – EWI Construction.
A luxury hotel will be built
in the chic Ybor City historic
neighborhood. The $11.3 million
hotel developed by Liberty Group
will be located on a city site they
purchased for $650,000 at the
corner of Nick Nuccio Parkway and
East 7th Avenue.
