TAMPA, Fla. — You can add another Tampa retail spot to the growing list of possible redevelopment projects — and this one is a real landmark.
There are reports that Britton Plaza in South Tampa, which has been a familiar retail presence for decades, could be on the market soon.
“My grandmother used to bring me out here,” Cheryl Klein said while shopping at the retail center.
Klein was born and raised in South Tampa. Now 73, she remembers shopping at Britton Plaza since she was a little girl.
“They had like a little Koi Pond,” she recalled. “And you sat on benches and watched the fish. And it was just really nice.”
There are reports that after decades of being owned by the same Ohio family, a Miami-based brokerage is about to put Britton Plaza on the market.
The property, around 30 acres, is considered prime South Tampa real estate.
“A property of this size and location would be transformative with the right plan,” Tampa real estate broker Cristan Fadal said.
Brokers are already speculating about what might happen if the plaza does sell.
Perhaps it would become a mixed-use development combining retail, commercial and residential space — similar to the Midtown development just north of Britton Plaza.
“With the size, with 30 acres, and where it sits,” Fadal said. “I think you could have something like that.”
There’s already evidence that something’s going on.
Stores like Big Lots, Stein Mart and Tuesday Morning have all closed. Beall’s is about to do the same.
“It gives more options to the next owner. Whoever is going to come in,” Brian Callahan, a commercial property sales associate, said. “Because if they don't have any lessees here, then they can kind of do what they want.”
That also leaves tenants that still have a lease, like Play it Again Sports, wondering what’s next.
“And to have to think about dislocating that and having to do something different when you've been in a place for 30 years is a little bit unsettling,” said owner Kevin Clarke.
Britton Plaza is also a major hub for people who ride the bus. So, the retail rumor mill has many of them concerned too.
“I think if they took away this bus station, it would hurt a lot of people,” passenger Mark Anderson said. “You know, especially middle-class people trying to get to work every day.”
“This needs to stay. This bus stop station needs to stay. It's imperative,” passenger Lynn Nathan added. “Because otherwise, we can't get downtown.”
For now, there's no deal.
But there are tell-tale signs that big changes may be on the way for another Tampa landmark.
“Hopefully they would not move that sign. They would keep that sign,” Klein said, referring to Britton Plaza’s familiar archway. “As a memorial to Britton Plaza.”