Mr. Channelside

Mr. Channelside

By Janet Leiser

Senior Editor

Real estate broker Randy Zalis moved to Tampa from Los Angeles in the beginning of 2005 in search of a new niche.

It took only a few months to find it: the Channel District.

The Miami native, who was looking for investment opportunities, says it was difficult to find information on the area, which is just east of downtown Tampa and includes the port and the Florida Aquarium. Answers were elusive. He wanted to know, for instance, how many people called the area home. The answer, it turned out, was a measly 100, he says.

But Zalis realized the area that has been primarily industrial for decades is changing fast. Urban living is coming to the area that is only a few blocks from downtown.

Zalis identified a void: There was no central location to learn about the area. So the 46-year-old broker and his twin brother, Ronald, developed a Web site, Channelside.us, to offer news of the district and more.

And Randy Zalis, who touts three master's degrees, including a master's of science in real estate from Georgia State University, dubbed himself Mr. Channelside.

What better way to attract customers to Mr. Channelside Real Estate Services? The brothers also bought one of the new condominiums that are not yet built as an investment; Zalis plans to live in one of them.

Zalis also joined the Channel District Association, which he hopes to rename the Channelside District, and he began organizing monthly happy-hour socials for those interested in the area. Plus, he began attending Tampa government meetings where the district is discussed.

"We're creating a buzz," Zalis says. The brothers declined to say how many Internet users hit on their $10,000 Web site daily or weekly other than "it's not in the millions."

Still, Zalis isn't shy about saying: "I'm getting a reputation as Mr. Channelside. I get calls from developers asking, 'What do you know about this or that?' Actually I get calls from all over the country."

There are photographs of pending projects on the Web site, as well as an aerial of the area, which is updated regularly. Zalis writes about the Tampa City Council meetings he attends. And there's a listing of the area businesses with links to their Web sites, including Carnival Cruise Lines.

"We want to be the site for Channelside, whether you want information about real estate, economic information, shopping or dining," he says. Eventually he expects the site to pay for itself through advertising revenue.

And in three years, there should be as many as 20,000 people living in the area as the residential projects are completed, he says.

"This is going to be their neighborhood," Zalis says. "There's going to be more retail, office. This is going to be Tampa's 24/7 live-work place. In my opinion, this is what's going to make Tampa a world-class city."

Zalis, who worked for years in institutional real estate investment, proudly says he doesn't have a formal business plan for his company.

"I've been through the whole corporate environment, the downsizing, the relocations - I've done all that," he says.

"To me, this is cutting-edge 21st century, totally out of the box. It's a tremendous opportunity. It's innovative, creative and opportunistic. The key is to have fun and make money."