Developer takes new role, but not giving up

John Simon, lead developer behind a highly anticipated project in downtown Sarasota stalled by the recession, is about to add a new wrinkle to his pursuit: A lot more time on an airplane.

The CEO of Pineapple Square Properties, Simon recently accepted a new position to run strategic planning for the Howard Hughes Corp., a Dallas-based publicly traded real estate firm. The 850-employee company owns and manages 34 sites in 18 states, from New York to Hawaii.

Simon will initially focus his work on four projects spread nationwide for Howard Hughes, which had $133 million in 2010 revenues. Those projects are: Ward Centers in Honolulu; Summerlin Town Centre in Las Vegas; South Street Seaport in Manhattan; and Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans.

While that job promises to capture a lot of Simon's time, and frequent flier miles, he says he isn't going to give up on Pineapple Square. That project was originally planned as a $200 million mix of condos, retail and office space in the heart of downtown Sarasota.

“The rumors in town of me having left town are inaccurate,” Simon tells Coffee Talk. “I'm committed to Sarasota. I'm committed to making Pineapple Square work.”

To make the project work, the first step was to reshape what it will be. Simon accomplished that late last year, when he and Sarasota city officials agreed to a revised development plan. The new plan allows Simon to build something other than condos, possibly a hotel, on property the development firm owns at Lemon and Pineapple avenues.

Simon says other possibilities for the site include Class A office space and apartments. Of course, to make any of those options work, Simon, who says he has invested a substantial amount of his own money into the project, faces a hurdle common to many other developments: A lack of financing. “The fundamental issue,” says Simon, “is when lenders will begin to lend for new developments.”

Simon says he's hopeful that issue will improve by the end of 2012. In the meantime, he will maintain a home and an office in the Sarasota-Bradenton region and Dallas. On Pineapple Square, he says location isn't a high priority because the work involves meetings with nationally based lenders.

Simon plans to resign from two downtown Sarasota focused boards, but he will remain active on the Sarasota Ballet Board of Directors.