Port agrees to buy Channelside plaza for $5.75 million

TAMPA -- The Tampa Port Authority has reached an agreement to buy Channelside Bay Plaza from the Irish Bank Resolution Corp. The deal calls for both groups to settle their lawsuits and for the port to pay $5.75 million to the Irish Bank Resolution Corp. for the center.

The port owns the 4.5 acres of land under the 234,520-square-foot Channelside Bay Plaza that it leases to the center's owner. If the settlement is approved and closes, the port will become the new landlord for tenants of the plaza. The plaza is 77.6% occupied, according to the CoStar Group.

The center, which is in a particularly desirable area, has been in limbo since the recession. The site has been tied up as the Irish government attempted to liquidate all the U.S. assets of Irish Bank Resolution Corp., an entity created during Ireland's banking crisis.

Over the years, several groups have tried to buy the center, including most recently Santosh Govindaraju and Punit Shah's Liberty Channelside LLC, but the sales were never finalized or the Tampa Port Authority opposed the sale.

“The Port and IBRC worked hard to find the best solution for the best interest for the tenants and the entire community,” Paul Anderson, Port president and CEO, says in a news release. “We appreciate that IBRC worked quickly and diligently with us to reach a solution to a very complex problem. This is the first step in a process but we look forward to a new beginning at Channelside Bay Plaza.”