Freedman Development, a family-owned company focused on real estate development and property management, is seeking approval to construct a “museum-quality” self-storage facility in Tampa, Florida, that’ll celebrate the city’s cultural institutions. The mixed-use project will also contain street-level retail space and a rooftop garden, according to the source.

Company owner Steve Freedman is under contract to purchase surface parking area that extends a half city block at 1221 N. Florida Ave. Plans include a 10-story structure offering 1,200 self-storage units. Exterior banners will promote Glazer Children’s Museum, Tampa Bay History Center and Tampa Museum of Art.

Freedman has been informed by city staff that storage buildings in the urban core must be contained within a residential building, with storage accounting for no more than 40% of the structure. Freedman has hired Elise Batsel, a partner with law firm Stearns Weaver Miller to lobby the city for an exception, the source reported

The $24 million project will be self-funded by Freedman, who recently sold his Midtown Tampa self-storage facility for $18.5 million. Designed by San Clemente, California-based Jordan Architects Inc. and RGA Design of Tampa, the new project is expected to break round in mid-2023.

Tampa’s art scene is personal for Freedman, having three children who work in the arts industry. “I wanted to have a trophy property that, as people drove past downtown, they’d see a building that looks like none other in downtown Tampa,” said Freedman, who also owns Freedman Office Furniture. “It would represent the arts.”

Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal, Self-Storage Developer Has Artsy Vision for Downtown Tampa