This old advertising mural on the south wall of the Maas Bros. department store building downtown bid us adieu today, as demolition of the 89-year-old building continued. The site is slated to host a 33-story condo tower with 12-14,000 sf of retail and 450-500 condominium units (accounts vary). Groundbreaking is slated for later this year, but as yet no definite dates have been announced. Banners at the demolition site prominently advertise the Wood Partners’ website for the project, but the site itself offers little more than an opportunity to sign up for more information.
Still, among the two dozen+ projects slated for downtown, the new–and still unnamed–Wood Partners project is one of just a few where work is actually going on. Over the next week or so I’ll update the other ongoing projects, from the new Meridian Ave. in Channelside to the Residences at Franklin Street.
I’m Smitty, and this is my neighborhood: I live here in the oldest downtown condominium, One Laurel Place, and I’ve been invited to join the Sticks community to keep you all up to date on all my new neighbors and everything else going on in your downtown.
Meredith
3 years ago
Glad I’m not there to see it.
Cara
3 years ago
I hope they don’t tear down the Kress building…I really like that one for some reason.
Side Salad - Food For Lack Of Thought
3 years ago
MEMORIES OF MAAS BROTHERS…
So, I was walking back to my car from the Best of Tampa Bay food orgy at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on Saturday night when I noticed what sounded like a huge, thundering explosion and a cloud of illuminated dust coming from downtown. Great, I…
Vince
3 years ago
Sorry to pass this along, Cara, but the Kress block is slated to be razed as well.
Carl Cronan
3 years ago
Quite a few retired Maas Bros. employees have called TBBJ wanting to know how they can get a brick from the demolished buildings. Neither the developers nor the contractors are returning my calls (imagine, people not wanting to talk to the press!), but I’m sure they’d be willing to talk to regular citizens about that. Might make a great fund-raiser for the right charity. I’d buy one.
Vince
3 years ago
Here, here! I’d love to have a piece of history.
Good luck to you, Smitty. I hope you’re successful in capturing much before it is all gone. If you have anything to share, please keep us posted!
Robert
3 years ago
Having been downtown just yesterday to see the Maas Brothers building come down, I am saddended to see more of our history lost in this condo maddness. Having had 4 generations of my family shop there, its hard to beleive its going to be yet another condo development which I suspect will sit less than ideally occupied. Oh, well at least I managed to snag some of the bricks at least. Standing there watching the demolition I couldnt help but turn to the south and examine the Verizon building or 100 North Tampa and wonder if in my lifetime these two would come down in the name of progress.
Smitty
3 years ago
Actually, Kress is not slated to be razed at all. Though Doran Jason now says they’re plan to redevelop the block is “dead,” that’s probably hyperbole. If DJ is permitted to proceed, the intent is to save the facade and structure of Kress and use it to join two taller towers on either side.
Kress is also on the National Register, which makes it harder to tear down. It remains to be seen what will become of the dimestores on either side of it (though it looks like the building immediately north of Kress on the block is also on the National Register–which may make it harder for DJ to tear it down as intended, city council designations aside).
David Dowling
3 years ago
What ever happened to the old J.J.Newberry five & dime store.. Just inside between the two front doors there was a great little hot dog stand and the cole slaw they put on them was something else.. Only a dime – remember the old donut machine that was there also..
Christopher G.
2 years ago
I remember Maas from before I lived here. I moved here in ‘73 and Christmas shopped, got back to school clothes there And my big sis got her wedding gown there. I loved the fact that it was right across from Williams park, even back then it seemed so old fashioned. My Mom who recently passed away used to take me to the restauraunt and that was where I learned proper manners for as she put it it, When I started dating girls.