The Vast Effect of Oceanwide
Without a doubt, the Oceanwide Towers loom over South Park today and well into the future of our neighborhood. The failed project is a daily reminder of stalled development figuratively and literally. As a long-time local I am reminded all too frequently of how Downtown lost all momentum during the pandemic and even now after most of the nation has bounced back.
However, there is a massive glimmer of hope in the recent announcement that Oceanwide will be auctioned off to a new owner in just a few months – hopefully September. Colliers, the commercial real estate brokerage that has long been a powerhouse in downtown building sales is at the helm and the rumblings are that several letters of interest have been submitted.
With a suggested purchase price over $400 million, we don’t know where the final sale price will land, and we don’t know how soon after the auction the new owner will be announced. What we do know is that it will have a major effect on South Park and Downtown as a whole.
South Park is riddled with empty commercial space on the ground floor of buildings that make up the neighborhood. The corner of Hope and 11th has two empty restaurant locations, the former Barcito space at Grand and 12th had been shuttered since mid-pandemic, and space on the south side of the Ten50 building and the east side of EVO have never been leased in the seven to seventeen years these buildings were completed.
Business owners, whether seasoned or not know the risk and massive investment involved in opening a business storefront. All of them mitigate these risks to ensure their dream or expansion has its best chance. Having a massive eyesore like Oceanwide sends one message, business in downtown is risky. However, I predict a massive reversal of this mindset with the announcement of a new owner for the disaster that has been nicknamed Graffiti Towers.
The towers won’t be torn down, would cost too much and the multiple bidders proves the potential. It won’t become housing for the unhoused, the money is too great, and the billions spent on that issue has done little to solve it.
What will happen is a mix of residential, hotel, retail, and possibly even convention space. It will be modern, and it will be a beautiful beacon of how the Downtown Renaissance can take a hit but will also continue forward.
My prediction is that the smart business owners will see the surrounding empty commercial space with new optimism and that South Park will see a surge in new businesses over the next 24 months. New restaurants, new services that residents go outside of the area for, and more business for those that have stuck it out.
The future is bright for South Park, and September can’t come soon enough.
By Michael Robleto South Park Resident and Realtor with Compass