Owner of St. Pete Landmark Appears to Have Been Given a Free Pass

Historic St. Petersburg YMCA Landmark

St. Petersburg, Florida – Music promoter Thomas J. Nestor has appealed the July 10 vote of a City of St. Petersburg Commission to approve a “Conceptual Design Plan” for the city’s historic landmark 1926 YMCA building, including, adding an incompatible eight-story tower to the structure. “The commission is allowing the current owner of the landmark building, Nicholas Ekonomou, owner of the building for 4 years, to take short cuts to circumvent the process for preserving and rehabbing the 1926 structure,” said Nestor.

The process requires the owner to submit a completed Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) and a Rehabilitation Plan to the city detailing how he intends to restore the building. “With their approval, the city commission appears to have given the owner permission to proceed with his plans, ignoring what’s fully required until October 9, when he is expected back for approval of what he should have presented at the July 10 meeting,” Nestor said. A commission member, Sharon Winters, of the Community Planning and Preservation Commission (CPPC) put it this way, “...I’m not sure I’ve seen a conceptual plan come to us with so many buts...I was actually kind of surprised it came to the commission...”. Another member, Jeff Rogo said, “I share Commissioner Winter’s surprise. This is something new for us to be dealing with a conceptual design, and approval of a conceptual design, in advance of a COA...”. The city staff report, in addition, identifies nine, detailed, points of outstanding issues and deficiencies associated with Mr. Ekonomou’s efforts to preserve and restore the landmark building.

“Whatever my ongoing legal battles might be as it relates to the historic YMCA building, I am very interested in one of the last historic landmarks in town being done right,” Nestor said.

According to Nestor, since the scheduled closing on July 15, 2014, and the seller’s failure to provide the deed for his purchase of the historic St. Petersburg YMCA building, he has been pursuing legal action to correct the wrong of the seller’s refusal to give him the deed. Nestor’s lawsuit, filed July 16 against Nicholas Ekonomou, N.E. Apartments Associates Inc. and Florida Fair Housing, Corp., is for Mr. Ekonomou’s interference with Nestor’s closing on the landmark YMCA building. Nicholas Ekonomou, then acting on behalf of N.E. Apartments Associates, Inc., directed the seller, Philip J. Powell, to reject the amount tendered and to terminate the real estate contract to purchase the building with Nestor. “As with any legal action,” Nestor said, “it simply takes more time than you anticipate.”

It is expected that the St. Petersburg City Council, who will hear the appeal of the July 10 city commission vote, will be fair and objective in their review of the facts. “It is my hope,” Nestor said, “that they will conclude as I recommended-- that the conceptual plan not be approved, and that special treatment should not prevail over what is normal and customary for the city commission as it seeks to preserve many of our historic structures.”

Nestor is inviting all citizens that are concerned about the character of St. Petersburg, and those that live in the city, to join him when the City Council hears his appeal.

###

July 31, 2018.

For more Info contact: Thomas Nestor

Email: ThomasJN1908@Gmail.com

#YMCA #Historic #Landmark #July2018 #ThomasNestor #SaintPetersburg #StPete #City #Council #Lawsuit #Florida #Building