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A former CEO of the Shula Restaurant Group plans to convert the historic Florida National Bank building in downtown Lakeland into Prima 135, an upscale steakhouse. To help make the plan a reality, the building’s owner is seeking $195,000 in incentives from the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency.
The restaurant: Prima 135 is envisioned as an elegant establishment that “will fill a niche in the market for a higher-end steakhouse with an Italian flair,” according to Bill Freeman, the entrepreneur behind the project. He says he hopes Prima 135 can open by the end of next year.
The restaurateur: Freeman, a South Carolina resident, has been in the restaurant business for 45 years. In the last 15 years, he has been CEO of three restaurant organizations specializing in top-end eateries: Shula’s Restaurant Group in South Florida, Mina Group in San Franciso, and McCormick & Schmicks in Portland, Oregon. His current project is the not-yet-open Il Mercato & Crave Kitchen in Salem, S.C.
The building: The Florida National Bank Building was built in 1946 in an Art Deco style at 113 S. Tennessee Ave. Its massive lobby features extensive marble flooring and walls and a high wood coffered ceiling, all of which Freeman plans to preserve. The 15,860-square-foot, two-story building housed banks continuously until last February, when Wells Fargo ended its lease. The building has been owned by Baron Management LLC since 2014.
Grant application
Cory Petcoff, president of Baron Management, applied for two incentive grants from the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency, which was set up to revitalize downtown, Midtown and Dixieland. The grants, if approved, would partially reimburse the developers after construction is complete. The two grants are:
- Infill Adaptive Reuse, which covers physical improvements to the interior of the building that would allow the developers to transform the first floor from a bank to a restaurant and the second floor to office space.
- Encouraging Development Growth & Expansion grant that supports development of new and expanding businesses in food service, science or manufacturing.
The project addresses the CRA’s two main goals for downtown, CRA Director Valerie Vaught said: Activate unused second floors and convert unused first floors to retail and restaurant uses.
The CRA staff would have the authority to grant up to $50,000 combined for the project, Vaught said. But because of “the extensive renovation and change of use of this strategic location,” Vaught and her staff instead are asking the CRA Advisory Board to approve incentives totaling $195,000.
The board will consider the request when it meets Thursday at 3 p.m. at City Hall. (View the grant request here or at the end of this article.)
The incentive amount not to exceed $195,000 is based on 10% of estimated costs, which are $1,275,000 for interior improvements and $675,000 for utility improvements.
Petcoff, a former chair of the CRA Advisory Board, estimated total construction costs — not including equipping the restaurant — at $3 million. Around $800,000 of that would come from expected grants and the restaurant developers, he said, and the rest would be funded by Baron Management, Petcoff said.
Restaurateur Freeman said he has secured commitments for private funding, but declined to name the investors.
Freeman approached Petcoff
Freeman says this is the second time he has been involved in converting an older bank building into a steakhouse. The first one was in San Francisco when he headed the Mina Group. “It’s a big challenge to convert a bank, but the classic ones have a lot of charm and history,” he said.
He said he approached Petcoff after hearing about the vacant bank in downtown Lakeland from a friend and he subsequently visited several times: “Lakeland is a beautiful city with a great sense of history. There are some great restaurants already there. We can fill a niche in the market.”
That niche is a high-end steakhouse, the kind that some Polk County diners seek out in Tampa or Orlando, he said, and he hopes to keep them from having to drive that far.
A “concept overview” attached to the grant application describes some of the dishes that are anticipated: “a combination of authentic Italian dishes with a variety of homemade pasta made daily, Charcuterie selections, Lobster Scampi Toast, Black Truffle Cacio E Pepe, Chicken Parm, Veal Milanese, Potato & Robiola Gnocchi and a variety of Bone-In and Aged Prime Steak cuts.”
Chef Marcos Fernandez, who owns Nineteen61, located a block away on Main Street, said he always likes seeing new restaurants open in the downtown area: “A rising tide lifts all ships.”
Fernandez noted that he did not benefit from CRA funding. However, the owner of the previous restaurant in the building at 215 E. Main Street, Posto 9, received CRA approval for tax increment financing when he was about to spend several million dollars to purchase the building and convert it to a Brazilian restaurant. But Posto 9 failed before its owner was able to take advantage of the CRA assistance, Vaught said.
Inside Prima 135
The restaurant will take up the entire first floor of the Tennessee Avenue building, with the kitchen located at the rear, visible through large glass windows. It will seat 131, including two 12-seat private rooms and U-shaped bar in the center with 24 chairs, according to a floor plan prepared by Straughn Trout Architects of Lakeland.
A bank vault in the northwest corner will be preserved and used as a wine cellar with three wine-tasting tables nearby. New lighting will soften the ambience, Petcoff said.
In order to avoid marring the look of the classic wooden-paneled ceiling with a sprinkler system, the developers were able to get approval for a system that recesses the metal pipe into the woodwork with heads that will spray water sideways and down, Petcoff said.
Planned changes to the exterior of the building are minimal. They include new fire escapes on the south side and rear of the building, a canopy over the front entrance, an awning over a side entrance and signage on the northeast corner.
Those changes have been conditionally approved by the Lakeland Historic Preservation Board with the architects requested to provide updated information on canopies and awnings.
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