$100 million Motor Enclave, with garage condos and a performance track, gets green light from Hillsborough County

Commercial Real Estate
Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Jan 28, 2021

The Motor Enclave, a $100 million development that includes garage condominiums and a performance track, is set to begin construction on farmland near Tampa Executive Airport after receiving its final approval from Hillsborough County.

Commissioners on Thursday evening unanimously approved the Motor Enclave, a phased development to be built over five years that includes the condos, performance track, an off-road track and 35,000-square-foot corporate events center. With the approval in place, Michigan developer Brad Oleshansky will now close on 200 acres that was previously the East Side Dairy, owned by the Bartolotti family.

Construction should begin in April; it’s set to open in June 2022. Construction Services Inc., helmed by Tampa performance car enthusiast Fred Lay, has been chosen as the general contractor. Dave Kemper is leading civil engineering for Stantec on the project, with Adam Carnegie and Alexia Rotberg serving as the land use planners. Philip Erbland of S&ME is the geotechnical and environmental engineer. Architect Ken VanTine of Inform Studio designed the project. Frank Hearn of Mechanik Nuccio Hearn & Wester is the environmental attorney, and former Hillsborough County commissioner Mark Sharpe is handling community relations.

Scott Sutek of Davis Tucker Group has been hired as construction supervisor and owner’s representative.

“This is going to be an incredible project here in Hillsborough County,” said David Singer, a partner with Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLC who represents Oleshansky. “It is well-planned, impeccably designed and its proximity to the Tampa Executive Airport will make our community a destination for auto enthusiasts from around the country. The wow factor of the Tampa Motor Enclave is going to be very impressive.”

Beyond the development itself, Oleshansky told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that he is planning to move his headquarters to Tampa and personally relocate to the city as well. He is also pursuing Motor Enclave developments in Nashville, Tennessee and Columbus, Ohio. The first location in Michigan opened in 2016.

Oleshansky told the Business Journal in an exclusive interview that interest in the project — which first went public in May 2020 — has outpaced even his most ambitious projections. His initial goal was to sell 50 garage condos in six months; a quiet marketing campaign began Jan. 2 and 104 units are presold, representing $30 million in sales volume. The signed purchase agreements require a deposit of one-third of the purchase price.

He expects to sell more than 150 before breaking ground.

The entire project includes 300 units; they range in size from 600 square feet ($183,354 and holds two to three vehicles) to 1,400 square feet, which is priced from $450,000 and holds four to seven vehicles. The most expensive unit sold is 14,000 square feet and $3.6 million.

The project is entirely equity based and doesn’t require any lender approvals.

“We’re fully funded even without the presales,” Oleshansky said. “The goal is to be out of the ground as soon as possible.”

Among the investors is Andrew Livingstone, Tampa-based executive managing director with real estate giant Greystar Property Management.

Livingstone, who owns a dozen cars, first approached Oleshansky as a garage buyer. Livingstone had been buying single family homes purely for their garage space, renting them out to family and friends, and thought the Motor Enclave sounded like the perfect storage solution for his fleet.

With Livingstone’s background in real estate, he said it didn’t take long before he wanted in on the deal. He declined to disclose his equity stake in the project but is excited for the expansion potential of the Motor Enclave.

“I really think this is just the beginning of a brand that can be highly sought after,” he said. “There’s data to support it — [registration] data that shows you the concentration of where these cars really are. I think there’s a huge opportunity for this to go national.”