- March 6, 2025
The owner of the Palm Harbor Shopping Center is still silent, but the potential sale of one of the city’s oldest shopping centers has already begun to impact tenants.
The Palm Harbor Shopping Center is currently owned by the Inland Group, and, according to longtime tenants of the center, Inland is finalizing plans to sell it. Inland would not confirm that in a call made this week by The Observer.
Tenants say they have been left in the dark about their retail future. They have heard rumors of major changes, including possible demolition of the center and an entire new layout. Those rumors appear to have validity because multiple site plans have been submitted to the city, exploring the possibilities.
PC Bike has been a tenant at the Palm Harbor Shopping Center for 11 years. Co-owner Jake Scully said his complaint is that, despite repeated efforts to see whether the rumors are true, his representative at Inland told them “nothing dramatic” was planned.
In a Feb. 14 email to Scully, Melissa Rivera, a property manager with Inland, told Scully that the center was still under Inland’s ownership and that he would be notified immediately if or when the center was sold.
“I find this to be disingenuous at best,” Scully said. “Clearly, they wanted to keep us in the dark in the event the deal does not go through.”
Joanne Longhway, owner of NiKi’s Pizzeria, has operated her restaurant out of the plaza since August 2010. When she caught wind of changes, she did her own investigative work, creating an alias to inquire about leasing a unit for a flower shop. A representative from Inland told her that they weren’t offering any leases because the center was in the process of being sold.
Longhway had recently put NiKi’s up for sale. She said she had three interested buyers, but because her lease is up in January and Inland wouldn’t let her renew or extend, the potential buyers were no longer interested.
“It ruined my sale,” Longhway said, adding that she no longer plans to sell the restaurant and will instead just let her lease expire before getting out of the business.
“We were very lucky that we were successful,” Longhway said. “I made my money back, and then some. I was selling it because I wanted to move on and be with my family.”
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon said Thursday that he does expect something to happen at the center, whether that means total rehabilitation or just a new owner.
“We know the property is for sale, and we know that we have had numerous inquiries from potential buyers,” Landon said. “The city is very supportive of the redevelopment of the center. It’s critical that the Publix remains the anchor.”
According to documents supplied by City Clerk Virginia Smith, three preliminary conceptual plans for the center have been submitted.
Two of the plans eliminate the bank that is currently on the east side of Publix. One of those also shifts Publix closer to Palm Coast Parkway.
A third plan moves Publix to the middle of the shopping center, with additional shops on either side (similar to the Publix in Town Center). Parking takes up most of the remaining space.
City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo said that although he understands the tenants could be upset, the developer holds the private property rights to make changes.
Still, personally, he’s torn: His family eats at NiKi’s regularly. “If NiKi’s closes, it will have a big effect on my family, because NiKi’s is what we do,” he said. “That’s our Friday night family night. We’re going to miss that if we lose that. That part is disappointing, but the overall effect on the community is much more important.”
