Ted Wittner

ST. PETERSBURG - Theodore "Ted" P. Wittner was one of Pinellas County's biggest office space developers and chief executive and chairman of the board of the Wittner Cos. of St. Petersburg.

He was perhaps best known as developer of City Center, a 12-story, 240,000-square-foot complex built in St. Petersburg in 1984 and the similar Sarasota City Center, which went up in 1987. Mr. Wittner regarded the tower as a significant accomplishment. "He was proud that he helped kick off the revitalization of downtown St. Pete with his City Center project," said his wife, Jean Giles Wittner, former president and chief executive officer of Centerbanc.

A native of Tampa and educated in marketing at the University of Florida, Mr. Wittner's first job was selling luggage at his uncle's Central Avenue store. Then came an opening in the career that he preferred: insurance.

"My heart is in life insurance," he confessed to a reporter.

In 1955 he founded the Wittner Co., which dealt in life insurance. He also was affiliated with Crown Life Insurance Co., where he was promoted to manager-general agent in 1964.  By 1985 he was one of the partners of the insurance firm of Wittner and Klutts & Co., which in 1987 purchased Pearson-Powell & Associates Inc. The owner, Jack Powell, remained as an associate.

During his climb in the insurance business, he started to build. His first venture was a small building on 37th Street and Central Avenue, followed by one on 50th Street and Central. Then his business began to expand to a group of small office buildings, most of them designed for the medical profession.

"Each was bigger than the last," Wittner said. "We never built a building without tenants."  Most of his early work was done in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. Then he moved downtown. Later, he branched out, with his company opening an office in Sarasota. The man with an entrepreneurial spirit also owned property in Tampa and Clearwater.

"We had to hold him by his shirttails so he didn't start a new business every day," Jean Giles Wittner said.

When approached about building farther from home, he said, "Some of the boys from Houston and Atlanta can hop a thousand miles from home. But we want to do our developing close to home." Considered more than a salesman, Mr. Wittner was best known as a sharp office building developer, even though his roots were in another field.

In the 1970s, Mr. Wittner was board chairman of several banks.

In 1983 he was honored by the St. Petersburg Sales and Marketing Executives for his contributions to St. Petersburg.While president of Wittner & Co., he was listed in Who's Who in Finance and Industry, and since 1982 was listed in Who's Who in America.

In April 1987 he was selected as the Life Underwriter of the Year by the St. Petersburg Association of Life Underwriters.His civic activities and service organizations included the Suncoasters and the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society. He had been chairman emeritus of Goodwill Industries Suncoast-Inc.

He was a former board member of Eckerd College Foundation and of the Pinellas Association of Retarded Children. He served as chairman of the board of the Menorah Nursing Home, and as a former trustee for the Museum of Fine Arts.

Mr. Wittner was a member of Florida Blue Key and Tau Epsilon Phi Club.

In 1982, with his wife, he was honored by B'nai B'rith International with the American Traditions Award. Jean Giles Wittner said Mr. Wittner found fulfillment in service to the community."He wanted to give back from the success he achieved," she said.