Alright, thanks for the info!

oops, sorry for double post.

Alright, thanks for the info!
No problem. I believe the timeline is start one building in December and then another early next year, around February.

Maxim, it can't be helped. The project will take years to soften into a genuine neighborhood, if indeed it ever does.

As planned, it looks like an Ybor rental apartment complex writ large.

Baker Barrios Architects have a couple projects on their Portfolio for the Encore Project. Of course, very disappointing on how the projects will look. And it's not the height that bothers me anymore, it's the design! Who the hell allows a parking lot in a URBAN DEVELOMENT project?!?! Look at Creative Village project in the Master Planning on the link, 10x better than ours. The design, the layout, the buildings, and no f*cking parking lot!

http://www.bakerbarrios.com/

You will find that everything built under the present mayor is mediocre. Not evilly bad and certainly not good. Just poorly planned and mediocre. That is her mark.

Or usually the city manager.

^No, it's Iorio's fault for keeping a buffoon like Wilson Stair in charge of the city's Urban Design department.

Blame can go around for how mediocre this whole project is. Remember, the city council had to accept this whole project and didn't question why there is a parking lot in the project? And I thought there was suppose to be a Black History Museum in the plan? Now there is just a history center of the Central Park area.

Yes. Orlando's Creative Village will blow this away. Encore is so conservative and shows little vision. At least the first proposal had more density.

Blame can go around (why Dingfelder and Saul-Sena are questionable at best) but Iorio is mayor and cheerleader and could have altered any of this. It is her fault - just like it is her fault HSR does not go to the airport, light rail is not well planned, etc.

^I thought in the case of high speed rail the feds were only funding it because it was considered "shovel ready" which apparently a line from downtown to the airport isn't and they were trying to pump out their stimulus dollars as fast as possible no matter how poorly planned the project was.

Sure, and why isn't that segment shovel ready - because Iorio and Miller worked to kill it. And why isn't it in phase 2 and applying for federal money just sitting out there - because Iorio and others killed that. And why is there a delay in planning light rail - because Iorio and others failed to plan over 7 years, including making sure TIA was in the first phase (though they somehow just tacked on New Tampa at the last minute without any trouble). She has been there 7+ years. I think it is time to lay a little responsibility at her office door.

I don't know why you are bashing Pam Iorio so badly. She is the one who worked to revive public transportation plas after they were killed by her predecessors and county politicians. If you thin she was too slowly you have to think about how difficult is is to proceed with ideas with projects like that, especially knowing the way of thinking of many people in the Bay Area. If you try to fast you might end up with not enough support.

It is always easy to critizise from our point of view.

^I'm not really buying it...

Any word if he'll be running for mayor? Even though I hate cities having that special connection to the state, which means state funds, I can see him bringing a lot more to Tampa and the area than of the confirmed or potential candidates that have hinted to running for mayor.

gstolze-

I bash her because so many bad decisions go back to her. She did not bring the rail back to life - she dragged it out for 7 years before doing anything to get a plaque. She has been slow and inefficient. She has little vision. Finally, and I am not getting into details - there is a lot about the way the city is run that speaks very poorly. Frankly, you should drive around Tampa and see what has been built in the last 5-6 years - the little 2 story things and how badly they are designed - how they do not touch the street, with hvac compressors sitting ON Kennedy, with so many bad things - she is in charge - she owns them.

Well, you really cannot make her responsible for any little thing in the city just because You don't like them. If they were done legally what could she have done. Believe me, if she would get involved in any little detail, people would hack on her too, saying "who the hell she thinks she is....she is not the queen".

She has more vision than any of her predecessors had but she is not an abolutistic leader. She has to follow the law and in addition to that, convince people like the city and county council, as well as the citizens. Do you have an idea how slowly that sometimes goes, especially in a city like Tampa or in Hillsborough County?

Do you consier Dick Greco more succesful because during his term the Times Forum, the new stadium International Plaza and Centro Ybor were built?
I think during his time happened many bad deals for the taxpayer. Just look at Centro Ybor. Also, he missed promoting downtown for residential development when other cities already invested heavily into it. Tampa jumped the train too late and ended up with just a few projects. And he did not promote any LRT or HSR.

Sandy Freedman? What a horrible mistake to put the convention center where it is now. Prime land for condos, hotels, a marina, and a shopping complex like Bayside in Miami. Instead, the convention center that blocks vies, covers streets and hardly can expand was built there. And the harbour island mall never had a chance because it was in the middle of nowhere.

Pam Iorio may not be perfect, but I consider her a very good mayor.
She did the right thing with the art museum and the new park, and with her the riverwalk finally comes to a life. She also invested heavily in infrastructure.

No, actually, I don't blame her for every little thing. I blame her for the when she makes HUGE mistakes and then she applies her lack of judgment and less than democratic demeanor to anything that touches upon her mistaken policies (Freedman was horrible and Greco had issue too - but I am not grading on a curve). . . . preservation, for instance . . .not to mention that Doran Jason has NEVER proposed anything decent for that lot. . .




August 21, 2010
Preservation of Woolworth facade sparks a battle
By Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer
Woolworth sit-ins were significant, but does saving a facade hinder development?

TAMPA - In 1960, Gwen Miller, then a young schoolteacher, sat down at the Woolworth lunch counter downtown with about a dozen friends to protest segregation.

Soon after, signs that prohibited black people from eating at the counter with white people came down.

"We weren't doing it for ourselves. We were doing it for the whole community," Miller recalled.

Now a Tampa City Council member, Miller is pledging to fight to save the facade of the Woolworth building.

Its owners want out of a deal requiring them to preserve portions of the building's art deco exterior, as well as part of the facade of the old Newberry department store on the same Franklin Street block.

The council is scheduled to vote on the agreement Thursday.

"The agreement that's in place, it's just cumbersome," said Jeannette Jason, part of the development team looking to redevelop the two buildings as well as the old Kress building sandwiched between them.

There are no immediate plans to tear down the Woolworth and Newberry buildings, which at one point were going to be replaced with condo towers, Jason said. The faltering economy put those plans on hold.

"Rather than keeping these buildings boarded up, maybe we can fix them up and get some tenants," she said. "This would be a first step in improving the neighborhood."

Jason said she faces a unique situation that requires her to preserve property she owns even though it's not officially designated as historic.

"I'm not sure why we have a different set of rules," she said.

Indeed, the agreement is unusual.

In 2006, at the request of Jason and her development team, the City Council voted to give the Kress building historic landmark status. That meant any changes would have to be approved by an architectural review board.

But the council, following a recommendation of the city's Historic Preservation Commission and over Jason's objections, also designated the facades of the Newberry and Woolworth buildings as historic landmarks.

The preservation commission made its recommendation based on the buildings' architectural significance, as well as the historic events that occurred there during the civil rights era.

Mayor Pam Iorio was eager to see that part of downtown transformed into a bustling residential neighborhood. She unsuccessfully fought the designation, saying it would hinder plans to put nearly 500 condominiums on the block.

Jason pursued a legal challenge to the designation, using a property rights argument. The case went to a mediator, who negotiated a compromise to protect the building facades through a contract rather than a historic landmark designation.

So the council revoked the historic designation.

Dennis Fernandez, the city's historic preservation manager, said it's the only time a designation has been revoked in his 10 years with the city.

Still, he called the compromise considerate, because it still allows Jason to tear down the buildings and incorporate the facades into new construction.

But Iorio never liked the agreement.

"I've always thought it was wrong the way this particular property owner was treated," she said. "Every time I go by that building and see it boarded up, it's a gnawing example to me of government treating someone poorly."

Not only is Jason subject to an unusual preservation requirement, but the site plan also requires her to contribute $500,000 to transportation improvements before any buildings can be constructed.

In April, City Attorney Chip Fletcher determined the transportation condition is illegal and unenforceable.

Now Iorio wants the facade protection removed to make the property easier to develop. (Yea, cause there aren't enough empty lots in north downtown . . .)

"The Kress building is beautiful and will be preserved," said Iorio, who has a master's degree in history and concentrated much of her studies on the civil rights era. "Those other two buildings are not attractive. I don't think they bring anything to our downtown."

Ending the agreement, she said, is something she hopes to accomplish before leaving office in April. She said she proposed asking the current council, almost all of whom weren't in office in 2006, to review it.

Ex-council member Linda Saul-Sena and her former colleague John Dingfelder opposed removing the landmark status. Saul-Sena said she'll ask the council this week to keep the agreement in place.

"I'm concerned that just because two of the proponents for protecting the building are no longer on City Council that this issue has resurfaced," Saul-Sena said. "We said that they could take down the building, but maintain the facade. That's a modest thing."

Saul-Sena was an ardent defender of historic preservation during her nearly 20 years on the council. She has seen many sad endings for historic buildings. In past decades, cigar factories, the Lykes building and the old Maas Brothers department store crumbled under the wrecking ball. In 2008, an old school in Ybor City was leveled after its roof caved in from years of neglect.

"We don't have much historic fabric left," Saul-Sena said.

Joanna Tokley, former head of the Tampa Urban League, said she'll also ask the council to protect the facades, something the developers agreed to do.

"All of a sudden when they think people have forgotten or nobody would say anything, they say we don't want to keep the facades," she said.

Offers to erect a commemorative plaque or turn the architectural elements into a display at the Tampa Bay History Center aren't enough, Tokley said.

"There's so much history lost in the black community," she said, noting that Central Avenue, once the epicenter of Tampa's black life, no longer holds any evidence of that era.

"It shows to me a lack of respect for the history of African-Americans," she said.

Tokley, Miller and Saul-Sena are facing resistance.

City Council member Curtis Stokes, formerly head of the Hills*borough County NAACP, said a plaque and history display adequately honor what happened at Woolworth's.

"To me, that's perfect," said Stokes, who toured the building's gutted interior this week. "There's nothing there. The counter doesn't exist. The stools aren't there. We don't even have the Woolworth letters that were originally outside the building."

Jason said there are no immediate plans to tear down the buildings, but if that does happen, the history can be honored.

"The important aspect of the Woolworth building is the event that took place there," she said. "If that event was memorialized in some fashion, does it really matter if a portion of the facade remains?"

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/preservation-of-woolworth-facade-sparks-a-battle/1116753

Oh, and that lack of vision causes her to compromise (like on Encore) and not push for quality. She allows mediocrity, she settles for it, then she pushes us to think it is good. It is not. The more mediocre stuff we build (see Riverwalk and a lot of the Curtis Hixon park - just walk with any decent architect down there and see how fast the point out the errors), the less chance we will ever get to something good.

Oh, and that lack of vision causes her to compromise (like on Encore) and not push for quality. She allows mediocrity, she settles for it, then she pushes us to think it is good. It is not. The more mediocre stuff we build (see Riverwalk and a lot of the Curtis Hixon park - just walk with any decent architect down there and see how fast the point out the errors), the less chance we will ever get to something good.

Do you think she would be allowed to tell the developers of Encore or whatelse what she wants? Her voice is legally limited. As soon as they move in their legal rights she has no saying.....

I can see a certain impatience in you that the city moves forward and I totally understand you. I tend to feel like that, too, but I still believe if you or I were in the shoes of the mayor, we would realize it is not that simple. The mayor is no Louis XIV.

Encore is a public-private partnership built on (what at least was) Tampa Housing Authority land - so, yes - she could easily have said something. She could also change the development rules, or at least work toward it, rather than wasting time on the "avenue of the arts" - she has a lot of power, actually. Tampa's charter favors the executive heavily.

^Greco's time in office was proof of that. He was almost like Tampa's own mini-Daley.

Anyone drive by lately to see what has been done?

Anyone drive by lately to see what has been done?

They add aerial photos about once a month updating progress on their facebook. You can check out the latest album here (just 3 pics from different angles). The pics are from 10 days ago, 11/15/2010.


http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150124026949535&set=a.10150124026884535.332326.141593499534

They add aerial photos about once a month updating progress on their facebook. You can check out the latest album here (just 3 pics from different angles). The pics are from 10 days ago, 11/15/2010.


http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150124026949535&set=a.10150124026884535.332326.141593499534

All though I would love to see Encore built here as well as some mid 20's towers, I just saw that first shot and thought of how cool it would be for the Rays to build there new staduim right there with Downtown in the back drop..

Which in return would get as many as 2-3 nice hotel projects built surrounding the staduim.. And a countless number of bars and restaurants..

Such a large space will be covered by such a crappy project..

Is it being built in phases or all at once? What's really preventing them from allowing something taller to be built on the sites?

Same thing as anything else in Tampa Bay, no desire to spend money on that, we also have the worst economy of major cities in the state so doesn't really make sense either.

Same thing as anything else in Tampa Bay, no desire to spend money on that, we also have the worst economy of major cities in the state so doesn't really make sense either.

Not just is there not a desire, there is not any funding or demand for anything right now, or for a while.

And our economy is one of the worst in the country, not just the state...:ohno:

Steve

Even during the boom we got half assed projects, Tampa Bay is full of cheap developments, there wasn't much desire to do anything better. I drove by the site yesterday, looks like its starting, guess we'll have to see what happens now.

Sprawling 'Encore' project under way
By KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune
Published: November 24, 2010

TAMPA Nearly two months after receiving work permits, construction crews at the Encore project are pushing dirt, laying pipes and installing electrical equipment -- all to smooth the way for Ray Charles Boulevard and The Ella.

Infrastructure work is scheduled to be completed by May. Ray Charles Boulevard could be paved by early next year. The Ella, an apartment building for seniors named for singer Ella Fitzgerald, could begin rising by February or March with an opening date projected in 2012.

"It's going well," said Richard Zahn, chief executive officer for ZMG Construction which was hired to build the infrastructure and likely will be the contractor for a second apartment building, The Trio. "We're all blessed to be in this situation. I don't say that lightly."

The Encore project nearly fell apart before it got off the ground. The $425- to $450-million redevelopment envisions transforming a former public housing complex, Central Park Village, into a mixed-use, mixed-income community. It is a public-private venture overseen by the city, Banc of America Community Development Corp. and the Tampa Housing Authority.

The complex, on about 28 acres between Cass Street and an Interstate 4 interchange, was razed in 2007. Its 1,300 tenants moved to other public housing or federally-subsidized homes.

Since 2006 the project has survived a statewide court challenge on how to authorize publically funded redevelopment projects, and a real estate market that went bust.

A federal stimulus grant of $28 million re-invigorated Encore last year. Added to a package that includes tax credits, low-income housing loans, bonds and equity loans, construction is moving forward.

The Ella, with 160 apartments, is planned as a mixed-income complex for seniors age 62 and older. Some will rent at market rate; some according to a tenant's income. The Trio, with 132 apartments, is a mixed-income family complex.

Future plans include construction of a grocery store, a hotel, market-rate condominiums and shops. The former St. James Episcopal Church building will become a black history museum.

"The level of what this development is becoming and what it can give to the community is tremendous," said Roxanne Amoroso, senior vice president with Bank of America.

The Ella, and a solar-powered park, will be built as an energy efficient project that meets national environmental standards. The park will include walkways, landscaping and a 15-foot faux sunflower powered by solar energy.

Though the current economy remains a challenge, money for the infrastructure has fallen into place, including recent approval by Hillsborough County Commission of nearly $12 million in bonds, Amoroso said.

The second apartment building – The Trio –is unfunded and has no construction schedule. "It's not as far along as The Ella," said Amoroso. "It's still more of a moving target."

But, she said, "Our goal is to roll building after building. We feel very good about this development."

The project is expected to create 4,000 to 4,500 construction jobs during the next three to four years, and about 1,000 permanent jobs.

A job fair on site in August drew more than 5,000 applicants; most had lost jobs when Florida's construction industry collapsed in the recession. Many said they had been job searching for months and in some cases as long as two years.

One of Encore's goals is to hire at least 20 percent minority contractors and 30 percent minority employees.

About 12 businesses hired for the project are minority-owned, representing about 55 percent of total contractors, said Leroy Moore, the housing authority's chief operating officer. To date the minority firms have been awarded about 65 percent of total dollars allocated for the project.

Moore said about 220 people have worked on the project including construction workers, engineers and architects.

Zahn said his company has filled more than 140 jobs during the initial infrastructure phase. About 50 percent were minorities including more than 70 new hires from a database created by ZMG of job fair applicants. Another 10 were from public housing or were tenants in federally-subsidized rental homes.

Zahn said an additional 40 to 50 people will be hired in January and February.

Work is moving along smoothly, said Tommy Bennett, vice president of contracting company, Malphus & Sons General Contractors

The database – which Bennett dubs the "list" – has been a useful tool.

"It's been a blessing. You don't have to go to head hunters. You just go to the list," he said. "This is a fun project. I like to see so many people out here moving things and doing this."

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2010/nov/24/010000/sprawling-encore-project-under-way/news/

The Ella, with 160 apartments, is planned as a mixed-income complex for seniors age 62 and older. Some will rent at market rate; some according to a tenant's income. The Trio, with 132 apartments, is a mixed-income family complex.


Damn, I love retirement homes in the middle of downtown.

Damn, I love retirement homes in the middle of downtown.

In a well planned, walkable community it is fine...Tampa is neither of those yet. Having a good mixture of different demographics that combine is good, but creating an island is never good.

Steve

1) If there was any reason for a grocery store to be built, it would be for 160 units of senior residents. Any idea if the grocery store that is planned will be under construction aswell or will they leave it off til the end?

2) If there is any age group that complains about construction work the most, it's senior citizens. So they'll build a apartment block for senior citizens first and then spend years in constructing around them. :bash:

There is a construction crane up on or very close to the site. Not very tall but at least there is signs of life downtown. It seems like such a long time since we've seen any in downtown. Last one was for Element, I believe.

^Wow, you're totally right! I didn't even notice the tower crane until you just mentioned it. (I have a killer view of the DT skyline from work)... Definitely wasnt there even a few days ago.

Looks like The Ella will be what, 7-8 stories? Not a bad start.

Such a large space will be covered by such a crappy project..
I-275 you are one negative cookie.. Are you that miserable that you crack on anything this frickin area does..


I live in Charlotte, but I'm from Tampa and everyone that I talk to here loves and wants to move to the Tampa--- St Pete area..

Why dont you move up here so you can crack on Charlotte. Cold depressing pretentious stuck up NASCAR mentality city from hell.. I'll trade place's with you in a heart beat..

Just saying dude.
Cant wait to move back to the Bay area in March counting the days ..

Give me my Lobster sandwich from Crab Shack and give me my cuban sandwich and my spanish cuisine at Misen Place, also I'll enjoy the Gulf Beaches..:banana::applause::soon::soon:

Cant wait to move back to the Bay area in March counting the days ..

Give me my Lobster sandwich from Crab Shack and give me my cuban sandwich and my spanish cuisine at Misen Place, also I'll enjoy the Gulf Beaches..:banana::applause::soon::soon:


I understand you. I was living in the Tampa Bay Area for 3 yrs and I miss it every day. Does the area have its negative aspects? Yes: especially public transportation, but all in all the quality of lif is great and I enjoyed my time there. I still spend 3 weeks of vacation in Clearwater every year and I can hardly wait to come back in May. I'll be happy with a cuban sandwich and a 1905 salad at Columbia and the mexican food at Casa Tinas in Dunedin.

I-275 you are one negative cookie.. Are you that miserable that you crack on anything this frickin area does..


I live in Charlotte, but I'm from Tampa and everyone that I talk to here loves and wants to move to the Tampa--- St Pete area..

Why dont you move up here so you can crack on Charlotte. Cold depressing pretentious stuck up NASCAR mentality city from hell.. I'll trade place's with you in a heart beat..

Just saying dude.
Cant wait to move back to the Bay area in March counting the days ..

Give me my Lobster sandwich from Crab Shack and give me my cuban sandwich and my spanish cuisine at Misen Place, also I'll enjoy the Gulf Beaches..:banana::applause::soon::soon:
:ohno: Come on Tampa on the Move, everyone has their views on things, if you don't agree to it just ignore it. I've been doing it for a couple months now....

I still think we can (on here) encourage the city to allow some taller developments in this project, probably just the hotels though. And since the building that has the parking lot in the center doesn't seem to be Phase I or Phase II, we might be able to also have them include something besides the lot there.

Reviewing the fly-over video again, my new problem is the retail spaces. Sidewalks are too small to encourage outdoor eating (something I want to see more of in Tampa) and the fronts of the retail look way too cheap and tacky. What does it take to get some good retail design in this city?!?!?!

I-275 you are one negative cookie.. Are you that miserable that you crack on anything this frickin area does..

I guess I'm on crack too, because I also think the planning policies that allowed this project to be approved in its proposed form sucks major ass.

Sorry for the rant I-275 you do have your opinion, as well as myself..

But we finally have an urban core for some people, they dont have to ever leave Grand Central to far you have Improv-Channelside many restaurants - grocery store-Arena for concerts and sporting events-Hard Rock not to far. And the gays have taken over the west side of Ybor. Like they say once the gays move in your city or area has made it.. Plus even here in the Queen city from hell, the temps are going to be in the teens and highs barely reaching 40.. and it's only early December..

I know we have a lot of work to do as far as rail-and other things but to me we still live in one of the best parts of the country..

I-275 you are one negative cookie.. Are you that miserable that you crack on anything this frickin area does..


I live in Charlotte, but I'm from Tampa and everyone that I talk to here loves and wants to move to the Tampa--- St Pete area..

Why dont you move up here so you can crack on Charlotte. Cold depressing pretentious stuck up NASCAR mentality city from hell.. I'll trade place's with you in a heart beat..

Just saying dude.
Cant wait to move back to the Bay area in March counting the days ..

Give me my Lobster sandwich from Crab Shack and give me my cuban sandwich and my spanish cuisine at Misen Place, also I'll enjoy the Gulf Beaches..:banana::applause::soon::soon:
That is funny because I've known many people who have left Tampa Bay for both North and South Carolina and love it up there. I'd take a cold depressing nascar mentality over a backwards, miserable hot and humid, metro with one of the worst economies in the country. I've only driven through North Carolina so I can't say anything personally, but I have lived and been to other places, the bay area is way behind. If you like the beach Tampa Bay is great, for everything else.. Not really.. This project is exactly what is wrong with Tampa Bay, they proposed what seemed like a decent project that wasn't the same old cheap watered down projects we have gotten even during the good times and then changed it to exactly that because they know it will be tough to make money from this development, so instead a large chunk of downtown will be a low quality development which I suppose is better than the hood but is that where our expectations should be? Going to the beach and downtown St. Petersburg is when I do enjoy the area and see the positives of the area. On the way to/from after some near death misses with some of the worst drivers I have ever driven with and taking twice as long as it should because the roads are terrible and there is a massive lack of freeways and mass transit it's harder to enjoy the positives.


Sorry for the rant I-275 you do have your opinion, as well as myself..

But we finally have an urban core for some people, they dont have to ever leave Grand Central to far you have Improv-Channelside many restaurants - grocery store-Arena for concerts and sporting events-Hard Rock not to far. And the gays have taken over the west side of Ybor. Like they say once the gays move in your city or area has made it.. Plus even here in the Queen city from hell, the temps are going to be in the teens and highs barely reaching 40.. and it's only early December..

I know we have a lot of work to do as far as rail-and other things but to me we still live in one of the best parts of the country..
No need to apologize, you have your opinion as well and for some people Tampa Bay works, for others it sucks. I've been all over Florida and different parts of the country as well and we are really the last of the major cities except for maybe Detroit and some of the gulf coast states. Yes Tampa has made progress mostly during the boom it looked like the area was starting to go somewhere, since then it's backwards progress as the cheap mentality of the area is kicking in more than ever. I like the cold and I grew up here I would love those temps.

There is a construction crane up on or very close to the site. Not very tall but at least there is signs of life downtown. It seems like such a long time since we've seen any in downtown. Last one was for Element, I believe.


The crane is a block north of the bus station. It looks pretty far from the site. Maybe someone can drive by?

The crane is a block north of the bus station. It looks pretty far from the site. Maybe someone can drive by?
Then the HSR station maybe?

I'll drive by in the morning on the way to work.

(I kind of thought the crane seemed to be too far north and west from my vantage point at work when I first saw it the other day, but what do I know?)

It looks like the crane is adjacent to Oaklawn/St. Louis Cemetery between the Old AME church and the Bus Terminal. I heard some talk abot turning the old church into some type of community center so maybe it's for that?

A tower crane to mod that relatively modest church?

http://cam01.hillsboroughcounty.org/user/JViewer.html

I know you can view the area from this webcam, I just can't see crap cause its dark.

It looks like the crane is adjacent to Oaklawn/St. Louis Cemetery between the Old AME church and the Bus Terminal. I heard some talk abot turning the old church into some type of community center so maybe it's for that?


Heard its going to be a store of some sort

gah... I didn't have time to drive by this morning... Traffic almost made me late to work, and it will be dark when I leave today sooo...

I'll try to go by it after work today.

Definitely not for Central Park. It's in the same block as the church and apparently is a new project... Designed by Urban Studio Architects. Interesting that we all missed it. Here are some pics.

http://i.imgur.com/woaTml.jpg (http://imgur.com/woaTm)

http://i.imgur.com/0EoS4l.jpg (http://imgur.com/0EoS4)

Definitely not for Central Park. It's in the same block as the church and apparently is a new project... Designed by Urban Studio Architects. Interesting that we all missed it. Here are some pics.

http://i.imgur.com/woaTml.jpg (http://imgur.com/woaTm)

http://i.imgur.com/0EoS4l.jpg (http://imgur.com/0EoS4)

From what I can see on my phone, that website at the site links you to projects they've done and one is The Martin.

Maybe time for a new thread on the project?

Thinking about it, wasn't there a planned apartment project in this area mentioned a year or so ago?

Sorry I am not good at this, but i guess this project was related to a tampa trib article back in november.

Kathy Steele
St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Tampa is undergoing renovation. The building was dedicated in 1914.

By KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 17, 2010

Updated: 11/17/2010 04:41 pm

TAMPA - The gothic majesty of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church is encased in scaffolding while construction crews craft the church's destiny as a community center and keeper of history.

Beside the church building, a six-story apartment building, Metro 510, will welcome its first tenants in October 2011. Nurses, teachers, police officers and restaurant workers will fill 120 "workforce" affordable apartments in the building at 506 E. Harrison St.

Rents based on income will range from $325 for a one-bedroom apartment to $829 for a three-bedroom residence. The church's façade will be preserved, and the interior remodeled for a leasing office, exercise room, community room and other apartment amenities.

"It will be the first workforce housing in the core of downtown Tampa," said Debra Koehler, president of Sage Partners, the project's development company.

But what energizes Koehler and many of the church's former congregation is the preservation of the church's legacy. Its congregation dates to 1870; construction on the Harrison Street church began in 1906 and the church was dedicated in 1914.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made one of his earliest speeches during the civil rights movement from St. Paul. Other iconic figures in black history also have graced the church's sanctuary, including baseball legend Jackie Robinson, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, singer Ray Charles and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson.

Bill Clinton made one of his last speeches at the church before his election as U.S. president.

"This is history that will be told and never be lost," Koehler said.

About 30 people including Mayor Pam Iorio held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project today.

Next door, Sage Partners also is renovating the 200-unit Methodist Place Apartments. The total investment in both projects is about $45 million including federal stimulus dollars. More than 500 jobs are being created.

Sage Partners was founded in 2007 and specializes in affordable, environmentally-friendly housing.

The buildings will be smoke-free inside and outside on apartment grounds.

Some of the church's pews were recycled to other churches in Tampa, Temple Terrace and Venice. Stained-glass windows are being restored. When they are replaced, they will be illuminated at night. "We truly believe in green," Koehler said. "We use sustainable materials."

The preservation of St. Paul, "one of our institutional landmarks," is another boost to downtown development, Iorio said. "Nothing makes a mayor happier than to see this here, to see people working, to see a groundbreaking," she said. "There aren't many communities still having groundbreakings."

The congregation in recent years struggled with a dwindling membership and lack of money for upkeep. Church trustee Pete Edwards said membership once topped 1,000 but had fallen to a 100 or fewer.

More than a year ago, Sage Partners stepped forward with a proposal to preserve the church and build affordable housing next to the Marion Street bus transfer station and a short distance from the Encore project which will replace Central Park Village with apartments, shops and hotels.

The bus station in the future also will be a stop for the high-speed train planned between Tampa and Orlando.

"Kids move on and things change," said Edwards. "It eventually works itself out. We're dedicated to helping the new generation coming down this way."

For Edwards that new generation includes his 6-month-old grandson, Michael Christian Edwards, who was the last baby baptized at the church. Edwards grabbed a shovel for the groundbreaking as his grandson, in a stroller, watched.

"There's a little sadness," Edwards said. "But you have to look toward the future."

Mystery solved! Thanks! Any idea what it's going to look like?

That's a pretty nice little surprise!

While it's not huge, looks like we'll have a couple little projects to watch go up :)



Another positive is that it looks like a surface parking lot will bite the dust because of this project! And it's not a huge chunk of land so I think it's pretty cool to see something like this go on it, especially with the renovation of the church and the apartments right next door too.

A six floor, single-use apartment building... that's half a block from the new HSR terminal...

lol... Welcome to Tampa!

There is nothing wrong with a 6-floor apartement building in that location.

There is nothing wrong with a 6-floor apartement building in that location.

And a preserved building from the early 1900s. We tend to tear those things down.

A six floor, single-use apartment building... that's half a block from the new HSR terminal...

lol... Welcome to Tampa!
Well, even with a HSR station in the city, I don't think we can expect every project in the city to be 20 stories or more. I want some taller projects too, but I'm more focused on making this city more pedestrian-friendly, getting more retail and restaurant, and having those restaurants interact more with pedestrians (outdoor eating and etc.).

For a city like Tampa its not that bad.

I'm with Jasonhouse - at least put retail space on the bottom and give us at least 10 floors. I'm sure it will be a box

Well look at this way, it will be as tall as the Ella and many other projects in Encore, so it won't stick out. ;)

Here's the rendering of it from the Downtown Tampa partnership book from a year ago.


http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o21/margut31/heritageplace.jpg

The church is going to be a community center and the rest of the property will include a small park, community garden and movie theater area (not really sure what that means). So no retail, but plenty of interaction.

^And those uses relate to HSR travelers how exactly?



I think the building relates to the church for shit. Here's to hoping this is a case of something turning out to be better than nothing.

What would you have put there to relate to HSR travelers?

I would have them not have to worry about getting run over by the cars coming out of that garage - which will probably also vent and be completely visible on the ground floor from the street.

Although I understand what Jason is saying and this should had atleast included some retail of some sort, I just don't think much HSR travelers will come in this area for any purpose. Why will visitors walk through this area? What will attract people to get off the train and walk down this way? I can't think of anything.

The city needs to focus on getting some retail right near the station so they can get some people to stay in Tampa a little while than heading out elsewhere right after getting dropped off.

To me, the biggest priority should be hotel rooms within easy walking distance of the station. In fact, I would be building a station with a hotel on top of it right from the start. Early on, this line will in fact heavily serve tourists, Disney patrons and OCCC visitors. For crying out loud Tampa, CAPITALIZE ON IT!


So on this parcel in question? Well, the parcel can accommodate a building with a bit over a 20,000sqft footprint (roughly 115'x185'), so there is certainly some flexibility with what can be done. How about a boutique hotel as big as it can be with parking accounted for. I'm sure a ground floor shop or two, and a 2nd floor lounge/restaurant could be included. I see no reason there couldn't be at least 160 hotel rooms/suites and 8-10k sqft in retail space.

To me, the biggest priority should be hotel rooms within easy walking distance of the station. In fact, I would be building a station with a hotel on top of it right from the start. Early on, this line will in fact heavily serve tourists, Disney patrons and OCCC visitors. For crying out loud Tampa, CAPITALIZE ON IT!


So on this parcel in question? Well, the parcel can accommodate a building with a bit over a 20,000sqft footprint (roughly 115'x185'), so there is certainly some flexibility with what can be done. How about a boutique hotel as big as it can be with parking accounted for. I'm sure a ground floor shop or two, and a 2nd floor lounge/restaurant could be included. I see no reason there couldn't be at least 160 hotel rooms/suites and 8-10k sqft in retail space.
I'm pretty sure I mentioned adding a hotel to the station a while back in the HSR thread. If I remember correctly, I mentioned having a parking garage with half spaces for the hotel and the other half for travelers and city parking.

What's the closest hotels to the station, Floridan and the Marriott Courtyard? We definitely need more hotel spaces, Wyndham maybe?

Btw, I looked up the specifics of this site... The buildable area is actually more like 30,000sqft if the new structure wrapped around the church to front Marion St as well.

That sort of footprint could accommodate just about anything, and could surely be designed to contain 3-5 storefronts and few hundred hotel rooms, or a mix of hotel and condos or rentals.

But in Tampa, it nets us a 6 story single-use apartment building more suited to outlying areas. But again, it's certainly better than nothing. It's just also a stupid use of land literally adjacent to a transit complex that will eventually shuttle thousands of passengers a day.

Wow that is a fail but again it's Tampa, no surprise.

Wow that is a fail but again it's Tampa, no surprise.

Wow that is a fail again it's Clearwater no suprise.. US19 LOL



Tampa hater, why don't you move then.. :ohno:

are you that miserable that every time you can bash the big sleepy giant to the right of your satelite city you have a comment..


We've fixed the roads around the Airport-we doubled I-4 there fixing I-275 right now. we have the only doubledecker expressway in the state. I -4 12 lane connector is being constructed, but yet it's never good enough for you.. Everyone knows we need a rail system, hopefully will get something soon..

But damn dude you have so much hate for TAMPA you can see it in all of your negative quotes. I grew up in Tampa. It was a cow town in the mid 70's and now is mentioned everyday around the country.. Baby steps yes but believe me its on the map that's for sure..

I still believe Pinellas people have this inferior complex when it comes to the hub of the Bay Area, we can't help it that we have all the highways that connect us to the other major southeast cities-better shopping-dining-great food-big college USF-Airport-Busch Gardens.. Major sporting events...

But hey I do love me some Gulf Beaches..


just saying..

We've fixed the roads around the Airport-we doubled I-4 there fixing I-275 right now. we have the only doubledecker expressway in the state. I -4 12 lane connector is being constructed, but yet it's never good enough for you.
The fact of the matter is, our local transportation isn't good enough for anyone, because even after spending a couple billion widening a bunch of expressways in recent years, congestion statistics are just as bad as ever.

Did you know that this region currently spends TWO BILLION DOLLARS EVERY YEAR on roads? And what does it net us? Traffic as bad as ever, higher taxes and the 'joy' of spending thousands of dollars a year on a car, so that we can park it in traffic twice a day.

Nothing will improve until locals stop reflexively defending the failures of the past and admit that we need to change our methods around here. Poor planning yields poor results. Period.

I loved my 3 years in Clearwater and I miss the area. However, I never saw Pinellas here and Hillsborough there. To me it is one TAMPA BAY AREA and everybody should stop that stupid competition thinking and and work together instead. Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater all have their niche and complement each other. Put the weight of both counties and then the sorrounding ones together and decisionmakers in DC and Tallahasse will here you better.

I would always prefer to live in the Bay Area over Miami or Orlando.

Did you know that this region currently spends TWO BILLION DOLLARS EVERY YEAR on roads? And what does it net us? Traffic as bad as ever, higher taxes and the 'joy' of spending thousands of dollars a year on a car, so that we can park it in traffic twice a day.

I did not realize this area spends over two billion per year on roads. With that amount being spent on roads, one would believe they could find ways to cut costs so they can allocate a percentage of that towards mass transit/rail? With some help from the private sector (corporations that will benefit from mass transit) the government shouldn't even need to ask for extra tax money?

^One would think... For the amount of money we're spending to add a lane to the interstate through Tampa, we could have built the first two LRT lines discussed during the referendum, plus the line to Brandon. For the cost of the I-4 Connector, we could have built a 4th line.

Traffic congestion would be about the same as it is now, except we would have an alternate means of transportation to utilize that is almost always on time and never delayed, rain or shine.

I would be for transfering some of our funds from roads to mass transit, spefically light rail. Although with a road fund about $62.5 biilion in backlogs, taking money from the revenue source wouldn't be the best thing.

^A lot of that money we have no local control over though. It's federal and state funds, and payments on debt already incurred to build the roads we've got.

^A lot of that money we have no local control over though. It's federal and state funds, and payments on debt already incurred to build the roads we've got.
True, but I would expect some local money to be included with a state and federal funding and also some money from companies and big businesses.

Lets get back on topic guys though and maybe have this discussion in the rails thread.

Well look how bad many of our roads are, no surprise we spend that much on roads, we have a lot of work to do.

Encore still hiring for downtown construction project http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/jobs/encore-still-hiring-for-downtown-construction-project-011911

Encore still hiring for downtown construction project http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/jobs/encore-still-hiring-for-downtown-construction-project-011911



Good for those two guys, and the others getting hired.


As for the project, sucks that actual building construction won't start until April.

I still don't understand why the first building is being called "Encore". Seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, with an emphasis on the moron part.

I still don't understand why the first building is being called "Encore". Seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, with an emphasis on the moron part.

I assumed it was because of what they tore down... This was the second go at affordable housing on that site.

As for the project, sucks that actual building construction won't start until April.

As fast as the project at the church is coming up and as cheap as the materials and construction are likely to be, I don't think you should worry about having to wait very long to see something out of the ground.

I still don't understand why the first building is being called "Encore". Seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, with an emphasis on the moron part.
The whole project is called Encore, the first building is called Tempo. So Encore makes kinda more sense now.

Well, the name makes sense. the design doesn't

I think with everything happening to Tampa recently, the last thing we want is the delay of the only major development happening in Tampa.

Cutbacks jeopardize hope for Encore project grant
KATHY STEELE
Published: March 21, 2011
Updated: 03/21/2011 02:25 pm

TAMPA - The Encore project is one of six finalists, and the only one in the South, in a national competition for part of $61 million in federal grant money.

The announcement was made today at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ella, a seven-story senior apartment building that will be the first structure built at the former Central Park Village site, off Nebraska Avenue and northeast of downtown. The public housing complex was torn down in 2007 to make way for what is envisioned as a $425-to-$450 million mixed-use, mixed-income community of apartments, shops, grocery store and a hotel.

The Tampa Housing Authority is seeking $18 to $20 million for future Encore construction phases including a second apartment building for seniors known as Reed and a multi-family apartment building called The Trio.

The potential for CHOICE Neighborhoods grant money comes with a caution, however.

The $61 million is being offered, but until the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development finalizes contracts, the funds are not guaranteed, said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, who was among more than 100 people attending today's groundbreaking. "It's all about the budget battle in [Washington] D.C.," she said. "We have to focus on jobs, infrastructure and housing. Republicans want to sweep all the unobligated money away."

The Encore project is expected to create more than 4,000 construction jobs during the next three to four years, and about 1,000 permanent jobs.

The project almost was halted by the recession but was revived last year with $38 million in federal stimulus money with about $28 million paying for infrastructure. The project is a public/private venture overseen by the city, Bank of America Community Development Corp., and the housing authority.

http://centraltampa2.tbo.com/content/2011/mar/21/211425/cutbacks-jeopardize-hope-for-encore-project-grant/news/

http://i.imgur.com/sOYD4.jpg

Tampa's Encore project survived the recession, but can it help the wider area economy?
(http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/economicdevelopment/tampas-encore-project-survived-the-recession-but-can-it-help-the-wider/1164072)

From the air, a square, 40-acre splotch of dirt sits on a neglected edge of this city's downtown. At first glance, there's not much to look at, until you get closer and walk the dirt with a few passionate people, learn a bit of its history and a lot of its future. The dirt patch is the start of Encore, a mixed-use redevelopment project of apartments and commercial properties that holds promise for a major renewal to a blighted outskirt north and east of Tampa's downtown. The project is a venture between Bank of America and the Tampa Housing Authority. It's a project of good size and better imagination, cobbled together by a long list of financing sources. "We call it a city within a city," says an upbeat Roxanne Amoroso, who's leading this real estate project for Bank of America. "Do this well," she says, sweeping her arm across the project's still vacant acres, "and its success will spread."

That's the hope, at least. This part of Tampa has seen hard times. Some of the more derelict blocks even closer to downtown are still largely empty and waiting for help.

I recently toured the raw start of Encore with Amoroso and several other managers of the construction site. Their enthusiasm for this real estate development is clearly contagious. For Amoroso, who grew up in Tampa Bay, Encore's a labor of love. We walked dusty, bulldozed paths that are the start of Encore's principal road, to be called Ray Charles Boulevard. A park will feature sunflower-shaped solar panels that will help keep streetlights illuminated. A new middle school will also be part of the mix.

Somehow, Encore survived the recent, wrenching years of the Great Recession that killed many other Tampa Bay developments. Encore sits on land that was a small piece of an earlier, far larger redevelopment project called Civitas. Conceived in more ambitious times, Civitas failed to win city support as the economy cooled. But Encore lives on.

Thirteen months ago, Encore set up a job fair on site. More than 5,000 people lined up looking for work. So far, say economic consultants, Encore has created 4,103 construction jobs, 8,784 total jobs in the local economy for the 2010-2016 period, and will sustain 955 direct and 1,374 total jobs once the project is complete.

It now stands as one of the major developments still under way across Tampa Bay. Plans call for Ella to be the first apartment building, designed by Tampa's Baker Barrios Architects, with construction in May. The Trio apartment follows, along with a two-story grocery store.

On the technology side, ZMG Construction development vice president Scot Hamilton says the project will boast a cutting-edge, chilled water plant. With 6,000 linear feet of underground chiller pipes, it will circulate cooled water to Encore's primary buildings to lower their demands for traditional air conditioning.

Another beneficiary is adjacent Perry Harvey Sr. Park, which runs along Orange Avenue and is scheduled to get a facelift of its own.

None of this has come easy. "It's hard," Amoroso said, "but it's personal."

We'll track Encore, named for the area's musical past, every few months. The goal is not only to keep you up on the details of the project. I am just as curious about whether Encore can reshape the wider economy of this tired northeast corner of downtown Tampa. Can Encore help bridge the no-man's land between downtown and Ybor City to the west? Can Encore become a generator of fresh jobs to broader Tampa?

There's only so much any project can deliver, even one that's survived some hard economic years. What's Encore's potential?

I'll believe it when I see it.

I wonder if they are still going to have that piano sitting in the middle of the whole project when I saw the concept video last year.

Here are recent aerials for those curious....

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150272019234535.390262.141593499534

With everything else fallen apart for Tampa, I can't stay hating how Encore is planned out. There is still time on our side that the market CAN improve enough to allow for taller and better projects in Encore.

Can Encore help bridge the no-man's land between downtown and Ybor City to the west?

Am I on crack, or is Ybor to the east?

^This is what happens when journalists make $40k a year. lol

With everything else fallen apart for Tampa, I can't stay hating how Encore is planned out. There is still time on our side that the market CAN improve enough to allow for taller and better projects in Encore.

I hate the whole project too. I cant picture a boutique hotel of any size in that area.

I hate the whole project too. I cant picture a boutique hotel of any size in that area.
There's still time though for things to be changed. There's parcels on the the south part of the property that will likely not get developed for years if I know the timeline right. If the market improves enough and the city gets some backbone, they can encourage for something bigger to be built on those parcels. There's nothing preventing them from SUGGESTING to the developers.

The design of Ella has won an award (http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/venturebiz/content/architects-win-design-award-encore-development-edge-tampas-downtown)... From Hillsborough County. I don't think I've seen this rendering though, so it's worth a look:

http://www.bakerbarrios.com/assets/images/portfolio/Ella_1_1.jpg

The design of Ella has won an award (http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/venturebiz/content/architects-win-design-award-encore-development-edge-tampas-downtown)... From Hillsborough County. I don't think I've seen this rendering though, so it's worth a look:
Well, what does it have to compete with?

It does look better than what I expected though. Trio still looks disgusting though from the renders on the site.

I like it. It has some architectural interest.

Looks like street level will be just as regrettable as it is elsewhere in downtown. Fitting.

It might be nice to remember what the housing there used to look like...

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq28/Negron_718/1547055334_l.jpg

At least the garage looks like it will have retail or something in the base, and could look way worse.

Mid grade project for a mid grade city. It is OK, way better than what was there before.

Steve

This is the best we can expect of projects where the for-profit developer benefits from taxpayer subsidies?

From Mayor Pam? why, yes it is.

Encore as of 5/3/2011

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/5685253389_d99cc42834_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685253389/)
Tampa 013 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685253389/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5685253933_e9536e2e8d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685253933/)
Tampa 014 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685253933/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5023/5685823444_4a6b5d9c19_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685823444/)
Tampa 015 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685823444/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5685824024_18d7a4367a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685824024/)
Tampa 016 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/5685824024/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr

Two Updates from checking the Encore website:

-They have new pics up from last month. You can really see the layout coming together for the central street area.
-Looked at the layout again for the whole site. Don't know if its ever been mention here before, but "plot 11" mentions Solar Park. I don't remember seeing that area being labeled a solar park and I believe it was labeled "office space" at the beginning. Don't know if that's the place I would put a solar park, but....

Two Updates from checking the Encore website:

-They have new pics up from last month. You can really see the layout coming together for the central street area.
-Looked at the layout again for the whole site. Don't know if its ever been mention here before, but "plot 11" mentions Solar Park. I don't remember seeing that area being labeled a solar park and I believe it was labeled "office space" at the beginning. Don't know if that's the place I would put a solar park, but....

The solar park is part of how they got the funds I believe. It will help power the street lights and what not.

The solar park is part of how they got the funds I believe. It will help power the street lights and what not.
I don't have a problem with the idea, I like more and more green initiatives added to projects like this. I just think that this will limit anything else along Nebraska and/or Cass because any structure would block out the sun.

Baker Barrios Architects of Orlando designed Ella. I knew it the minute I saw the strange awnings. I find it somewhat humorous Hillsborough is handing them design awards when their Orlando projects are generally loathed by the architectural community there.

Baker Barrios Architects of Orlando designed Ella. I knew it the minute I saw the strange awnings. I find it somewhat humorous Hillsborough is handing them design awards when their Orlando projects are generally loathed by the architectural community there.
Bold is pretty much the reason why they got an award. I've relaxed from criticizing the designs and layout since I just want things to happen here. Still, there is a lot that I would do differently.

I don't have a problem with the idea, I like more and more green initiatives added to projects like this. I just think that this will limit anything else along Nebraska and/or Cass because any structure would block out the sun.

I'm sure it's just a few solar panels, nothing that can't be moved if there's a huge building built that blocks the sun.

New Article on Encore.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/economicdevelopment/encore-development-pays-homage-to-urban-tampas-musical-past/1181931

As mentioned in the article, Ella is now slated to break ground Late August.

And New Webcam for the Development!
http://tinyurl.com/5uvwuds

Reading the CRA transcript from August 18th, seems like Ella will start vertical construction within the next 2 weeks. :)

Sweet. I'll finally have something to watch go up out of my office window!

I'm surprised no one has commented on the large crane that has gone up there...

I'm surprised no one has commented on the large crane that has gone up there...
Haven't been down there in a month but good news indeed.

HUD delivers blow to Bank of America Encore development
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Date: Friday, October 7, 2011, 6:00am EDT..

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Residential Real Estate, Construction.
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Enlarge Image



ALEXIS MUELLNER

A view looking north from atop the SunTrust Financial Centre shows the work site of the Encore project.
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Mark HolanStaff Writer - Tampa Bay Business JournalEmail
TAMPA — Business and political leaders are working to move forward with the downtown Encore development after being snubbed by federal housing officials for a $23.3 million grant.

The decision puts at risk thousands of construction jobs and more than $160 million in local economic development impact, Encore supporters say.

Tampa was the only one of six finalist cities that didn’t get a slice of the $122 million Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development .. .

“This is a grant we really counted on, and we are sorely disappointed we didn’t get it,” said LeRoy Moore, the Tampa Housing Authority ..’s chief operating officer. “We are angry to say the least.”

The project is being developed as a joint effort between THA and Bank of America Community Development Corp. under the leadership of Roxanne M. Amoroso, senior vice president.

Amoroso declined to comment about HUD’s decision, referring the Tampa Bay Business Journal to a corporate representative. BofA said it couldn’t comment before the newspaper’s deadline.

The estimated $480 million project already has received nearly $40 million in federal funds.

HUD announced Aug. 31 that Chicago, New Orleans and San Francisco each would receive $30.5 million. Boston is getting $20.5 million and Seattle the remaining $10.27 million.

Dollars pegged for ‘Reed’ building

In Tampa, the grant money would have gone toward construction of a 156-unit senior housing development at Encore called the Reed. The building is expected to cost about $25 million.

THA was ready to award contracts by the end of the year, while the other five cities are still in early planning stages and haven’t moved a shovel of dirt, Moore said.

THA received a debriefing about HUD’s decision on Sept. 13.

“The comments we received from the HUD staff justifying how and why we lost points in this competition was in our opinion absurd,” THA President and Chief Executive Jerome Ryans wrote in a Sept. 23 letter to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.

The federal agency discounted more than $11.5 million in bond leverage through the Hillsborough County Housing Finance Authority because the agreement between the parties uses the word “if” in referring to the issue of bonds, Ryans wrote.

HUD spokeswoman Donna White said she couldn’t comment about the scoring.

“We didn’t have enough funding to award all the finalists,” White said. “There was barely enough for Seattle.”

Money was envisioned

Encore supporters touted the Choice Neighborhood grant earlier this year at the groundbreaking for the 160-unit Ella, the first building in the 40-acre development site nestled between Ybor City, the Channel District, Tampa Heights and downtown.

Moore met Oct. 5 with representatives from Nelson’s and Castor’s offices. “We want them [the elected officials] to talk to the HUD secretary and the president,” he said.

Local officials were heartened this summer when HUD doubled the Choice Neighborhood grant program from $60 million by including federal appropriations for fiscal 2010 and 2011. Now they are pushing for first dibs on 2012 money.

Ryans’ letter states “Tampa’s Encore project is poised to be seen as the most successful stimulus-funded project in the nation and in August 2012 will be the center of nation-wide attention as we cut the ribbon” on the Ella building.

The Republican Party, which has criticized the Democratic president’s stimulus plan, holds its national convention in Tampa the same month.

Broker says loss of federal grant not fatal to Encore
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Date: Friday, October 7, 2011, 9:55am EDT - Last Modified: Friday, October 7, 2011, 10:26am EDT.
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Alexis Muellner

A look down at the Encore construction site in downtown Tampa.
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Mark HolanStaff Writer - Tampa Bay Business JournalEmail
The loss of a $23.3 federal housing grant is a speed bump for Encore, but won’t slam the brakes on the downtown Tampa development, veteran commercial real estate broker Brenda Dohring Hicks said.

The chief executive of the Dohring Group .. is playing a key role in the project partnership between the Tampa Housing Authority and Bank of America Community Development Corp.

“The grant would have kept us moving at the same pace,” Dohring Hicks said, “but this is not going to stall us so badly that we will lose momentum.”

As first reported in the Oct. 7 print edition of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Tampa was the only one of six cities denied a share of the $122 million Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development .. .

“I was not happy with HUD’s decision,” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said this week. “I think we deserved it and I think we were slighted. We were truly shovel-ready.”

Tampa Housing Authority officials have complained about the decision in a letter to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Representative Kathy Castor.

“We fight for every grant,” Castor said. “This was one round we lost, but the community has done very well in obtaining (federal) money.”

The estimated $480 million Encore development has received about $40 million in federal funds.

Earlier this week Castor announced the city received a $759,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services .. to help revitalize East Tampa.

Dohring Hicks said not getting HUD’s Choice Neighborhood grant would delay construction of a 156-unit senior housing development at Encore by two or three months. She said it would not negatively impact commercial interest in the project, since private developers are looking at horizons of a year or more.

“It’s a blip,” she said. “It’s not a nice blip.”

A supermarket, widely believed to be Publix, is under contract at Encore.

Without confirming the identity, Dohring Hicks said she is confident a deal would be announced before the end of the year.

She said hotel and retail interests are also considering the 40-acre mixed-use project.

The grant Castor and Buckhorn announced for East Tampa is also supposed to lure a grocery store to 22nd Street and Mallory Avenue, about two miles east of Encore. Castor said that effort would not preclude bringing a grocery to the downtown development.

I told you guys a grocery store would go in Encore, if nobody else around downtown got off their asses.

So let me get this right. A Publix might be under contract for Encore, a project that doesn't even have one resident living in it, and yet Channelside can't get a grocer because it doesn't have enough residents? Call me nuts I guess....

This is bullsh*t.

This is bullsh*t.
Agreed. And it's going to take how long to fill up all the units, build the second building, fill that up, and have enough residents to match the numbers of Channelside? And yet, Encore seems to have one already in the bad while we hear rumors that Grand Central is in talks..... for about 2 years now.

I don't know who is in charge of the CRA for Channelside, but I would be pretty ticked as a resident of Channelside hearing the rumblings of a grocer opening up in Channelside as long as it has been. And now, it is likely that one won't open in Channelside for even longer in Grand Central can't get pen to paper fast enough and open one before August 2012.

This thread needs to be updated. Ella is under full-blown construction now. Numerous piles have sprouted up.

Will get pics as soon as I'm DT again, if someone doesn't beat me to it.

So let me get this right. A Publix might be under contract for Encore, a project that doesn't even have one resident living in it, and yet Channelside can't get a grocer because it doesn't have enough residents? Call me nuts I guess....

I kinda thought that the Grand Central location, or the site due east of the Seaport apartments would have had a grocery store built around now (2010-2011), since it could serve Channelside, Ybor, northern DT and even Hyde Park so conveniently. (and have streetcar access, and it's on a truck route) My guess is if the economy didn't tank so bad, it would have been built.

After the latest boom, there are now around 10,000 households within a mile or so radius of downtown (including UT dorms). The only full blown grocery stores are the Publix on Platt and the Wal-Mart on Kennedy. Some people wind up going to the Sweet Bay up Nebraska at MLK, or over to the Publix, Whole Foods or Target on Dale Mabry. There is plenty of pent up demand, and I doubt that a grocery store being built at Encore will kill a grocery store in Channelside, it will just delay it. I figure the DT area will eventually wind up with a Publix/Sweet Bay type store, and a Whole Foods/Fresh Market type store. I also wouldn't be surprised to see an ALDI/GFS type place wind up on SR60 somehwere near IKEA. Or maybe even a smaller footprint Sam's or Costco. I know such things had been considered before the market took a dump, and projected residential development in the area stalled.

Here's some pics up from the Encore's Facebook page. All from this past Wednesday.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6101/6361695395_1b0895750e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695395/)
Encore (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695395/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6219/6361695361_2d4be4fef5_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695361/)
Ella3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695361/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6101/6361695323_892da4b16e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695323/)
Ella2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695323/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr

Final Product
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6059/6361695261_041042f8ef_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695261/)
Ella (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tampamike/6361695261/) by TampaMike2 (http://www.flickr.com/people/tampamike/), on Flickr