University of Tampa News and Development

[TampaMike]

UT hasn't been known to include retail space in any of their buildings and I agree with smiley, I don't think many dorm or halls around the country have retail on them.

When the school needs a parking garage, which I would expect be soon because the school seems to be increasing with new enrollments every semester, then I hope they consider retail for that.

[Del Mayberry]

By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 09, 2012
Updated: February 09, 2012 - 2:52 PM
The former site of the Valencia Garden restaurant is becoming a residence hall for the University of Tampa.

For the second time in recent weeks, the University of Tampa has announced plans to add onto its campus along Kennedy Boulevard.
University-owned buildings vacated by two Kennedy businesses west of campus will be demolished, making way for future construction, a UT release states.
Complete Auto Remarketing Specialist at 1107 W. Kennedy was knocked down Wednesday, and Olin Mott Tire at 1119 W. Kennedy will be destroyed in coming days, UT spokesman Eric Cardenas said.
The university did not disclose plans for the sites.
"We haven't announced anything because plans may change and we have to get various approvals from the city," Cardenas said.
No timeline for construction was immediately available.
"We have needs for certain things for campus – for co-curricular space, for residence hall space, for academic space," Cardenas said. "We're hoping to use the properties that we own to fill those needs."
Future construction will be consistent with UT's design standards "and would provide an appealing entry into Tampa's downtown," the release states.
In late January the university announced it was about to build the largest-ever residence hall on campus at another site along Kennedy. The residence hall will help meet an increasing demand for student housing, university officials said.
Slated for completion in August 2013, the $38 million structure will be 11 stories high and accommodate 523 students. The building will be on land where the iconic Valencia Garden restaurant once stood.
Site preparation is under way, and the building should begin to go up in April.
The construction comes during a time of record-breaking enrollment at UT. The private university's student body of 6,738 has quadrupled in the past 17 years, and 65 percent of its full-time students live on campus.

[Del Mayberry]

And where will the next midrise dorm be built?

[TampaMike]

Maybe UT can add some ground retail on this one? Too far for being another dorm, but it will be a deadzone for Kennedy between UT and the TGH expansion if it's fenced in or just walls and doors. Maybe the city will listen to me for once.

[Jasonhouse]

Originally Posted by Del Mayberry

And where will the next midrise dorm be built?

Look up the old Valencia Garden and you'll know. It's basically on the north side of Kennedy where Fielding Ave terminates.

[koopalicious]

Future construction will be consistent with UT's design standards "and would provide an appealing entry into Tampa's downtown," the release states.

Since when have UT's design standards ever resulted in anything appealing?

[Jasonhouse]

lol! Nice catch... What has that guy been smoking, and has he been doing it on the job?

[LuvHighrisers]

Everything UT has put up has been a vast improvement over what was there before.

[Jasonhouse]

That's a false comparison. What was there before is largely irrelevant for obvious reasons. What could be there instead of a wall of fencing is what's at issue.

[G Tom]

I have an idea! Let's all pool our money together and buy a piece of land. We'll build some retail space.

It's fool-proof! Who's in?

[Jasonhouse]

Let's buy those two lots on the south side of Kennedy, right there on the river.

[smiley]

Once again, I cannot think of any university that builds street retail into its residence halls. It is asking for lawsuits - most have the campus on one side of the street and retails grows up on the other side.

[Jasonhouse]

^Just in case it matters, I wasn't suggesting that UT do that. I was suggesting they leave frontage that is something like 60-75-100ft deep along Kennedy, lease it to developers of their choosing, and then have a security fence IN BETWEEN the developments fronting Kennedy, and the UT residence halls behind.

[TampaMike]

Who says this is going to be another residence hall though? This could be just an administrator building.... a one story walled in administrator building.

[koopalicious]

Originally Posted by LuvHighrisers

Everything UT has put up has been a vast improvement over what was there before.

Better than the Myelvaron Hotel? Crescent Hotel? Casino? Boat House?

Really?

[smiley]

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

^Just in case it matters, I wasn't suggesting that UT do that. I was suggesting they leave frontage that is something like 60-75-100ft deep along Kennedy, lease it to developers of their choosing, and then have a security fence IN BETWEEN the developments fronting Kennedy, and the UT residence halls behind.

That does matter. It is an interesting idea, but I would bet the city code would doom that plan with all the requirements, plus the inability to use the land.

I would take an admin building with retail in the bottom. From what they have done recently, there is a pretty good chance that it will not be a one story building. UT is private, so politicians have no say, and UT is not TGH.

Frankly, the wall notwithstanding, UT has done more to urbanize/add density to Kennedy near downtown than anyone else. At least it is putting thousands of people just across the river from downtown in 8-12 story buildings. Just imaging what would be there if it was left to developers and the city government.

[LuvHighrisers]

Great point smiley! We should be pleased that UT has taken a lead in density residences instead of bemoaning the loss of a string of blighted and unattractive motels. FYI - security is a huge issue today in campus planning today (especially since the Columbine [I know it's a high school] and the Virginia Tech shootings). Students (and their parents) want to make sure they are safe. You can make all sorts of logical arguments about this, but fundamentally this is an emotional issue that is driving school planning in our times.

[Jasonhouse]

Originally Posted by smiley

That does matter. It is an interesting idea, but I would bet the city code would doom that plan with all the requirements, plus the inability to use the land.

And more to the point, why would they go through all of that, when there's nobody suggesting to them that they do something to make their neighborhood a better neighborhood. They get the opposite, a standing invitation that the city will negate any development rules that encumber UT's prerogatives.

I wish that the prerogatives of everyone else were equally valued, not just self-entitled special interests with political connections.

I would take an admin building with retail in the bottom. From what they have done recently, there is a pretty good chance that it will not be a one story building. UT is private, so politicians have no say, and UT is not TGH.

I have no clue what they're planning... If it's an admin/faculty building, it could indeed be a 1-3 story single-use building with surface parking (honestly what I expect)... Or maybe they consolidate all admin functions of any kind to this site, and do something that's in the 4-7 floor range which has a little prefab garage that's as cheap to build as they can get it. A building to that scale could support a ground floor cafe, but that's probably about it. I wouldn't see anything bigger/taller being built unless they've decided that making students walk across several blocks that aren't secured is ok.

[koopalicious]

It's hard to guess what they will do, because up until this point there hasn't been much rhyme or reason to their decision-making, especially with regards to security. For example, the hall south of Kennedy is all buckled up, but the other dorms are pretty much all accessible. Even the new residence hall about to go up - from the image, it will have fencing along Kennedy, but the entrance is along the Brevard side... so, it's not like anything is being secured.

[smiley]

The security is to not have non-university people going into the dorm buildings. If you have stores, you are opening the buildings to random outsiders. It is a simple idea that is replicated at most dorms I have ever seen.