Tampa General expansion on Kennedy Blvd

[DShenise]

My guess is that City Transportation said no to the main entrance on Willow, and that they will force right turn only onto Kennedy. But yes that is another solution and I doubt it was ignored for lack of interest, there is a reason why the proposal looks like it does.

[Jasonhouse]

^My guess is it so they wouldn't get stuck paying for intersection improvements at Kennedy/Willow, which not only involves a state highway (Kennedy is SR60), but also includes an integrated RR crossing into the intersection, and will thus be expensive and require extra regulatory hurdles to upgrade.

Trust me, the site's configuration is strictly about being cheap, not because of some building code that would prevent the developer from being able to use a public roadway for ingress/egress. Almost all surrouding properties are businesses already using those very same roadways for ingress/egress, and the traffic counts are nowhere near capacity on Willow or Oregon (or Kennedy for that matter). The developer is being cheap, pure and simple. And the city is going to let them get away with it, just watch and see...

[I-275westcoastfl]

Of course if the city grew a pair and told them they had to change that then I would be surprised.

[Casey]

Seems to me that if the City Council would approve that USF low-rise building in the middle of downtown, then they would probably approve this one as well. Too bad they couldn't be flip-flopped.

[TampaMike]

Isn't the USF project medical-oriented aswell? Why not add on to this project? Maybe start a little Medical Office District in West Tampa.

[Jasonhouse]

^I said this months ago when word was first getting around about these projects.

[DShenise]

If they (USF) could have acquired land north of this proposed site, you would potentially have a nice little destination lined up for the most likely LTR line on Cypress.

[Jasonhouse]

Shoulda coulda woulda... lol

[DShenise]

However it does allow for potential corporate recruiting in the future. Maybe something could be cobbled together by a med/pharma company. Also, there is the potential to encourage a cluster of doctors offices in the area. The area around Memorial is pretty heavy with doctors offices.

[GOOT]

It's a shame the USF building couldn't be something like the Science building they're putting up on campus right now. Not a skyscraper, but 7 stories with a pretty large profile. 235,000 sq feet in total. I walk by it everyday on my way to class and it's a pretty impressive building. I don't think the complaints would be as strong if this building was going up along Franklin rather than a building almost 1/5 it's size.

[GOOT]

Anyone see this?

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tamp...06/story1.html



TAMPA — A $100 million plan by Tampa General Hospital to build a rehabilitation complex on Kennedy Boulevard west of downtown underwent some rehab of its own after city planners said it fell short of urban design standards.
Hospital executives hope changes in parking, additional landscaping and new retail space will convince the City Council to approve rezoning and allow construction on 10 vacant acres that formerly housed a Ferman Automotive Group dealership.
The new facility would free up space at Tampa General’s main campus on Davis Islands, the largest hospital in the area with 988 licensed beds. Hospital officials said it would improve care to patients recovering from strokes, traumatic injuries and orthopedic surgeries. That could increase reimbursement for hospital treatment, which increasingly is based on quality and outcomes.
City planners agreed the proposed development would provide valuable medical services, create jobs and contribute to economic development. But they argued that should not be done by ignoring standards that call for pedestrian-friendly design and buildings close to the street in the Kennedy Boulevard Overlay District, west of the Hillsborough River to Himes Avenue.


Everybody happy now?

[TampaMike]

EDIT: Maybe I should had open the article before posting. The article is almost 3 weeks old and pretty much is what was originally posted. So the changes are what we see in the renders and not new changes to the overall plan. So I'm back to being unhappy until I see that the city grew some balls and have them fix what is planned.

[GOOT]

Originally Posted by TampaMike

EDIT: Maybe I should had open the article before posting. The article is almost 3 weeks old and pretty much is what was originally posted. So the changes are what we see in the renders and not new changes to the overall plan. So I'm back to being unhappy until I see that the city grew some balls and have them fix what is planned.

I know the article is old but I stumbled upon it tonight. And no new renderings but at least it looks like they realize they need to adjust the previous plans.

[TampaMike]

Originally Posted by GOOT

I know the article is old but I stumbled upon it tonight. And no new renderings but at least it looks like they realize they need to adjust the previous plans.

Well, the adjusted plans are what we have now, what many of us are not happy about. The plan that Jason put together, its something I would support. What the hospital has come up with is something I wouldn't support. The hospital should kept to the zoning requirements and develop their plans along Kennedy to what is suggested by the zoning variances.

[GOOT]

Originally Posted by TampaMike

Well, the adjusted plans are what we have now, what many of us are not happy about. The plan that Jason put together, its something I would support. What the hospital has come up with is something I wouldn't support. The hospital should kept to the zoning requirements and develop their plans along Kennedy to what is suggested by the zoning variances.

They are? This article refers to retail being placed along the street which I didn't see in the original article.

Sorry.

[Jasonhouse]

The "improved" version is the one we're complaining about.

Thanks for the article though.

[TampaMike]

Tampa General Hospital plans to build rehab complex downtown
By Letitia Stein, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, October 9, 2010

TAMPA — Tampa General Hospital plans a $100 million rehabilitation complex at the entrance to downtown Tampa on Kennedy Boulevard.

The project, which the City Council approved Thursday, will feature 59 patient beds, with room for expansion, and a lodge to house the family members of patients facing long-term stays.

The complex will rise on nearly 10 acres on Kennedy Boulevard that was formerly home to a car dealership, the Ferman Automotive Group. It replaces the 25-year-old rehabilitation center at the Davis Islands hospital.

"We needed a bigger and better rehab facility. We can't build any more where we are," said spokesman John Dunn, noting the location's proximity to the main hospital.

The six-story rehabilitation center will incorporate space for therapy on the patient floors. At the existing facility, the patients have to go down to the first floor for treatment.

It features more private rooms and expanded therapy areas. Site plans incorporate large, green spaces and a medical office building.

Hospital planners lowered the height of the parking garage because city officials wanted a design more suitable to the location, a main downtown entryway.

Tampa General aims to begin construction in about 18 months, Dunn said. He noted that the $100 million cost remains an estimate.

Tampa General has not yet decided how to use the space that will be freed up at its main campus.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/...wntown/1126984

Anyone want to put a bet down that the city did nothing to have the hospital change the layout of their project and we're stuck with what almost all of us are complaining about? I'll put down $100 million.

[jonknee]

The version of the article in the TBT has a little more info:

The City Council on Thursday approved a 50-bed rehabilitation center, medical offices and a hotel on nearly 10 acres along Kennedy Boulevard formerly occupied by a car dealership. The rezoning clears the way for a Tampa General Hospital project that initially was delayed over city concerns that its design was inconsistent with one of the main entryways into downtown. In the new plan, the medical project will include large green spaces and parking garages with “green” roofs, city records show. It could be 165 feet high along Kennedy Boulevard. The site, at 1307 W Kennedy Blvd., was once occupied by Ferman Automotive Group. The hospital’s foundation said it has also acquired nearly 5 acres across the boulevard at a site currently occupied by Bryn-Alan Studios photography where the hospital plans to house electronic records.

[TampaMike]

Even though it is talking about another TGH project, I'll make my point after the article.

Security fence at issue in Tampa General project on Kennedy Boulevard
By Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, December 7, 2010


TAMPA — Tampa General Hospital aims to move 450 employees to a two-story home near downtown, but city development review officials are skeptical of part of the $5 million project.

It's a 6-foot-tall security fence, 490 feet of which would be along W Kennedy Boulevard.

City rules allow a 2-foot wall along Kennedy, a height that permits bench seating.

In a report to the City Council, officials say the height proposed by Tampa General creates a "physical barricade" that "does not enhance the public realm" and is a "violation of proper urban design standards."

At most, city officials say, the fence should be 4 feet tall.

In response, Tampa General representatives say it's not just any fence.

They say they plan to replicate the University of Tampa's fence, with its brick columns and black ornamental spikes, on their side of Kennedy.

"We are also residents of the city of Tampa," said Oslec Fernandez, the hospital's director of facilities management. "Downtown, of course, is very important to the city. So we are not going to do something that is ugly or detrimental."

A rezoning for the project is scheduled to go to a public hearing at the Tampa City Council at 6 p.m. Thursday. Also on the agenda is Tampa General's request to vacate and close Brevard Avenue between Kennedy and W Cleveland Street.

That would allow Tampa General to amass 5.6 acres for the two-story building, once owned by Bryn-Alan Photography, and 457 parking spaces.

Once renovations are complete, the building would house information technology and finance employees now on the main campus on Davis Islands.

The hospital hopes to move into the renovated building in early April, Fernandez said.

City officials also have raised questions about the parking, which they fear would dominate Kennedy's streetscape.

City rules require 177 spaces, but hospital attorney David Mechanik said more are needed. Building only what is required would not give the project enough spaces for employees, he said.

Again, Fernandez said, the appearance shouldn't be a problem. Between Kennedy and the parking lot will be a sidewalk with concrete panels and brick trim, 24 feet of landscaped setback and the UT-style fence.

The renovation, known as the Corporate Center, is not Tampa General's only project planned on Kennedy.

In October, the City Council approved the hospital's plans for a $100 million rehabilitation complex.

That project will feature 59 patient beds, plus room for expansion, and a lodge to house relatives of patients facing long-term stays.

It will go on 10 acres on Kennedy that once was home to the Ferman Automotive Group car dealership. The hospital has said it plans to begin the six-story project in about 16 months.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgo...levard/1138559

NO NO NO! Why does another part of Tampa have to be anchored down by growth by people that have no idea what the f*ck they are doing? What's on the site now for the TGH corporate center is the building that will be renovated, the parking spaces, and much empty land. I believe half of the land was once planned for a mixed use development a while back.

The idea of replicating the UT fence makes no sense, the project doesn't even connect to the land with UT. What is the point of replicating the fence when it's going to look out of place in the first place? And if anything, Kennedy shouldn't have fences, not even on the UT site. There is 50 places where anyone can walk on the campus, what does the fences do?

And why can't TGH include this in their other project and add two stories to the 6 story tower? Why do they need to buy and detroy another lot with a mediocre project? Tampa's "Gateway to Tampa" project is a complete joke if this is allowed.

[jonknee]

Strange that UT didn't scoop up that spot--they have been picking up lots of land in that area and that would be a prime spot for them.