TAMPA | Encore/Central Park Revitalization | several midrises | retail | office | residential | site work

[FloridaFuture]

I hope this one looks nice. It'll be more out in the open then any other tower in Tampa so its going to have to look attractive. Hopefully it will begin more development in that rundown Northeastern Downtown. Does anyone know the # of towers and # of floors?

[Jasonhouse]

^It's supposed to be something like two 23 story towers and a 26 story tower... And all of the tall stuff is market rate condos, which means that hopefully they won't look like shit and should be well maintained.

[tampamobster21]

I think there is a total of 7(?) buildings, do not quote me. Three skyscrapers and four midrise building.

[smiley]

IF you go to this site

http://media.tbo.com/photos/tbo/2006...park/index.htm

there is a macromedia flash presentation. THe last two frames are (rather simple) renderings of the proposal. I cannot rip them from the flash, though I know some of you can and then post them. Godspeed.

[smiley]

Ok, so I just thought of a way to do it. Ta da . . .

[FloridaFuture]

Looks pretty cool. Good find Smiley. The other rendering is the church-to-be-museum.

[moxwax]

Originally Posted by FloridaFuture

Looks pretty cool. Good find Smiley. The other rendering is the church-to-be-museum.

I aree - looks quite a bit better tha I expected. Now if only they could've gotten that other housing project to sell, this area would have been amazing! I hope they do in the near future - that thing is an eyesore...

Anyway, Tampa is really coming together. I think this development is key in connecting the different areas of "downtown" (CBD, Channelside, Ybor) and combining them into something really special.

[smiley]

Ok, so they said (can't rememberwhere) that the towers will be by private developers and BoA will do the 7-10 story mixed housing. So assume the towers do not get built for a while. I can still stomach some nice midrise urban housing with nice streets. Should be ok - better than what is there now, for sure.

[tampamobster21]

That is a definite. I am not sure about the timetable, but aren't they still looking to move people out in July?

[FloridaFuture]

Originally Posted by tampamobster21

That is a definite. I am not sure about the timetable, but aren't they still looking to move people out in July?

Ya they're moving people in July and they said it would take about a year. I don't think they'vr released any real dates on actual construction yet.

[smiley]

Heights Plan Adds Affordable Housing
Skip directly to the full story.
By ELLEN GEDALIUS The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 26, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT


More from this channel:

Search for more information:



Site Search Archives Keyword

TBO.com Site Search | Tribune archive from 1990

TAMPA - When city council members approved the Heights project last week, they blessed a plan that would increase the affordable housing stock in Tampa substantially.

In fact, The Heights is perhaps the biggest project with an affordable housing component in city history.

"It's a beginning," said Cyndy Miller, the city's director of the Business and Housing Development department. "This is an opportunity where you will really see positive impact. It's not one or two scattered units. It's 190 to 270 units."

The Heights is a 48-acre project in Tampa Heights that will include 1,900 condo units and town houses. The project also includes 100,000 square feet of retail space; 100 boat slips; and 160,000 square feet of office space.

Part of the deal: 190 - or 10 percent - of the housing units must be labeled affordable if they are built on-site. If the developer, Better Place Group, chooses to build the affordable units off-site, then 270 - or 15 percent - must be built.

Half of the units must be affordable to families of four with incomes between $65,280 and $76,160. The other half must be affordable to families of four with incomes less than $65,280.

Housing is considered affordable if people spend no more than 30 percent of their income on shelter.

The cost of the homes hasn't been set, but market-rate units will be priced between $300,000 and $1 million.

Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa are facing an affordable housing crisis, with some of the poorest people spending more than half of their incomes on housing. Median home prices have risen more than 70 percent in the past few years, but salaries have crept up only about 10 percent.

City and county officials are working on developing more incentives for developers to provide affordable housing in their projects. In this case, A Better Place Group offered to do it.

A Better Place Group is required by its development agreement with the city to build the affordable units along with market-rate units. That way, the developers can't back out at the end and say they are out of money, Miller said.

Developer Bill Bishop is thrilled to do it. He said he initially proposed including lower-cost units when his company and the city began talks in 2002.

"We've got an affordable housing crisis in general," Bishop said. "Mature communities have always worked better when there's a variety of people and a variety of income levels in that community."

Bishop hasn't decided whether to build the units on- or off-site. He said he might do a combination of both.

Building off-site, he said, has its advantages. People living within the development itself likely will be hit with condo association fees and other assessments. Some of those charges could be avoided if the affordable units are developed off-site.

Building affordable units off-site generally is somewhat controversial because it appears developers don't want to put poorer people in their higher-scale projects.

That's not the case here, Bishop and Miller said, because the developer will be required to build the units close to The Heights. If Bishop chooses the off-site option, the homes must be built east of North Boulevard, west of Nebraska Avenue, south of Columbus Drive and north of Interstate 275.

When council members approved the project Thursday night, several spoke enthusiastically about the affordable housing element.

"The affordable housing component is to be commended," Councilman Kevin White said. The project is in his district.

In an interview the day after the meeting, White said The Heights project could become a model for future developments.

"Other developers should look at this project," White said.

A final vote on the project is scheduled for July 13.

Contact Ellen Gedalius at egedalius@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7679.
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBBWP1BWOE.html

[tampamobster21]

Thanks for the article smiley. I can not wait to see if it is built. I think that I would like to find out what exactly the pricing is for the units. Are there such figures?

[robbie]

Thought I'd put this info in this sinking thread. The two-story building at Nebraska and Zack is sold (supposedly). Don't know who bought it though. I'm thinking with Central Park being razed, maybe somebody took interest in the building. I hope the building is salvaged. If I'm not mistaken, I think it may have been the slum apartment in the "Punisher". It sure looks like it.

[TampaMike]

Malave’s new house is a beige, one-story home on a quiet street in north Tampa.

There are three bedrooms, carpeted floors and central air conditioning, a welcome change from the one wall unit she relied on to cool her Central Park Village apartment.

In Central Park, Malave used to brace the front door with a kitchen chair for an extra layer of protection. The new neighborhood is quiet, she says, so she’s not expecting to have to do that anymore.

As the movers fill the house with her belongings, Malave says she is happy to be home.

“When I looked inside, I thought this is what I have needed,” she says.


It took about 90 minutes for the movers to clean out Malave’s apartment.

With the truck packed, Malave looks around the apartment one last time, gathers a few odds and ends, and locks the door.

She might come back to visit, she says, but she’s looking forward to starting over somewhere else.

“I’m not sad,” she said. “I’m glad. I’ve got my kids, and I’m going to a house.”


A handful of employees from the Tampa Housing Authority have also shown up to check on Malave’s progress.

Communications director Lillian Stringer knows what many of the Central Park Village residents go through living in public housing. She grew up in College Hill, and went on get a college degree from the University of Maryland.


In her 17 years with the housing authority, Stringer has seen Central Park go from an area where residents held competitions for the nicest yard, to a neighborhood where many yards don’t even have grass.


Stringer knows the transition will be hard for some residents, especially those who have spent years in Central Park, but she said the move is going to be positive for everyone.

“There has got to be a better place than Central Park Village,” she said.


As Malave’s move continues, the neighbors are gathering to find out what’s going on.

Zuleika Soto lives next door, and is sad to see her neighbor go.

“She’s been my only friend since I got her,” said Soto, who has lived in Central Park for eight months.

Soto, who lives with her 10- and 5-year-old daughters, has filled on her Section 8 paperwork and is waiting for the Tampa Housing Authority to come inspect her apartment.

She has gone on a few housing tours run by the housing authority, and knows what she wants – a small house, with a bedroom for each of her girls.

“I don’t want to go to the projects again,” she said.

She has lived in her two-story Central Park Village apartment for two years, and is now ready to move out.


Malave has lived right across the street from the complex’s main office, a location that has kept her safe from much of the neighborhood’s violence and drug activity.

Still, it’s hard to avoid the crime altogether, so Malave keeps to herself.

“I just stay inside with my kids,” she said.

Her three children, including a 5-year-old disabled daughter, are the reason Malave wanted to leave so soon. It’s always hard to start over, but Malave said she wants to move into a safer neighborhood so her children can have a better life.

After a quick walk-through of her apartment, Malave sends the movers in.


The movers from Williams Moving Service have been outside Maribel Malave’s apartment since about 8 a.m.

Malave, the first Central Park Village resident to relocate, is dropping off some personal belongings at her new, single-family home on Sewaha Street.

This is a big day, not only for Malave, but also her case manager, Rosa Hill.

“To see her go, I know that she is happy,” Hill said. “That makes us feel like we’re doing our job.”

Hill has been working with Malave to find a new house with a yard where her children can play, and good schools they can attend. Watching the first resident move, Hill said, might be the impetus other residents need to started with their relocation.

“They’ve been waiting so long for this,” she said.


After 52 years, Tampa’s Central Park Village housing project is being torn down. In its place will be a 143-acre redevelopment district designed to bring mixed-income residents to the area. Before that plan can get underway, more than 1,300 Central Park residents must move.


The first resident, Maribel Malave, moves out today. Tampa Tribune reporter Julie Pace and photographer Crystal Lauderdale follow Malave as she moves out of her India Street apartment and into a single-family home.

http://tboblogs.com/index.php/newswi..._park_village/

[TPAMAN]

It was...

[tampamobster21]

Ok, so does this mean that all of the residents are going to be moving out?

[Jasonhouse]

^nah... they're going to stay throughout the demolition and redevelopment process.

(isn't it beyond obvious that people would have to move out before the buildings they live in can be torn down and rebuilt?)

[tampamobster21]

Sorry I did not do a full post I meant to say that the residents will be moving out soon.

[Quegiebo]

Tommy at Sticks of Fire has provided an update on the Central Park Revitialization project. If you're interested, go check it out at www.sticksoffire.com

Here's are two of several artistic renderings created by Kollman and Karsky:





They've even included two videos for your viewing pleasure.

b.t.w. I had no idea that Ray Charles made his first recording locally. How cool is that?

[tampamobster21]

absolutely beautiful! I just wish that they would have centralized the plan and make more tall buildings. I can't however complain either way because I am looking forward to having something there rather than what is there now.