Ybor City

[FloridaFuture]

Originally Posted by smiley

LEt me make a prediction - there will NOT be an 11-story condo (or any other kind) building in the middle of Ybor . . . maybe 5 or 6 (more likely 5) but not 11

I think they mean to make some of the movie theaters condos - I really have no preference because there are movies a short streetcar ride away.

Oh I agree, it was just wishful thinking by me. From the article it sounds liek the developer didn't purchase any extra land so the developer will probaly just convert some of the current buildings into lofts and small offices. You're right about the movie theatre, I think it has 20 cinemas which is alot considering Channelside has 9 plus IMAX a short drive away.

I'm thinking they could definitley work with this building and it would be a good start......

[smiley]

I think that is the least likely to be reused - it has the best space for restaurant and things like the comedy club

[FloridaFuture]

I don't know much of construction, but couldn't they use the top half of the building as lofts? I *think* the top 2 lines of windows are just for decoration. Couldn't they turn it into a floor or two?

[tampabound]

They are NOT going to put residential in Centro Ybor. Believe me. Office space, perhaps. The lot it is in is not mixed residential last time I checked.

Also, I think the centro movie theater is much nicer than the Channelside theater.

[FloridaFuture]

Originally Posted by tampabound

They are NOT going to put residential in Centro Ybor. Believe me. Office space, perhaps. The lot it is in is not mixed residential last time I checked.

Also, I think the centro movie theater is much nicer than the Channelside theater.

The developer said it's looking too so there's no reason to believe it will or won't at this point, it's early, it was just purchased and announced. I do agree that the Cento Ybor movie theatre is nicer and you can even by (fried) meals there, but you have to spread it around a little bit. When Centro Ybor isn't filling up and is a large theater with 20 cinemas, it's more economical to cut back to maybe 10-12 cinemas and turn the space you just freed up into office or residential. It's not really about Centro Ybor's theater vs. Channelside's. But more about improving Centro Ybor to improve Ybor City.

[TampaMike]

smiley: I don't do this much, but I'm going to have to disagree with you. I believe that with good thinking and planning, there is a high chance that Ybor could see something roughly around the 11 story range. As I-275westcoastfl and FloridaFuture said, if it fits in with Ybor and isn't no Dubail-style tower, it wil probably happen. You can easily turn most of Ybor historic buildings into towers. Converting most former cigar factories into lofts and building a nice 10 story tower next to it that matches the facade of the other building will look so awesome. It will cost cheap and really improve Ybor aswell as impressing all of Tampa. I hope the Chicago company see's this and do something with Ybor and bring the life back to the historic part of Tampa.

[Jasonhouse]

^I have two words to bring you back to reality...

Barrio Latino.


There will NOT be an 11 story building anywhere near "the heart of Ybor" any time soon, and probably not ever.

[tampamobster21]

It will always be like the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. Low-rise historic buildings.

[LuvHighrisers]

NPR Guy - Jasonhouse is 100% correct. The Barrio Latino Commission was set up to preserve the character of the National Historic Landmark District that Ybor is. If you have ever watched the Barrio Latino Commission meetings on cable, you can see how strict they are on things that would seem very minor to most of us (such as window sills, etc.). According to the City of Tampa website, “The Barrio Latino Commission has the responsibility of preserving the historic fabric of the District and maintaining its architectural integrity. The Ybor City Historic District has many character defining features: pedestrian scale, mixed-use main streets, as well as its unique structures such as the Social Clubs and Cigar Factory buildings. The Barrio Latino Commission balances the historic past with the growth of the present prosperity.”

[TampaMike]

Originally Posted by LuvHighrisers

NPR Guy - Jasonhouse is 100% correct. The Barrio Latino Commission was set up to preserve the character of the National Historic Landmark District that Ybor is. If you have ever watched the Barrio Latino Commission meetings on cable, you can see how strict they are on things that would seem very minor to most of us (such as window sills, etc.). According to the City of Tampa website, “The Barrio Latino Commission has the responsibility of preserving the historic fabric of the District and maintaining its architectural integrity. The Ybor City Historic District has many character defining features: pedestrian scale, mixed-use main streets, as well as its unique structures such as the Social Clubs and Cigar Factory buildings. The Barrio Latino Commission balances the historic past with the growth of the present prosperity.”

That is why I said that if they want to build something, then it must fit in with the rest of Ybor. You can certainly build a tower looking like anything else in Ybor. Now yes I know how strict the Barrio Latino Commission is, but maybe if something is brought to them at this level and they promise to preserve any of the buildings in Ybor, then I think they will have no problem with that. One thing that might make them more approve of such a project would be if one of the cigar factories were renovated into a museum, but kept at it's old glory.

[Jasonhouse]

^By all means, please show us the codes and/or legal precedents which will allow a developer to build an 11-story building in Ybor and actually have it pass muster with the various local regulatory agencies....

[tampabound]

NewPortRicheyGuy: You, my friend, have no idea what historic preservation means.

[Lakelander]

Originally Posted by NewPortRicheyGuy

That is why I said that if they want to build something, then it must fit in with the rest of Ybor. You can certainly build a tower looking like anything else in Ybor. Now yes I know how strict the Barrio Latino Commission is, but maybe if something is brought to them at this level and they promise to preserve any of the buildings in Ybor, then I think they will have no problem with that. One thing that might make them more approve of such a project would be if one of the cigar factories were renovated into a museum, but kept at it's old glory.

Building heights and scale are two of the most important factors to fitting in with a historic district's requirements. I too believe you'll never see anything near 10 stories in Ybor with the Barrio in place. 5 maybe, but even that will be pushing it.

[tampamobster21]

Not to cramp anyones style, but as I was told you are not supposed to take pictures of the Centro buildings without expressed consent from the management. I do not know the reasons why, but I caught holy hell from some woman security officer. She wanted to search my bag and everything. As far as the height of the building discussion, I think that it is temporary insanity that brought NPR to concoct the notion of the 10 story building. I am usually the one who comes with the half thought out ideas and posts them without thoroughly thinking them through, but for the time being I am not in the hot seat...lol. I thought it crazy that the s.o. freaked out about me being in the area with my camera. She did not even know that the complex was bought out. She was like "That hasn't gotten to my level yet."

[zerobullchip]

Originally Posted by tampamobster21

Not to cramp anyones style, but as I was told you are not supposed to take pictures of the Centro buildings without expressed consent from the management. I do not know the reasons why, but I caught holy hell from some woman security officer. She wanted to search my bag and everything. As far as the height of the building discussion, I think that it is temporary insanity that brought NPR to concoct the notion of the 10 story building. I am usually the one who comes with the half thought out ideas and posts them without thoroughly thinking them through, but for the time being I am not in the hot seat...lol. I thought it crazy that the s.o. freaked out about me being in the area with my camera. She did not even know that the complex was bought out. She was like "That hasn't gotten to my level yet."

I doubt that. If you are standing on a public sidewalk you can take pictures of whatever you like

[Tampa610]

First of all Centro Ybor is partially owned by the City of Tampa/Ybor CRA so in essence it is a public building. The city pays $750,000 a year on the second mortgage. My taxes are paying for that building so feel free to take all the pictures you want!!!!

Second, you won't see an 11 story anything in the historic dristrict. The max limit is 5 stories. The word on the street is that the new owner would like to use part of the movie theatre for housing and some offices. Basically the theatre would be cut down from 20 sceens to 12 screens (maybe 10). 12 is the magic number in the theatre world to get first run mainstream films. Having cut off 8 theatres will leave room for development. Centro Ybor owners are also geing to be looking at solutions to parking in or directly adjacent to centro Ybor. I don't know how they will do that! There are a couple buildings located to the left of Urban Outfitters that are for sale. Perhpas those could be utilized in the plan.

[Jasonhouse]

Originally Posted by tampamobster21

Not to cramp anyones style, but as I was told you are not supposed to take pictures of the Centro buildings without expressed consent from the management. I do not know the reasons why, but I caught holy hell from some woman security officer.

Next time, feel free to ignore her and continue with whatever you're doing. If it isn't a cop and you're on the public right-of-way (as you would be if you're standing on most any sidewalk in Ybor), you don't have to do a damn thing they say... And mind you, this is coming from someone who supervised security gaurds for the past 3 years or so.

Note to the previous poster... yes, the City pays towards the debt on Centro Ybor... No, it doesn't not hold title to said property, and thus Centro Ybor is private property. On Centro Ybor property, the owner would indeed have the right to regulate some behavioral aspects of its patrons, so long as it was within the bounds of the law... Sounds lame, but thank your corrupt government officials for that one.

[tampamobster21]

I think that the only reason that she did that is because she had to deal with a bunch of teenagers harassing everyone about signing up for some cigarette thing. I was very compliant, but I was a little annoyed because I was out last night at like 1130 and I was trying to get some night shots of Y-Bor with no people (which there was, suprisingly).

[Robert.Maddrey]

Originally Posted by tampamobster21

Not to cramp anyones style, but as I was told you are not supposed to take pictures of the Centro buildings without expressed consent from the management. I do not know the reasons why, but I caught holy hell from some woman security officer. She wanted to search my bag and everything. As far as the height of the building discussion, I think that it is temporary insanity that brought NPR to concoct the notion of the 10 story building. I am usually the one who comes with the half thought out ideas and posts them without thoroughly thinking them through, but for the time being I am not in the hot seat...lol. I thought it crazy that the s.o. freaked out about me being in the area with my camera. She did not even know that the complex was bought out. She was like "That hasn't gotten to my level yet."

Ah, yes the same old BS. We encountered this one morning when we had a photo shoot with a model in Ybor. We met up at the centro just as a central meeting point, and some security twit came out and caused a big stink about having cameras in the centro. We were not even shooting, as we had plans for other locations and the park... Ironically, there was a TPD officer hanging out getting some coffee he came over and shushed the renta-cop away and took us a round for a bit since he had nothing better to do, and enjoyed the added scenery.


It is ridiculous to not be able to take photographs of a publicly subsidized location. Reminds me of another time I was in Kiley Park and a security guard from the BOfA beercan came out and told me you could not photograph the building...um excuse me I am in a city park.

[Quegiebo]

I'm surprised that the security guard in each instance didn't use the ol' "homeland security" argument.