Tampa Heights Redevelopment

[JBrisco]

Dude!! I was thinking the same thing when they released the plans. My dad who is a business owner there in Drew Park says that the redevelopment from the road being built is honestly good enough. But honestly they need to connect drew park with west shore, driving on the west side of the airport is AWFUL Memorial SUCKS

[TampaMike]

May be a stupid and easy question, but where is Air Cargo Rd? Tried Google and I must be overlooking it.

[Jasonhouse]

It's a new 4 lane road alignment connecting Anderson Rd at Hillsborough Ave with Lauber Way at MLK... Part of it follows the old alignment for Anderson Ave, and the rest makes road where there was no road before...

Perhaps Lois Ave will also be rebuilt to be a nice 4 lane avenue now as well... Because I tell you what, Lois is the main artery of Drew Park, and that road SUCKS.

[JBrisco]

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

It's a new 4 lane road alignment connecting Anderson Rd at Hillsborough Ave with Lauber Way at MLK... Part of it follows the old alignment for Anderson Ave, and the rest makes road where there was no road before...

Perhaps Lois Ave will also be rebuilt to be a nice 4 lane avenue now as well... Because I tell you what, Lois is the main artery of Drew Park, and that road SUCKS.

OMG dude I have to take Lois to school because they're closing west shore to finish paving Air Cargo, I hate that street, Like dude they need to repave it atleast. And add side walks. I used to park at my dads body shop N. Hubert Ave/MLK and walk down to HCC Hawks Landing (because HCC is lame and tows, and Hawks Landing is lame because they tow.) There needs to be sidewalks on Lois!!! Thats the main st like Jasonhouse said.

My dad told me that MLK was gonna be a 4 lane ave, but I can't confirm. lol Mybad no more talking about Drew Park

[Jasonhouse]

Yeah, MLK will be widened from Dale Mabry to Lauber.

[FloridaFuture]

Development taking shape


A Better Place Group
The space between the long-abandoned 1907 pumping station and the red-brick building that once housed the Tampa Armature Works will become the heart and soul of the new Seventh Avenue riverfront.

By GEORGE WILKENS
gwilkens@tampatrib.com
Published: August 26, 2009

TAMPA - Plans to develop a 48-acre swath of historic riverfront north of downtown have been in the works for years, so longtime Tampa Heights residents Melisa and Yves Conze arrived early for the recent open house for updates on the planned development of restaurants, shops and more.

"We've been waiting a while. Things have gotten postponed and delayed," Yves Conze said after a tour of the former Tampa Armature Works building and short cruise past the 48-acre project called simply The Heights.

"If you look at the size and scope of this project, you can't help but be excited," he said.

"To have it so close to home will be fantastic," Melisa Conze said of the promise of restaurants, coffee stalls, delis and unique retail shops within walking distance of the West Ross Avenue house the couple bought seven years ago.

Ground was broken Dec. 5 for the $500 million mixed-use development.

Development Manager Darren Booth announced at the Aug. 18 open house the "first little cafe" of eight to 12 tables could be operational by late fall "to breathe some life back into" the long-vacant site.

That drawing card for the site initially would serve lunch, one day a week, later expanding to weekends, he said. Hopefully more cafes will open in January and February, he said, depending on the city's permitting process.

During the next two to five years, more restaurants will be built at a higher elevation, overlooking the outdoor cafes.

Following restoration of the riverbank, a canoe/kayak launching area will be added, Booth said. Also anticipated are boat slips, plus a river walk stretching 600 feet from North Boulevard to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

The development agreement between A Better Place Group and the city council approved in July 2006 includes improvements to Waterworks Park, 1710 N. Highland Ave. The city site includes a natural spring and a long-abandoned pumping station structure built in 1907.

The Beck Group is nearing completion of a two-story 30,000-square-foot building at North Highland and Seventh avenues that will open in January, providing a regional headquarters for the architectural, construction and development company. The building also is among three possible locations for the future home of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Future phases of the project include a four-story, 125-room hotel, 56,000 square feet of office space and, eventually, 1,900 condominiums and town homes. "It could be 10 years before the condo tower goes in," Booth said.

The century-old massive red-brick building that housed the armature works will be preserved and pressed into service.

Booth envisions careful conversion of the 70,000-square-foot, high-ceilinged structure, creating something similar to the famed Pike Place Market in Seattle, just south of where Booth grew up.

"You don't want to lose that," he said of the original look. "You want to lovingly restore that; caring for the old stuff and, at the same time, improving it a little bit."

"I see a mix of shops spilling out onto this public place," said Booth, calling attention to the building's large skylights, providing sufficient illumination even on a cloudy day. The massive door of the high-ceilinged structure - built as the Tampa Electric Street and Railway Co. trolley barn - might be opened during mild weather, providing a break from air-conditioning, he said.

For now, Booth works behind a heavy copper door in a space that once housed the armature works' office and conference room and, before that, served the trolley company yardmaster. Not far from the abutting three-sided protruding observation window overlooking the long-gone trolley yard is the safe where passenger fares were stored overnight.

In the early 1800s, Tampa Heights was home to business owners, lawyers and civic leaders. A century later, drugs and crime plagued the neighborhood, and civic activists and city officials began an effort to reverse the neglect, encouraging restoration of historical structures.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 259-7124

http://centraltampa2.tbo.com/content...ng-shape/news/

[jonknee]

I went on a boat ride today (Hillsborough River Taxi) sponsored by the Heights redevelopment. We ended up at the old Tampa Armature Works building which is mostly unfinished but has fixed up reception/bar area with renderings and what not. Pretty cool style actually, old meets new. Good to see that they are still hard at work despite the economy which is good to see.

The Beck HQ seems to be coming along real nice, rumor has it they will get the CO right after the new year.

[youngkg]

TAMPA — USF Health has a nonbinding letter of agreement with The Beck Group to develop its long-sought Center for Advanced Medical Learning & Simulation at the Heights of Tampa.

CAMLS, with a price tag currently pegged between $18 million to $22 million, and an adjacent 125-room hotel, could be the flagship project needed to jumpstart the Heights development, north of downtown, and make a significant contribution to Tampa’s economic development, said Deborah Sutherland, executive director of the USF Health Professions Conferencing Corp., which would lease the medical facility and run the programs.

The deal hinges on development of both CAMLS and the hotel, Sutherland said. Beck is looking for financing for both projects.

Steve Mitchell, an attorney and former chairman of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, is working to structure the real estate deal with the Heights.

Source: http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tamp...14/story1.html

[CubanBread]

so I'm watching Hillsborough county TV right now, and they have a hearing about the Tampa hieghts project, the developers are trying to get wet zoning permits, couple things,.. a couple times a couple of council member referenced light rail going to the area, not like "If we get light rail" they spoke of it as it was on the way,... not that it means it is, I just liked the way they spoke of it in a progressive manner,.. Also one of the council members flat out said "If we want Tampa to be the next great city, we need to support projects like this" .
I wish I could have seen the names of the council members, they all had positive attitudes excluding one, I think her name was luara something,... she just seemed to be against everything because everyone else was for it.

I did however get the vibe that some of the council members were being dicks just because they were in a position of power, I wanted to smack the smug out of em' ... except Charlie Miranda, he seemed cool.

[smiley]

God love 'em - like they can't read a map - there is no proposed light rail plan that puts rail anywhere near The Heights.

[TampaMike]

Sure it was Linda and not Laura? Linda Saul-Sena is one of the most clueless people I have ever heard from. I think she was against a couple developments in the Channelside area aswell. Not surprised Charlie was 100% positive about everything from this project, he serves the area on the council.

If light rail would be going there, it would be quite some time before it finally reaches that area. I still suggest connecting the area to the trolley system once the latest expansion is completed.

[tampamobster21]

CubanBread is correct, it was Laura.

[FloridaFuture]

USF looking at the Heights as possible site for high-tech medical training center
By Janet Zink and Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Thursday, November 12, 2009

TAMPA — Developers of a stalled project on the edge of downtown are hoping to get a boost from a proposed high-tech medical training complex.

The University of South Florida is considering the Heights as the location for the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, a 60,000-square-foot facility where doctors from around the world could receive high-tech surgical training, and new medical devices could be developed and tested.

"Right now, we're exploring the possibility of doing this at the Heights location," said USF spokesman Michael Hoad.

The complex also would include a 126-room hotel and 450-space parking garage.

"This will absolutely catapult the Heights to the next level," said Darren Booth, development manager for the 48-acre Heights project. "It's a very difficult time to develop anything here, and a major facility like this USF training facility will jump-start all of the waterfront development. It will accelerate the arrival of those restaurants and cafes we're working on."

The Heights project was unveiled in 2004 as a mixed-use community with 2,000 residential units as well as commercial and office space.

But the slumping economy slowed the project to a near halt. So far, the only major activity there has been construction of a two-story office building that should be done this year.

Little else is on the horizon except a portion of the Riverwalk, a linear park along the Hillsborough River, which should be completed next month, and boat slips.

University officials are negotiating with the city, county and developers of the Heights to finance the medical complex.

"It is a very significant project," said Mark Huey, Tampa's administrator for economic development. "This is an opportunity to create a jewel. This training center will be one of only a handful of its kind in the world. That's why we're working so hard collectively to make it work."

Mayor Pam Iorio, USF president Judy Genshaft, USF medical school dean Steven Klasko and Hillsborough commission Chairman Ken Hagan met this week to hash out some of the details.

"It's an incredibly exciting economic development opportunity for our community," Hagan said. "However we need to ensure that in moving forward we minimize the potential risk to taxpayers."

Early plans call for the conference center to be financed by bonds backed by lease payments from the university. A private company would build the hotel.

The debt on the $9 million parking garage, though, would be shared by the university, the city, the county and the Heights development team.

USF has worked on the center for at least four years. Where to build it has been a key question.

In 2006, administrators announced plans to build it at a research park on USF's Tampa campus. At that time, they estimated the project's cost at $60 to $70 million. Two years later, they said the search for a suitable site had complicated progress.

The Heights location is appealing because visiting doctors and their families would have easy access to downtown museums, restaurants and entertainment venues, Hoad said.

In an effort to expand its continuing education offerings to surgeons, USF Health has opened two facilities similar to the one envisioned for the Heights.

In March, the $1.5 million USF Health Simulation Center opened at Tampa General Hospital. It has more than a half-dozen simulators that allow doctors to practice laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical techniques.

In August, USF Health unveiled a $4 million center — one of two nationwide — at its college of medicine to train doctors to do robot-assisted surgery. Up to 600 physicians a year are expected to train there, paying $3,000 a day for the experience.

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgo...aining/1051135

[JBrisco]

That'd be cool if USF's SCAD was moving there too. They'll be building a new building soon.

[Jasonhouse]

What we really need in Tampa is another university all together, not another satellite campus. You can never have too many universities around these days.

[TampaMike]

Does Tampa really need another university? I would think having both USF and UT, as well as HCC and a couple smaller colleges, that would be enough. St. Petersburg on the other hand would be a good place for another university. If anything, that's what St. Pete is missing.

Back on topic, I like the idea of USF having a location over in the Heights area. And it will be nice to see how long the city will wait to extend the Riverwalk all the way up to the area.

[Maxim98]

i think this could be a fine idea, and a solid, sustainable anchor for the area.

[jwh_]

A portion of the riverwalk will be completed in The Heights by time the first building is occupied there. Also, the Tampa Museum of Art completion will bring a lot of attention to the riverwalk project, hopefully causing the city to jump into action on the remaining portions.

[TampaMike]

Redevelopment plan clears hurdle
By KATHY STEELE: ksteele@tampatrib.com
Published: March 3, 2010

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - A vision plan and a land-use map that would help guide redevelopment of this community for the next 20 years cleared a hurdle last week as the Tampa City Council agreed to submit the plan and map for state review.

Council members are expected to bundle the Seminole Heights' plan and map with unrelated land-use amendments on March 11 and send them to Florida's Department of Community Affairs. Officials will send comments and recommendations to the city.

With that accomplished, the city can move closer to presenting a new set of regulations that will implement the long-range redevelopment of Seminole Heights. City land-use staffers hope to have the codes approved by fall or winter of this year for South, Southeast and Old Seminole Heights' neighborhoods.

"It is the first step in the process," said Cathy Coyle, the city's zoning administrator.

Coyle said more than 500 people, including residents, property owners and business owners, have participated in a series of public workshops and interactive design exercises since February 2008.

About 50 people attended a public hearing with city council members last week. Most were in favor of the plan and the map, including representatives of the three Seminole Heights' neighborhood and civic associations, the Business Guild of Seminole Heights and the nonprofit Seminole Heights Foundation.

"It's our plan. We put it together," said Susan Long, one of the foundation's founding directors. "The city didn't say, 'Here is what's happening to you.'"

The plan's intent is to foster an urban growth pattern that encourages retail and commercial establishments, and more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

The proposed zoning codes focus on the size and appearance of buildings, as well as the layouts of streets and public spaces. Traditional zoning generally separates areas based on land use and decisions of public health and safety, placing shops, homes and factories in different districts.

Not everyone liked the plan.

"I think it needs to be tweaked some more," said Gail Davis of the Hampton Terrace Neighborhood Association. "It needs to be flexible. I was quite dismayed by the CVS outcome."

The city council recently rejected a proposal for a CVS drugstore at Sligh and Nebraska avenues because it did not meet the city's urban design guidelines.

John Dingfelder, one of a minority of council members who supported the CVS project, said he hoped the new codes would not restrict the council to "yes" or "no" votes. "We wanted to sort of say 'maybe,'" he said of CVS.

Some residents at the hearing objected to land-use changes for specific parcels including residents on Hamilton Avenue who worried the proposed map would allow apartments or town homes on a street of single-family homes.

"We have a very friendly street," said Janet Altman. "I expect to be living here 20 years from now and I don't want to be next door to apartments."

http://centraltampa2.tbo.com/content...s-hurdle/news/

[Jasonhouse]

Whoops...


Waterfront Tampa Heights development facing foreclosure

St Petersburg Times
By James Thorner, Staff Writer
Posted: Mar 26, 2010 12:48 PM

http://www.tampabay.com/news/busines...losure/1083027


An innovative project to revive a weed-strewn stretch of Tampa industrial riverfront has fallen into foreclosure.

Fifth Third Bank sued The Heights of Tampa LLC this month for defaulting on a $12.5 million mortgage.

Developers want to build about 2,000 condominiums and 260,000 square feet of offices and stores on 48 acres acquired over the past decade on the southern tip of Tampa Heights.

Florida's real estate collapse upset the timetable, though the University of South Florida has announced intentions to build a physician training center in the Heights dedicated to robotic surgery.

Tampa RV tycoon Don Wallace provided much of the seed money for the project in 2006, collaborating with former Newland Communities executive Bill Bishop, who helped develop thousands of lots in places like FishHawk Ranch and Westchase.

Both men ultimately withdrew from the project. Over the past several years, lenders have repeatedly renegotiated and modified the development's mortgage as the economy soured.

It's the second prominent Tampa urban renewal project that's defaulted this year.

InTown Homes, a West Tampa residential real estate venture run by former Hillsborough County Commisioner Ed Turanchik, handed most of its lots back to the bank to avoid foreclosure.

Heights representatives couldn't be reached for comment Friday.