Historic Courthouse Restoration

[FloridaFuture]

Decision Still Out On Courthouse


Kelvin Ma / Tribune
The city bought the old federal courthouse in downtown Tampa in 2003 for a dollar. Today, it remains home only to mildew and memories. A lack of parking has restricted possibilities for a new use.

By Ellen Gedalius of The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2007

TAMPA - About four years ago, the city bought the old federal courthouse for $1.

Since then, it has spent tens of thousands of dollars a year maintaining the 102-year-old structure on Florida Avenue.

City officials have tried and tried to find a tenant for the 120,000-square-foot building, but every attempt has failed.

Most recently, the city talked with the Hillsborough County school district about a plan to put a high school in the courthouse. Both parties remain interested, but no deal is on the immediate horizon.

That means that while the city pays to maintain the structure, the historic building sits vacant. The stench of mold and mildew is pungent. Paint peels from the ceiling. A water pipe burst last month, causing even more damage.

Those characteristics contrast with everything that is right about the building: its stately entrance columns, its marble floors and paneling in the bathrooms, its original light fixtures, its Beaux Arts Classical architecture, its designation as a local landmark and its spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

One city councilwoman is growing impatient with what she sees as a lack of progress.

"It has been four years since we received ownership of it from the federal government," Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena said at a recent meeting. "We said we would do something with it other than pay bills."


Search For A New Role

In the past century, the building has served a variety of uses: a post office, a U.S. Customs House, a federal courthouse.

In 1998, the federal courthouse moved to a brand-new, $81 million building. Five years later, the city bought the old building for a buck.

People came forward with ideas: Turn it into a homeless shelter, a Florida A&M University Law School campus, a hotel, offices for city government. At one point, the Savannah College of Art and Design was interested.

The city sponsored a contest to convert the courthouse. Pradip C. Patel won for his proposal to put two charter schools and a photographic museum in the building. While the city talked with Patel, plans fell through for a new Tampa Museum of Art along the Hillsborough River. Mayor Pam Iorio proposed the courthouse as an alternative site, but museum leaders said no, mainly for two reasons.

One, they wanted to stay on the river. And two, they didn't want to spend half the money allotted for the museum building on a parking garage.

The courthouse has no parking lot. Meters line Florida Avenue and Zack and Twiggs streets, but that's not nearly enough parking for a thriving building as large as the courthouse.

Parking is the biggest obstacle the city faces in finding a tenant, said Mark Huey, the city's economic development administrator.

"What you're trying find is a use that has modest parking requirements," Huey said.

The parking problem is one reason the school district hasn't committed to moving into the building, said Cathy Valdes, the district's chief facilities officer.

Teachers' contracts stipulate they have parking near the school.

"That's a big drawback," Valdes said. "How close is close? We'll have to deal with that."

The district has determined that about 35 parking spots are available nearby. But teachers and staff would need about 150 spots. And high school students often drive to school, so they, too, would need places to park, said Steve Hegarty, a spokesman for the district.

"Parking downtown - it's complicated," Hegarty said.


Magnet School A Possibility

The idea is to use the building as a non-traditional high school program, perhaps more like a magnet school, Valdes said. Students would be able to take advantage of the businesses in downtown through internships and other programs, Valdes said. About 1,000 students would attend.

Turning the courthouse into a school would cost about $20 million, - far less than the $55 million to build a high school from scratch.

But the school district and city remain uncommitted.

"We're still very interested, and we're going to stay interested until the city tells us they found somebody else," Valdes said.

Huey said: "They just haven't been able to put things together, so we're going to explore other options."

Because of the parking shortage, a hotel might be the best commercial use for the building, Huey said, but he hasn't pushed that plan because he doesn't want to undermine the efforts of the Floridan hotel, just a few blocks from the courthouse. The Floridan hotel is undergoing a major renovation.


A Big Cleaning Project

Besides tackling parking problems, any group that moves into the courthouse will have to clean up the building, including the mold and asbestos. In 2001, the General Services Administration said the courthouse was "unfit for habitation" because of the high level of contaminants.

Whoever moves in also will need to deal with the building's structural problems. The original building is in fairly good shape, but the 1931 addition has uneven floors and a cracked brick exterior. Consultants hired a few years ago by the city and art museum suggested duct, plumbing, heating and electrical systems be replaced.

Not wanting to subsidize whatever organization ends up in the building, the city is looking for a group with a sound fiscal plan. Building operations could cost as much as $12 a square foot.

Saul-Sena has been asking Huey for updates on the courthouse for months. He was scheduled to give an update at a council meeting last week but asked for more time.

Saul-Sena said Huey promised a firm update by December. She said if he doesn't have a viable plan in place by then, the city should issue a formal request for proposals.

Huey says he is talking to at least one group now but declined to give specifics.

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/oct...?news-breaking

[Jasonhouse]

A lack of parking has restricted possibilities for a new use.

Alas, Tampa is finally feeling the pain for myopic transportation decisions made decades ago.

Perhaps if everyone wasn't forced to drive to go places, we wouldn't need to dedicate so much land and money to building parking lots/garages?

[JBrisco]

Maybe if we had more parking garages instead of lots, and "Permit Required Parking" there wouldn't be such an issue.

[Jasonhouse]

Another thing... Why don't they put the main library there, co-op with a developer to get public parking spaces inside new towers (like when the Grant Block or Maas block are redeveloped) and build something useful where the hellhole German Library and Poe Garage are? I can't stand either of those buildings, and don't understand the point of even trying to make Ashley/Cass into some sort of scenic 'DT Gateway' so long as either of those regrettable structures are befouling the streetscape.

But this is how it works in Tampa. Nobody is interested in (or capable of) grasping the complexity of the macro issues, so they hone in on details to score political points, and ignore the big picture... Just like how TMA, the Childrens' Museum, Kiley Gardens, the Ashley St beautification project, the 'one way' to 'two way' street conversion projects, the Novare developments, the Riverwalk... NONE of it is coordinated with an overarching master plan, to ensure that everything works together... Why not? Because our 'leaders' aren't skilled enough to make it happen.

[JBrisco]

They really didn't think the whole residential redevelopment all the way through.
There is not enough retail commercial downtown yet, and they might not have it for a long time.
We need:
1) More grocery stores. That dinky little publix will not suffice. And the CVS doesn't count
2) Clothing stores
3) restaurants that don't close at 3
4) better parks
5) stop converting one way streets in to two way streets.
I'm still saying downtown Traffic is going to be a bitch within the next 3 years because of these conversions.

[Jasonhouse]

^You're totally right about the streets being converted, as well as the Ashley St project. Deciding to arbitrarily rework the DT traffic network, and ignoring the experts who said not to, is going to come back and bite us in the ass in a few years. Purposefully fouling up the road network DT to encourage people to use alternative means would be a great idea, IF WE HAD GOOD ALTERNATIVES. Anyone want to bet that the city will have to spend yet more money, perhaps 10 years from now, reworking what they're doing now?

[JBrisco]

I'll wager in 5 years when the projects in downtown (Element, SkyPoint, TWELVE, Floridian, and Channelside) are complete and everyone at some point is going to get caught up in a traffic jam because of our traffic network.
I think one of the things that needs to be done is the removal of the traffic lights on Franklin St.
If you can't drive down it, is it really neccessary to have a light there? Even for pedestrian saftey, there is still another light that will allow you to walk across. I think somone didn't plan Franklin St's conversion very well.
It is going to happen eventually around the new residential areas... GRIDLOCK.
There are no good alternatives that's for sure.
I would push for more East/West streets to be made into major streets. It is so hard to cross certain streets during rushhour when you're using alternative routes, like Green St. or any other street that doesn't have too many drivers.
Another issue that is bugging me, is through streets.
N. Blvd is a major street how many times?
Through Downtown, Through Bay Shore, Through North Tampa) and it is not connected, wouldn't it make sense to make it cross the river and connect back so that it is one street, and that adds just one more n/s street?

BUT back to the court house, The thing is beautiful, and it needs to be used. A high school or any kind of school is good in my mind, especially with Channelside being a family neighborhood and all

[Robert.Maddrey]

There are many potential uses for that building which seemingly have been dismissed or not even considered. Sure parking is a consideration but one that could be overcome with an average budget and a little planning/insight.

1.) City/County: The city and the country are always looking to expand their existing offices and public facilities. This building is an asset that should not be overlooked as a new annex, etc...
2.) Museum: With such classical architecture, what location would be better for a museum of some sort.
3.) Office space: I'm sure there are a plethora of attorneys, accountants and other professional services which would love to take up residence in an old courthouse, it certainly makes a statement of gentility.

Etc....

A historic building of that size and stature should not be hard to fill in a profitable way. The cost of renovations and parking is certainly less than the cost of new construction.

[JBrisco]

Originally Posted by Robert.Maddrey

3.) Office space: I'm sure there are a plethora of attorneys, accountants and other professional services which would love to take up residence in an old courthouse, it certainly makes a statement of gentility.

Have you seen Brad Culpeppers new commercial?
It shows him and his partner on the steps and infront of it.
I bet you 90% of Tampa doesn't even know where the hell it was filmed. hahaha

[HARTride 2012]

How about ALSO replacing those stupid, inaccurate wayfinding blue pieces of crap around the city. My last trip to DT left me disgusted because STILL nothing has been done. I'd better see some progress on that by mid 2008 or I'm going to write to the city.

[HARTride 2012]

Originally Posted by JBrisco

Have you seen Brad Culpeppers new commercial?
It shows him and his partner on the steps and infront of it.
I bet you 90% of Tampa doesn't even know where the hell it was filmed. hahaha

Actually, yes I have seen it. I kind of figured it out after a short while.

[JBrisco]

Lol how about on Kennedy it tells you to go down Grand Central to get to U.T when U.T is right across the street from the sign. lol.

[Robert.Maddrey]

Originally Posted by JBrisco

Have you seen Brad Culpeppers new commercial?
It shows him and his partner on the steps and infront of it.
I bet you 90% of Tampa doesn't even know where the hell it was filmed. hahaha

Funny you mention that, I commented on this to my girl friend Laura just the other evening.

[HARTride 2012]

Originally Posted by JBrisco

Lol how about on Kennedy it tells you to go down Grand Central to get to U.T when U.T is right across the street from the sign. lol.

Or the ones that tell you...go this way to the forum, go that way to Ybor, then the directions dissapear...

[HARTride 2012]

I mentioned on the Tampa Transit Vision Thread, that I want to see a good bus circulator system and a fare free zone throughout DT Tampa. That would be one way to ease congestion in DT, instead of the crap trolleys that are in place now.

[FloridaFuture]

Yes if they would extend the rolley or actually appear to have an interest in improving transit in downtown, then parking wouldn't be a problem. They also wouldn't scare people away from the core. All they have to do is run the trolley line by which of course is connected to parking garages. Garages which are only usually used later in the day when whatever the courthouse would become probably wouldn't be operating.

[ATampaArnold]

I really wish they completed the loop for the trolley and make it a complete circle through downtown and near the law school and back to ybor. I am suprised the novarre group didn't push the city to extend the trolley line to go more through downtown because it would make their properties more valuable or anyone else who wants invest in the northern end of downtown. It would solve a lot of the parking problem that florida's future was talking about and help any use for the courthouse and probably encourage more people to go to tampa theatre.

[thehappysmith]

I'm not familiar with the back side of the building. Could they just knock out the 1931 addition and build a garage there? Is the 1931 addition also historic and thus untouchable? I like the idea of a magnet school but no way in hell that would get off the ground without on-site parking for students. One kid gets hit by a car in downtown, that's seven or eight lawsuits right there and a bankrupt school district.
And what is with that cracker arguing for a hotel there? There aren't enough windows in that building to make a decent hotel. He's thinking purely about parking, not the building or site or anything else. Solve the parking problem; let's not bruit about forcing the building to accept a use that doesn't fit.

Jason's right about using the building for the library and ditching Germany and the Poe Garage. It makes perfect sense, it's a grand old building that LOOKS like a library would in any decent downtown. Parking not so much of a problem because not that many people drive to the downtown branch of the library to park. Getting committed parking spots in nearby buildings would be good but they have to be pre-existing. And the homeless already hang out there, which they would do if it was a library; in fact, the courthouse has taken some of them away from the Germany already. Might as will complete the process.
But of course there's no sense even hoping for that since the odds on it are probably about 10000:1 or worse. This is Tampa, not a progressive city.

[Jasonhouse]

Actually, the city pre-buying spaces in a proposed project would serve as a catalyst to making that project a reality. And trust me, they would get their money back, and then some for the land that the Poe and WFG Library sit on. (or, they keep those parcels and use them as parkland until another major cultural use needs to be constructed). Either way, between the payback on the overall boost to property values in upper downtown, and the spurring of further redevelopment, the city (and thus the taxpayer) would make out quite nicely over time.

[dmpeek77]

It would make a perfect library... I work in the suntrust building it would be nice to use the library during a lunch break.... I could walk.