Hyde Park Village changes

4053 Views 21 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Jasonhouse, Jun 9, 2007

jonknee

Discussion Starter · May 10, 2007

Hyde Park Village is struggling, but the new owner had plans for a upgrade (mostly mid-level condo towers). Residents just voted it down but the city council could still approve it. Wine Exchange, one of the three restaurants down there, is closing on Tuesday. It's one of the only areas in South Tampa that always has tons of available free parking (in a garage no less).

Hyde Park Changes Considered

After close to five hours of debate and deliberation, the city’s Architectural Review Commission came to the same conclusion it did almost one year ago: Two condominium towers proposed for Hyde Park Village would be too much.

“You have created something that is much different than anything else in the area,” Commissioner Gus Paras told representatives of Wasserman Realty Capital, which owns the south Tampa outdoor mall.

Paras joined five other commissioners in voting not to recommend that the Tampa City Council approve the village site plan.

The 6-1 majority opposed plans to replace the former Sunrise Cinemas building with a 102-foot, 10-story tower of 120 residences, ground-floor retail and second-floor offices. It also rejected an 88-foot, eight-story tower of 106 residences planned for the former Brooks Bros. building.

In June, Wasserman officials presented plans for two 100-foot towers. The commission asked the company to change those plans, leading to this week’s hearing.

Most of the more than 25 people who spoke Wednesday said the towers would still be too tall and have too many residents under the new plans.

“What’s presented now doesn’t look good and it doesn’t look right,” Hyde Park resident Dan O’Connell said.

Wasserman Vice President Richard Seges said the plans will go forward to the council, which isn’t required to accept the commission’s recommendation.

“Obviously we’re disappointed we didn’t get the recommendation of the ARC,” Seges said. “We are committed to the village. This doesn’t end that.”

The council will hear the village rezoning petition July 26.

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1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Maxim98

· #2 · May 10, 2007

The scale is too much, in my opinion. Take it down two or three floors.

I do hope something goes into the location... that was a GREAT indie theatre.

As an aside, Gus Paras is my new best friend. I've met him several times before at AIA events and such, but he judged my senior presentation yesterday (I'm a graduating architecture student in a local HS...) and I was the ONLY one to get the highest recommendation. He was very pleased... so I am very pleased. He gets my highest recommendation, too.

.... enough gloating. I'd hate to make it too obvious that I'm an over-acheiving, thread-hijacking teenager...

jonknee

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 10, 2007

Does anyone have renderings of the proposal?

FloridaFuture

· #4 · May 10, 2007

Here is the developer's page to the project. There are no renderings here but there are several site plans and info for each block.

AKBTampa

· #5 · May 10, 2007

I am royally pissed at this developer, they are the height of greediness. First the movie theater shut down and now the wine exchange (which was one of the oldest tenants in Hyde Park Village, if not the oldest). S. Tampa/Hyde Park does not need another condo development!

On a happier note, congratulations maxim98!

jonknee

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 10, 2007

Well to be fair Wine Exchange was going to move into another (larger) location in the Village and then decided not to. The coming soon sign is still up on the proposed new location. They weren't forced out, just out of their original space like the theater was. I was never a fan of their food, but they have definitely been around a while. Good wine can still be found at Restaurant BT at the other end of the Village.

The new plan calls for much more in the way of restaurants and retail. Included are sensible ideas like moving the gym up to the second floor so it doesn't take up so much street level space. They also mentioned a "gourmet food market" which would be a great addition, at the moment you have to go exploring around South Tampa to find high-quality ingredients.

ilyssa schechter

· #7 · May 10, 2007

i might be wrong but i was actually in hyde park village yesterday. the owner of fernandas or some clothing store like that said business is so slow there and that actually it isn't p[ublic but he was told that the wine exchange is shutting down. i dont know if this is a myth or the truth.. guess we'll find out...

jonknee

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 10, 2007

Yea the Wine Exchange's last day is Tuesday, as I said a few posts up. Ironically there was a good crowd there last night for an art event.

It's a weird place down there. The stores all close really early so if you go for dinner it gives off an eery ghost town feel. With two or three decent to above average new restaurants and some later hours I think it could be a more lively scene. It definitely has South Howard beat on available parking.

tonyff67

· #9 · May 11, 2007

I think if they brought the new condos height down to the same height as Velencia, the city would have no choice but to approve it.

Jasonhouse

· #10 · May 12, 2007

I see no problem whatsoever with 5-8 story buildings... They're scattered all over Hyde Park as it is, so it's not like it's some kind of new precedent. 10 stories is a bit much apparently, so let them build the two proposed buildings at like 7 floors, and then build a 3rd similar building nearby to make up for the loss in density, which is needed to support the village.

jonknee

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 12, 2007

FYI Valencia is 7 stories and doesn't look out of place (not sure of the height, but the website says the units all feature 10-foot ceilings). It looks pretty classy actually.

Lemonhead II

· #12 · May 13, 2007

It's sad to hear the Wine Exchange is closing... nice restaurant. Is the theatre next to it closing as well?

Hyde Park is gorgeous as it is... I really don't think they need condo towers.

jonknee

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 13, 2007

The theaters closed about six months ago. Their lease was up and the new landlord wouldn't renew it. A shame they couldn't relocate because that was always a nice theater.

Lemonhead II

· #14 · May 13, 2007

Ohhh thats why it was really quiet around there last time I was in Hyde Park.

That's a shame.

FLHawk

· #15 · May 16, 2007

It IS a shame how Hyde Park has turned into a shadow of its former self. I can remember in the mid-90s when the lines to the AMC movie theatre would wrap around the block, the waiting list at Cactus Club was over an hour, and stores like the Gap, Banana Republic, Polo by Ralph Lauren, and Sharper Image were all a stone's throw from each other.

It will be interesting to see the direction that this will go. With International Plaza becoming so successful, Hyde Park may not be viable as an upscale shopping district any more.

Jasonhouse

· #16 · May 17, 2007

^I used to go down there at least once a month back then, though sometimes it was much more often than that... The one theater there had a primo sound system for its time (so did one theater at Northdale back in the day)...

jonknee

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jun 7, 2007

I meant to post this last week, but the Wine Exchange re-opened. That was fast!

A little info on it at the SP Times.

The new plan has the Wine Exchange remaining at W Swann and S Rome avenues until about November, Drummond said. Then it will move to a space a few hundred feet away, off Snow Circle.

smiley

· #18 · Jun 7, 2007

Hyde Park should go back to having a drug store and other useful things. Then they should let them build the condos and create a real urban neighborhood.

THat being said, they will let it wither on the vine.

AKBTampa

· #19 · Jun 7, 2007

jonknee said:
I meant to post this last week, but the Wine Exchange re-opened. That was fast!

A little info on it at the SP Times.

Finally some happy news! Hopefully Wine exchange can only benefit from the press they have received. I'd like to think that all of our ranting on this site had a little something to do with it and helped show the management company that they had their heads up their you know whats! I will have to go have a celebratory 90 minute IPA there this weekend!

Jasonhouse

· #20 · Jun 7, 2007

smiley said:
Hyde Park should go back to having a drug store and other useful things. Then they should let them build the condos and create a real urban neighborhood.

That being said, they will let it wither on the vine.

That is too much like the kind of sound urban planning that occurs in a real city, while Tampa continues to prove it is not.

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