Why is it so hard for anything to get built in Tampa?
The city is in decline, developer after developer step up to try and contribute to the urban fabric of the city, create modern urban villages and make the city better. And developer after developer have been basically told not in my city, invest your money somewhere else.
A 90 foot "tower" has the less than half of the Old Hyde Park neighborhood up in arms. "It will block the sun." It will be an eye-sore. My property value will drop."
Old Hyde Park is in the middle of the city, it is an urban neighborhood. It is supported by more than just the Hyde Park residents, it is supported by the entire city. The HPV needs to be revitalized, in order to be revitalized the developer needs to make money. (The city and taxpayers surely won't foot the bill.) If the developer needs 160 units to make the village better, give him 160 units and a 90' "tower".
Last night resident after resident came up and spouted their credentials, "I've lived here my whole life, went to Gorrie and Wilson." Those same people protested the first construction of Hyde Park Village and Kate Jackson Park. They will protest against anything and everything. the developer has compromised, the residents and city have not.
The city of Tampa needs help, and city council is consistently, whether they know it or not, voting to pull the plug.
Why not bring prosperity to the city, why keep holding on to 1980.
The vote is currently 3-2. Charlie Miranda who was absent will watch the public hearing and cast his vote on Thrusday. Hopefully with based on his prior pro-growth opinions, he will vote in favor of this project.
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2 comments:
To be fair, developers rarely undertake a project trying to "contribute to the urban fabric." That might be depicting their intentions as a bit too altruistic. They are interested in making a profit, and often the case in development is the bigger you build, the higher your profit. While some Hyde Park residents might be saying NO for the wrong reasons, there might be some validity in their objection.
Putting aside the impact on how quaint and pretty Hyde Park is, is this scale of building that Tampa really needs right now? Does this accomplish density and infill in a town that is still far from having a real 'urban fabric'? There's a LOT of patching that needs to happen on the fabric right now, and building up, up, up may not be the right solution. (We'll also put aside the need for AFFORDABLE housing for the time being, because that's an entirely other discussion.) Anyway, that's my 2 pennies.
I think there are good intentions behind this project, to boost business not just for the developer but the community itself. And as a small business owner, that is very important.
However, I think for the most part residents really don't know how to separate 'suburban pride' from possibilities that may keep the Village from failing totally. After all, they were opposed to the Village long ago, even the park where their children play. And it is quite obvious that council does not want to upset Hyde Park residents as most of them are movers and shakers in one of the most wealthiest (if not the) neighborhoods in Tampa. I think there is a major, major conflict of interest in this situation. Even for those who fight to have the condos there. It will not be a win, win for most.
Further I am not sure about the occupancy of Valencia. But knowing that it was completed recently, how come we continue to see a downfall in business in the Village? After all, isn’t the point of this exercise to bring people in; to live, make money, to rebuild this ailing marketplace? Why do we place so much faith in herding people? It is quite obvious things are not working to their full potential with most of the recent high density units still short in numbers and/or business still low or flat-lined.
If I had my choice, I would love to see another more radical approach to this project. I don’t have faith on the current proposal because I don’t believe it will work based on current and previous situations. As fanatical thoughts…Should the 1988 village be junked? Should we release a portion of it back into the neighborhood since it absorbed the neighborhood? Maybe it is a combo, given up a portion of the Village while rebuild part of it. I realize is all about making money but then again that was attitude back in ‘88 which has now caused a big dilemma for many.
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