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In A Pickle Over Progress In Hyde Park

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By Daniel Ruth

Published: December 18, 2007

From the sound of her angst, you would have thought Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena had just been asked to operate on her own spleen, while balancing on a tight-rope across the spans of the Sunshine Skyway bridge in the middle of a hurricane - blindfolded.

"This is so hard, it is absolutely the hardest case," Saul-Sena fretted at the prospect of voting on something she had gone on the record in support of.

Uh, madam councilwoman? This was not the "hardest case." This wasn't like voting on the Iraq war resolution or drilling in the Arctic oil reserves, or even struggling to decide between ranch or Thousand Island dressing.

Rather, the source of Saul-Sena's pout-o-rama was a $100 million proposal to breathe new life in the moribund Hyde Park Village by its owner, Wasserman Realty Capital, by adding new residences and retail offerings.

Progress! In Tampa? Gadzooks! Oh, the heresy of it all!

This was not quite a Thomas Becket moment for Saul-Sena. All she had to do was vote in favor of - herself.

Hotsy-Totsy Tastes

City council was falling all over itself late last week on whether to approve David Wasserman's plan to add about 163 condominium units in two towers, in addition to about 46,000 square feet of office and retail space, including a gourmet grocery store to cater to those South Tampa hotsy-totsy tastes.

Approval of Wasserman's proposal required at least four council votes, which the developer would have had, had Saul-Sena not decided to go all tree-huggy on him at the last moment.

The expanded Hyde Park Village concept has drawn its detractors, including the city's Architectural Review Commission, which has moped that Wasserman's plan is out of character for the historic neighborhood. That sentiment is echoed by Councilwoman Mary Mulhern.

It was Mulhern who asked: "Why do we have historic guidelines if we are not going to abide by them?"

Cheap Beads

Forgive the impertinence, but what history? Was the Magna Carta signed on the site of the former Cactus Club? Did Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address at the corner of Rome Avenue and Richardson Place? Did Teddy Roosevelt once barf where Selena's used to stand?

Please, the only "history" associated with Hyde Park is the yearly Gasparilla parade debauchery. Perhaps Mulhern feels tarts exposing their breasts to the city's swells for some cheap beads somehow qualifies as a legacy worth protecting to the exclusion of economic progress.

Nearly 30 years ago, the original Hyde Park Village concept was vilified as a scourge upon the neighborhood and those critics were - wrong.

Of all people, Saul-Sena, who was around during those debates, should know Hyde Park Village has been a remarkable asset to the area. The improvements Wasserman is seeking would bring jobs, new life and economic growth to Hyde Park.

The city council will revisit the plan this week. One more vote is needed to approve the project. Saul-Sena, who once supported Wasserman's proposal before getting all Greenpeace-y on the idea, could re-reverse her vote.

That would be history-making - with a small "h."

Keyword: Book of Ruth, to read and comment on Daniel Ruth's blog.

Dan Ruth's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Dan Ruth's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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