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City Seeks Input On Central Park
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Published: June 7, 2007
TAMPA - The Central Park area today is known for its blight.
It's known for the unsightly store facades on Nebraska Avenue, for the two dozen vacant lots owned by the city, for the dilapidated public housing complex, Central Park Village.
Designated a Community Redevelopment Area a year ago today, Central Park has long been a wart for the city.
Now leaders are trying to change that and are seeking community comment tonight at a neighborhood meeting. They want residents' advice on infrastructure, aesthetics, safety, transportation, parks and other amenities.
The city is paying consultant EDAW $244,000 to work with the community in developing a long-term action plan for the area.
'I want to see the whole area redeveloped,' said Councilman Tom Scott, whose district includes the area. 'I want to see commercial in there and housing, market rate and affordable.' Schools, too, he said.
The Tampa Housing Authority and private investors have plans to replace the 28-acre Central Park complex with about 2,000 housing units and retail shops. People have started moving out. Some will move back when buildings are finished; others will remain at other public housing developments.
Redeveloping Central Park however, is about more than revamping the housing complex, which is slated for demolition this year. It's about improving the whole area, said Michael Hatchett, the city's Central Park urban development manager.
Higher Density Planned
The springboard for discussions will be a 30-year redevelopment plan created last year.
The plan calls for higher-density development in the area surrounding the housing complex, a 158-acre area bordered by Nebraska Avenue, Nuccio Parkway, Orange Avenue and Interstate 275. Now, there are about 20 units per acre in the area, but the city could allow up to about 100 units an acre.
Higher density brings more people to the area.
'It brings residences; it brings new jobs; it gives some energy and life back to downtown,' Hatchett said. 'It also helps cut down sprawl.'
The city also wants to find private companies to develop the vacant lots and perhaps offer them incentives, such as fast-track permitting and financial assistance, to developing in the area.
As vacant parcels, Hatchett said, people tend to loiter and dump trash on them.
Vacant lots also do not generate tax revenue for the city.
Tax District Reinvests Revenue
Community Redevelopment Areas rely on tax dollars generated from within to pay for local improvements. They benefit from a taxing structure called tax increment financing. Yearly increases in property taxes generated within a neighborhood, over and above a set base level, are reserved for use only in that neighborhood.
Most property tax revenue goes to the city's general fund.
Money from tax increment financing can be spent for local improvements such as sidewalk repairs, park renovations, infrastructure, marketing programs and police stations.
Although other funding sources might be available to finance improvements in Central Park, tax revenue will be essential.
The long-range plan also calls for reconnecting streets in the Central Park area to downtown and for improving public safety.
Crime in Central Park is three times higher, per capita, than the rest of the city, Hatchett said.
Water and sewer line improvements also will be necessary; the infrastructure is old and isn't designed to support a higher-density neighborhood.
Another goal is to revamp Nebraska Avenue. Attracting offices and medical complexes to the area bounded by Nebraska, Interstate 275 and Seventh Avenue is one idea. Other improvements could be as simple as improved sidewalks and store facades and as costly as moving utility lines to underground.
'I just call this visual clutter,' Hatchett said during a driving tour of the area. 'Just very unattractive. The redevelopment of Nebraska is going to be key.'
Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.
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