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City To Buy Parking Lot Plot

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By DAVE NICHOLSON

dnicholson@tampatrib.com

Published: December 3, 2008

PLANT CITY - The city has agreed to spend $475,000 to buy nearly a half-acre that was left vacant by a 2005 arson fire that destroyed almost a block in historic downtown.

The city hopes to close by the end of the year on the deal for the property at the northeast corner of Collins Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Assistant City Manager Greg Horwedel said.

The land is owned by Curtis Devane, who owns a restaurant across Collins Street. He has used the property as a parking lot since buying it.

Devane will donate $50,000 back to the city to use for landscaping the property, city Commissioner Mike Sparkman said. The landscaping, which could include planters and vines on trellises, would help screen the backsides of buildings exposed when the fire destroyed several buildings fronting Collins.

The city is hiring historic preservation consultant Stephanie Ferrell for about $10,000 to develop designs for the property, which will remain a parking lot for now, Sparkman said.

Ultimately the city wants to sell the property to a developer, Horwedel said. The city envisions the new owner would build a project with a mixture of residential and commercial uses, he said.
Sparkman has complained the property has been an eyesore since the fire, a contention Devane and his wife, Tammy, have denied. The Devanes have said they vastly improved the property since acquiring it.
Hillsborough County property records show David Hawthorne sold one-fifth of an acre to the Devanes in November 2007 for $125,000. They bought an adjacent parcel about the same size from Dennis Spurlock for $165,000 in February. Both properties had been vacant since the February 2005 fire.

A local real estate company told the city the property was worth $290,000 to $541,000, according to city records.

The city will use Community Redevelopment Agency money to make the purchase, Horwedel said. The money is earmarked for use for redevelopment, he said.

Reporter Dave Nicholson can be reached at (813) 865-4432.

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