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Curtis Hixon Park Plan Gets Mixed Reception

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2008

Updated: 02/07/2008 11:57 pm

TAMPA - City council members got their first good look Thursday at plans for a new Curtis Hixon Park, and they didn't like everything they saw.

During and after the meeting, they raised concerns about everything from the design of the park benches to the project's $15 million price tag.

"A couple of years ago, I was comfortable with that because it's a nice amenity," Councilman John Dingfelder said during a meeting break. "But I can't in good conscience vote for a new $15 million park when we're talking about a $15 million to $20 million deficit and laying off hundreds of employees."

Several years ago, Mayor Pam Iorio announced plans to remake Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa. The art museum building is being demolished and a new building will be constructed at the northern edge of Ashley Drive, next to a proposed Children's Museum.

The park, Iorio has said, will serve as Tampa's central park and as a community gathering place. People would be able to step off the adjacent Riverwalk to enjoy the park's amenities.

The city hired New York landscape architect Thomas Balsley to design the project. At Thursday's meeting, he showed the council updated renderings of his plans.

"It's been very carefully conceived to be a very active park," Balsley said.

The park would be built in two phases. The first phase, which carries a $15 million price tag, would include features such as a visitors' center, cafe kiosk, play area, dog run, fountain on Ashley and a shade trellis at a future pavilion building.

The second phase would include the glass towers, a mist fountain, the pavilion building, a garden and a restaurant. The second phase could cost an additional $5 million to $10 million.

Funding for the park would come from revenue generated by the downtown Community Redevelopment Area, though the city might need to borrow some money from its Community Investment Tax interest earnings and/or fund balances. Money from the Community Redevelopment Area is in question because of a recent state Supreme Court decision that might restrict how the city can spend money generated in these areas.

Regardless, finance director Bonnie Wise said, the city's goal is to pay for the park with money generated in the downtown area.

Iorio said this week the city should continue building, in part because the projects will offer job opportunities to many in the community as the country teeters on the brink of a recession.

As for the park's aesthetics, some council members particularly didn't like the five 50-foot-tall glass structures that each would contain a letter spelling out T-A-M-P-A. Each structure is expected to cost six figures.

"It doesn't look like a gateway. It looks like a barrier," Councilwoman Mary Mulhern said. "I hope we can lose those."

Dingfelder also questioned the necessity of the glass towers. Does Tampa have an identity crisis? he asked.

Balsley said the pillars would serve as a gateway announcement to town.

"The city has lacked a sense of, 'This is the place, this is the center,'" he said.

Councilman Joseph Caetano questioned whether the park benches would have dividers in the middle to prevent the homeless from sleeping on them.

Balsley said the benches would have arm rests to serve as a deterrent. Dingfelder wasn't satisfied and said some of the other benches looked like an invitation for the homeless to sleep there.

Dingfelder also questioned whether the fountains would use reclaimed water.

That would be impractical, parks department Director Karen Palus said, because the fountains are designed for children to play in.

That prompted council members to ask whether the fountains would be subject to the city's water restriction ordinance.

Though the fountains can be turned off and on whenever the city wants, they would not be subject to the city ordinance, officials said.

City administrators hope to ask the council to award the construction contract for the park next month, with an eye toward groundbreaking in late March or early April. Work would take a little more than a year.

No timeline has been set for the second phase.

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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