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Downtown Tampa Will Cheer Apartments Suburb Fears

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2008

A respected developer whose proposal to build an apartment village got an icy reception in Bloomingdale can expect a warmer welcome for apartments it wants to build in downtown Tampa.

The tall apartment tower planned by Crosland Development for Franklin Street will give more residents a chance to live within an easy walk of urban jobs and civic amenities. It's just the sort of project Tampa wants. More people living downtown means more shops, restaurants and nightlife. Nobody loses.

In contrast, Crosland's suburban apartment complex near the intersection of Bloomingdale Avenue and Lithia-Pinecrest Road was widely seen as detrimental to the neighborhood. Neighbors, most living in single-family homes, objected so strenuously that Crosland went back to the drawing board.

It had wanted an increase in density from four units per acre to 16 on the 19.6-acre tract. A compromise for less than 16 may be possible, but the community clearly sent a message that was reinforced by planners from both the county and the planning commission: The proposed density was too high.

Phillip Smith, vice president of Crosland's Florida Residential division, tells us he considers the controversial Bloomingdale project to be urban infill and good for the community, just like his 26-story tower. He says Crosland wants to build both projects and didn't switch to a city project when it ran into problems in the suburbs.

But there is a big difference in the two projects. Residents of the tower, planned for Franklin Street at Tampa and Tyler streets, will walk to the performing arts center, public library, office towers, banks, courthouses, city hall and numerous restaurants. Residents of the Bloomingdale apartments would be driving every day on roads that at times are dangerously crowded. Lithia-Pinecrest is on the county's top-20 list of unfunded road projects.

The rising costs of suburban infrastructure, and the rising cost of commuting, are good reasons to support strong growth rules that encourage new residents to live where they will be most welcomed.

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