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Tampa Rededicates Rosy Downtown Park

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By JOSÉ PATIÑO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Published: November 10, 2008

TAMPA - Twenty years after it opened, Herman Massey Park was rededicated this afternoon.

Closed in 2005 to make room for construction equipment, the downtown park was welcomed back with ornamental steel fencing, a retro-style water fountain accessible to the disabled, a rose garden, a dog walking area and a revamped granite seating area with bronze frogs to discourage skateboarders.

With the rise of condominiums, town homes and restaurants on North Franklin Street, officials hope the park attracts residents, the lunch crowd and visitors.

"It complements the people who live here," Mayor Pam Iorio said at the dedication. "And, of course, it complements the people who work here."

The 150-by-250-foot park, 1002 N. Franklin St., is named for a former city parks department director. It will open from dawn to dusk.

The park was closed while the city leased the property to condo developers as a staging area.

"We feel the use of the area has changed, so we feel the park will change," project manager Karla Price said. "Before it was a lot of homeless to be honest. It really deterred other people from using it."

She envisions weddings at the park.

The city spent $83,700 on the project, tapping local property taxes earmarked for downtown improvements.

The Tampa Rose Society planted 37 rose bushes at the park. Fermin Rodriguez, a society board member, broached the idea with the city, which was considering planting a rose garden.

"I think it is beautiful," Rodriguez said of the park. "I loved it the minute I saw it."

Reporter José Patiño Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659.

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