TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Repair Plans Tabled

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: January 11, 2009

TAMPA - One year ago, the city unveiled ambitious plans to renovate the old federal courthouse, one of Tampa's most prominent downtown landmarks.

The $18 million public-private partnership with the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Institute of Architects called for refurbishing the Florida Avenue building and leasing space to tenants whose businesses focus on arts, architecture and urban planning.

That was before the capital markets dried up.

AIA chapter President Gus Paras said his group has been unable to get financing for the project.

"We couldn't have picked a worse time to do this project," he said. "It's terrible."

Paras said the institute is negotiating with the city to extend its contract, set to expire at the end of the month, for at least another year while the search for funding continues.

"We haven't given up," he said. "Hopefully the economic situation will improve soon."

Mark Huey, the city's economic development administrator, said the city is willing to work with the institute and will likely extend the redevelopment agreement.

"We certainly understand how difficult it is in this market environment," he said. "But that building is a real treasure to the city and we don't want to put just anything in there."

The building, with its Beaux Arts Classical architecture, is considered one of the city's most important structures and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The city pays about $60,000 a year in taxes and other costs to maintain the vacant building and charges the architectural group about $4,000 a month in rent. The group planned to move its offices to the courthouse after the renovations.

In the past century, the building has served various uses, including as a post office and U.S. Customs House. In 1998, the federal courthouse was relocated to an $81 million building. Five years later, the city bought the old building for $1.

Since then, it has remained vacant, although many groups had ideas for its use, some of which gained more traction than others. Among the proposals: a homeless shelter; a Florida A&M University Law School campus; a hotel and restaurant; city government offices; a site for the Savannah College of Art and Design; and a school.

In 2004, the city convened an advisory panel to review proposals. The group recommended a plan pushed by local developer P.C. Patel to convert the courthouse into two charter schools, a location for the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts and offices for nonprofit organizations.

The plan never got off the ground.

Paras said he doesn't know when the chapter's project will get under way.

"I wish I had a crystal ball," he said. "It could be tomorrow; could be five years from now."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT