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Tampa Eyeing Federal Funds For Stalled Encore Project

Rendering from Tampa Housing Authority

The Ella, a proposed 160-unit retirement complex, is the first building to receive funding at the Encore, a mixed-income community being built at the former Central Park Village public housing site. The Ella will have 144 dedicated affordable housing units for residents 55 and older.

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2009

TAMPA - After two years of waiting, Mayor Pam Iorio wants to fast-track Encore, the planned redevelopment of Central Park Village.

The project is expected to be near the top of the city's second stimulus request list, a wish list of shovel-ready infrastructure projects that officials hope might receive federal funds as part of President-elect Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus package.

The wish list is expected to be unveiled early this week, possibly today.

The 28-acre project on Nebraska Avenue, being developed by the Tampa Housing Authority and Bank of America, calls for a community of affordable housing, market-rate condominiums and retail businesses. It would replace the former Central Park Village public housing complex, which was demolished in 2007.

"It's a critical link between downtown and Ybor [City]," the mayor said Friday. "We made commitments that Central Park was going to be torn down, but it was going to be rebuilt and people were going to have an opportunity to move back."

Housing officials since late last year have been meeting with Florida lawmakers to remind them that Encore is ready to begin construction. The project has stalled since being approved in June 2006, in part, due to the lagging economy.

Encore needs an estimated $27 million to make critical improvements to road and sewer systems, as well as to build a parking garage.

Leroy Moore, housing authority vice president, was in Washington last week to meet with two Florida Democrats in Congress – Kathy Castor of Tampa and Ron Klein of Boca Raton.

"It was clear they support the project," Moore said. "They did caution that there's likely not going to be any earmarks or specific projects funded. That's not our intent. We're simply trying to make them aware there are projects like this."

The stimulus money likely would be allocated to state lawmakers for disbursement.

"Obviously, we're going to be trying to educate our state legislators as well," Moore said.

Iorio said Encore wasn't included in the city's first stimulus list, released in December, because those projects were limited to jobs that could start within 90 days. The new list represents jobs that can be finished within two years.

Encore is expected to create about 1,000 permanent jobs, as well as more than 4,000 short-term construction jobs, officials say. Construction of the $425 million community is expected to last three years.

It will create 667 affordable-housing rental units to replace the public housing apartments lost when Central Park Village closed.

"If we can get this money from the federal government, it could jumpstart this project and get it going," Iorio said.

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915 or jallman@tampatrib.com.

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