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Tampa officials weigh future of Avenue of Arts

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 11, 2009

TAMPA - The city council's unexpected decision this week to cut funding for Mayor Pam Iorio's long-awaited Avenue of Arts project has city officials plotting their next step.

On Wednesday, the council voted unanimously to cut $2 million in proposed funding for the high-profile downtown redevelopment project, which would have turned Zack Street into an artsy, two-way, pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare leading to the city's riverfront.

Council members said they felt that, given the city's financial straits, the money would be better spent on citywide improvements for neglected parks, pools and neighborhoods.

But the move essentially torpedoed one of the central pillars of the Iorio administration's long-term efforts to transform the former industrial neighborhood into an arts district.

Iorio has not yet responded to requests for comment on the council's decision.

"The ball is in the mayor's court," said Robert McDonaugh, the city's urban development manager, who oversees the project. "We'll probably go back to the drawing board."

That could man scaling back the project, completing it in phases or putting it on hold until funds are made available, he said. But it would depend on what Iorio decides to do.

City officials were counting on the project to create a pedestrian-friendly corridor linking the Franklin Street business district to the waterfront, guiding visitors to the soon-to-be completed Glazer Children's Museum, Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Park.

The project was put on hold about two years ago when a Florida Supreme Court ruling halted the use of community redevelopment money without prior voter approval.

The city resurrected plans for the project earlier this year.

Council members meet with Iorio next Tuesday to discuss a proposal to partner with Hillsborough County on equipment purchases, and the issue will likely be raised.

"I'm open to a compromise," said Council Chair Tom Scott. "It depends on the mayor."

Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, a big supporter of the arts who made the motion to divert the funding, said she never intended to do away with the project indefinitely.

"I believe it should and will happen," she said. "Just not this year."

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

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