The pace of work to finish the shell of the Main Street Landing building has picked up in recent weeks.
Because of the recession and other economic factors, the riverside commercial-residential project stalled more than five years ago. The fragments of the building stood along the southwestern bank of the Pithlachascotee River at the Main Street bridge.
City officials had been prodding Main Street Landing's Gainesville-based developer, Ken McGurn, to finish the exterior of the structure.
The building will remain vacant inside, however, until the economy recovers enough to spur demand for offices and condominiums, as contemplated in the original development plans.
Crews have been painting the upper floors of the building a light blue. Workers still must install windows and apply a stucco exterior finish, City Manager John Schneiger said last month.
The city wants to proceed with its part of a streetscaping project after the building is zipped up, Schneiger explained.
"We've got some time," he said. The city will need three to four months to complete designs for the streetscaping.
The city could set aside up to $200,000 in Penny for Pasco sales tax revenue, Schneiger said at a recent work session of the city council.
Schneiger described the streetscaping as a public-private partnership between McGurn and the city.
Mayor Bob Consalvo was reassured that streetscaping improvements would start after the shell of the building is finished.
The public streetscape portion would lie within the rights of way along two streets while the developer handles improvements on his property.
The city, however, would initially pay the design costs for streetscaping, with reimbursement later from the developer for his portion.
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