Downtown Plant City improvements to include paved parking, mural

The city commission has approved a plan to improve a parking lot on city property on South Collins Street, and given its blessing to a local committee's proposal of a history-based mural near the site.

City commissioners recently voted to accept a parking lot design provided by the Heart of Plant City Mural committee, headed by Sandee Sytsma. The lot will accommodate about 28 vehicles, including spaces for disabled people and a few oversized spots for delivery vehicles, bicycle racks and landscaping.

The existing lot, at the corner of S. Collins and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, was purchased by the city for $475,000 earlier this year. The land became available for parking after a Feb. 21, 2005, fire destroyed several stores.

The lot, as it is constructed now, is made of crushed limestone and dirt. The improved lot will include paving, drainage and a sprinkler system. The total cost for the improvement is expected to be around $60,000. Most of that cost will come from the former owner of the property, who committed $50,000 toward the improvement when the sale was made. Up to $10,000 was made available through the city's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), and $5,000 will be provided by the Heart of Plant City Mural fund, Sytsma said.

The commissioners chose the plan submitted by the committee over two others, including one prepared by city staffers and another by historic preservation consultant Stephanie Ferrell, who was paid $10,040 by the CRA for her services.

The land was owned by Curtis Devane, who owns Snellgrove's Restaurant across Collins Street. He had used the property as a parking lot.

Devane gave $50,000 back to the city to use for landscaping the property.

Hillsborough County property records show David Hawthorne sold .2 of an acre to Curtis Devane and his wife, Tammy, in November 2007 for $125,000. They bought an adjacent parcel about the same size from Dennis Spurlock for $165,000 in February.

The mural will be painted on the south wall of the Whistle Stop Café, 102 S. Collins St.

"The mural will depict historic people and places in the city," Sytsma said. "We chose the site because it sits near the heart of the historic downtown, will be prominently visible, and will depict people and places that are important to the heart of this community."

Whistle Stop owner Jerry Lofstrom said painting should begin in early September.

Plans call for the mural to be 14 feet high and 70 feet wide. Up to 21 likenesses of historic people will be depicted in the mural.

"There will be a series of granite slabs at the base of the wall indentifying each figure," Sytsma said. "The mural and landscaped parking lot will add a great deal to the area."