 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
County cracks the whip on bank's architecture
By JACKIE RIPLEY, Times Staff Writer CITRUS PARK -- Hillsborough County officials have refused to issue a certificate of occupancy for the Bank of America branch under construction at the Shoppes of Citrus Park. And they have ordered a stop to all roofing work. The problem? Bright orange barrel tile being laid on the roof -- an architectural style diametrically opposed to the "Florida Cracker" facade that citizen watchdogs say the developer agreed to. "I was dumbfounded," said Leslie Horton who lives in Citrus Park. "That is so far removed from what they said they were going to build there." When Clearwater developer Monroe's Prestige last year asked county permission to build the 160,000-square-foot center at Gunn Highway and Ehrlich Road many in the community objected, fearful the project would further diminish the small-town feel they were trying to preserve in Citrus Park. But when the county said it would hold the developer to stringent guidelines, watchdogs vowed to keep an eye on the project to make sure it conformed with a community plan they were developing. Some civic association members say their worst fears were realized when the developer failed to create a Florida Cracker facade on the center's anchor tenant, Publix, built the store two stories instead of one, and allowed security lighting to shine into the nearby neighborhood. Now, the Bank of America is sporting a bright orange barrel tile roof, which gives it more of a Mediterranean look. "We're kind of at loggerheads," said Craig Mahlman, manager of the county's development services division. "The zoning conditions called for "Florida Cracker' style architecture and so we're trying to square that with the barrel tile roof." Mahlman, who was checking with the county attorney, said the stop work order would remain in effect, and that no certificate of occupancy would be issued, until the problem was resolved. Dennis Lane, vice president of Saxelbye Architects Inc., defended the bank's design in a letter to the county. The "building and roof design incorporates numerous elements of this vernacular typology known as the Florida Cracker architectural style," Lane wrote. "The architectural characteristics that distinguish this typology in our building are the large attached front porch, the pitched roof, simplicity of the plan and roof overhangs." Horton's response: "You've got to be kidding. Bright white with orange barrel tile roof is not Cracker style." Neither Lane, nor Ira Waitz, vice president of Monroe's Prestige, returned calls for comment. - Jackie Ripley can be reached at (813) 269-5308.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times |
