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State to buy 14 acres for trails
By JULIE HAUSERMAN, Times Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet agreed Wednesday to spend $1.1-million to buy 14 acres in South Tampa, land that officials say eventually will connect a series of green spaces, sidewalks and bike paths. The city hopes to connect land to create a greenway from Picnic Island Park to the Friendship Trail Bridge. "Eventually, we'll connect the Hillsborough and Pinellas trail systems," said Tom Johnston, an urban planner with the Tampa Parks Department. The 14-acre parcel, owned by James Keen, sits on the east side of Manhattan Avenue, between MacDill Air Force Base and Robinson High School. Bush grumbled about the price, which works out to $80,842 an acre, but voted for it anyway. "It's just expensive," muttered Bush, who has complained about high prices for public lands since he took office. "I'm beaten down." David Struhs, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said the land is important to provide green space in such an urbanized area. He said the Friendship Trail Bridge draws 20,000 people a month. State documents say Keen bought the land in 1986 for $60,000. A state appraisal report says Keen has had recent offers to buy the land for a multifamily development, with one potential buyer agreeing to pay $1.3-million. The land, the report noted, could be rezoned to allow a 225- to 250-unit apartment complex. Tampa planners have been trying to cobble together road rights of way and public lands to create the greenway. Recently, the city got a chunk of donated railroad right of way that connects to the land that Bush and the Cabinet voted to buy Wednesday, said city landscape architect Karla Price,. "We're trying to identify parcels," she said. "We haven't purchased everything for the greenway."
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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