Manses in the millions

By JANET ZINK
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 30, 2002

CHOOSE YOUR ADJECTIVE: It's a sobering/depressing/annoying fact: There are 71 homes for sale in Tampa with an asking price of more than $1-million, according to the Multiple Listing Service. That means people actually live in these homes and expect people to buy them.

Seven properties are going for more than $2.5-million and five are tagged at more than $4-million. Three of the $4-million-plus homes are in the gated community of Avila in North Tampa, and the other two are in South Tampa.

In case you're wondering, if you put $200,000 down on a $1-million house, your monthly payments would be $5,350 per month with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of 6.13 percent.

If you put $1.5-million down on a $7.9-million home in Avila -- conveniently, there's a nine-bedroom, 30,000-square-foot one on the market -- your monthly payments would be $38,421 per month with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of 6.13 percent.

CLASS ACT: Pam Parisi, the marketing manager for FishHawk Ranch, heard opportunity knocking when the latest Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores were announced.

Students at FishHawk Ranch's Colleen Lunsford Bevis Elementary earned the highest average elementary FCAT score in Hillsborough County -- 513 -- good for an A letter grade.

Meanwhile, the Gen. James D. Randall Middle School, also in FishHawk Ranch, was among the county's top five middle schools. It also scored an A.

WATER WORLD: A one-year restoration project that will result in 3.5 miles of canals is nearing completion at MiraBay, a 750-acre waterfront community in the SouthShore area of southern Hillsborough County.

According to Steve Gamm, MiraBay's development manager, MiraBay assembled a team of environmental experts to revitalize the community's existing canal system. When completed this fall, the restored system will enhance the SouthShore area's natural environment.

To promote the growth of water plants, which help keep the canals clean, engineers cut the depth of the system in half. They replaced harmful exotic plants with marsh and mangrove areas that will supply nutrients to the water.

-- Write to Janet Zink in care of the St. Petersburg Times at 1000 N Ashley Drive, Suite 700, Tampa, FL 33602; or by e-mail, janet.zink@gte.net.

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