Planners pitch ideas to liven up downtown

Tampa columnist HOOPER E-mail: Click here Archive

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 19, 2003

A thriving, bustling downtown with a viable nightlife has long been a dream for Tampa, and after the Tampa Downtown Partnership's seventh annual development forum Tuesday, I'm starting to believe it might happen.

A panel of experts spoke favorably about downtown Tampa's potential of being a center of activity not only for the county, but for the region. Clearly, the key is to create more residential living and they believe that's possible.

Yet their discussion was not without challenges.

The biggest suggestion was for the city and its next mayor. For years, the city has poured money into big projects and dangled incentives hoping a developer would walk through the door with a grand vision and truckful of money to match.

But the city has been waiting for that person forever.

The panel said it's time for the city to create a downtown development authority and empower it to acquire land, lease properties and get projects off the ground.

"It's time to take the bull by the horns," said Trent Green, an associate professor at USF's School of Architecture & Community Design. "We've cut bait enough, now it's time to fish."

An authority with power? It sounds like spending more tax dollars to me, and I do believe the city is in short supply right about now. But Green said an authority could find ways to generate its own revenue.

Another problem: owners holding on to vacant or nearly vacant buildings while they wait for the land rush. Don Hunter offered a possible suggestion. The president of his own real estate investment and development firm and a key player in Pittsburgh's renaissance, Hunter said a development authority could "gross lease buildings," guaranteeing an owner's revenue for the next five to 10 years so he wouldn't be dependent on small, unstable businesses.

The authority could then renovate and re-tenant the property before the lease ends, making it more valuable for the owner and making downtown look better in the process.

The panel also called for more pedestrian traffic, and noted that getting rid of downtown's maze of one-way streets would help on that front.

Those hurdles were not as discouraging as hearing about how other downtowns are doing so much better. Cities are passing us by, and while you can accept San Diego and San Antonio, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, it's hard to believe Delray Beach has a more livable downtown than Tampa.

But sure enough, Delray has done wonders, according to Christopher Brown, a consultant and past executive director of Delray Beach's Community Redevelopment Agency.

"The energy in downtown Delray remains after 5," said Brown, who helped Delray generate more than $50-million in renovated and revitalized projects. "In fact, it heats up."

But like everyone on the panel, Brown believes the same kind of energy can be captured in downtown Tampa. Why?

The optimism is spurred by the number of big projects already in place: the St. Pete Times Forum, the performing arts center and the convention center are the kind of major magnets many downtowns struggle to fund. Tampa already has those and simply needs to connect them. Hunter suggested using Franklin Street as a "spine" to bring downtown together.

And of course, there is the river. As long as we make the riverfront, largely dormant now, viable and accessible to the public, it could spark a boon.

Says Green: "The riverfront is a royal flush. We have a royal flush in our hands, we just need to play our cards."

The best thing about the forum is that specific ideas were offered. While planners tend to be idealistic, there seemed to be some true possibilities if actions are matched with visions.

We could look to Palm Beach or Pittsburgh to see the potential future of an exciting downtown. Or we could just look at another burg -- St. Petersburg.

That's all I'm saying.

-- Ernest Hooper can be reached at (813) 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com .

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