Many Harbour Island residents, now including retired Gen. Tommy Franks, say they are attracted by its tightly limited access.
By BILL VARIAN
Published August 3, 2003
TAMPA - The former leader of the nation's war on terrorism now hunkers in a place where boaters trip electronic beams if they attempt to approach without permission.
It's a place where guards turn away visitors who try to pass through roadway gates without proper clearance. And most of those with clearance are not allowed inside a top-secret inner sanctum.
No, retired Gen. Tommy Franks no longer works at MacDill Air Force Base.
He has purchased a home on Harbour Island.
"It's like one if by land, two if by sea," quipped Alcine O'Toole, administrative assistant for Harbour Island property manager Condominium Associates, describing the airtight security system that attracted Franks' wife, Cathy.
Harbour Island, off the shore of downtown Tampa, has appealed to hundreds of residents during the past 15 years with its tropical island living close to the heart of the city. With the newest arrival, island boosters have landed a perfect if unofficial pitchman for its other appeal: unparalleled security.
Tommy and Cathy Franks confirmed this week that they have settled on Harbour Island after zeroing in on South Tampa. They were due to close on a home Friday, Cathy Franks said.
The general said he and his wife looked at Harbour Island and its ungated neighbor to the west, Davis Islands, before picking a place to call home.
"Love South Tampa," Franks said in an e-mail this week. "Davis Islands and Harbour Island are both beautiful. We decided on Harbour Island because we wanted to be close to a number of friends who live there."
Cathy Franks said security on the island clinched the decision.
And they are not alone. The Franks family joins a host of Tampa Bay sports and political celebrities.
The roll call includes Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back John Lynch, his teammate Kenyatta Walker, their bosses Bryan and Joel Glazer, former Buc Chidi Ahanotu and current Tampa Bay Lightning hockey player Vinny Lecavalier.
Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco feeds the ducks at a pond near his home on the island. City Attorney Fred Karl can be seen there, as can the daughter of one of Franks' predecessors, retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.
That is, of course, if you live inside the gates or have a previously cleared invitation to visit.
"I think, first and foremost, the appeal for the people I have sold to in there has been location," said Georgia Hilficker, a real estate agent with RealWorks Inc. "Second, and a tight second, is the security.
"It's real security."
Once a mud flat known as Seddon Island, Harbour Island was created with dredge material from the shipping channel dug about a century ago by the Seaboard Air Line railroad. Until the early 1970s, it served as a phosphate terminal for Seaboard and a transfer site for ships unloading cargo to railway cars.
It changed hands several times over the years, with various developers floating plans for everything from homes to a theme park on the 177-acre island. It finally opened with a hotel, marketplace and about 200 residences in June 1985.
Today, construction continues on the area closest to downtown. But the area inside the gate, with 600-650 residences, is now fully sold. With its manicured landscaping, barrel-tiled roofs, million-dollar mansions and multiple footpaths, it resembles many of Tampa Bay's gated communities.
What's uncommon is the security.
The north end of the island allows open access for visitors staying at the Wyndham Harbour Island Hotel, dining at its few restaurants, living in its condos or working out at the Harbour Island Athletic Club and Spa. But continue south and the picture changes.
Manned security stations check driver identifications and clear them with visitor lists. Same with cyclists and joggers seeking a diversion from the Bayshore Boulevard exercise path: no clearance, no entry.
Preston Trigg found out the hard way about a month ago just how seriously the guards take their jobs when he tried to visit his boss, Hillsborough County tax collector Doug Belden, for a barbecue.
Trigg, director of special operations for the tax collector, had been to Belden's home many times. He was even on a permanent guest list.
But Belden had moved to another place on the island, and Trigg wasn't on the guest list for the new digs. The guard couldn't reach Belden by phone because he was outside tending the grill.
Trigg and his wife weren't getting in, no way, no how, the kindly guard said.
"The lady was very polite, but very firm," Trigg said. "I could have been George Bush and I wasn't getting through that gate."
Inside the wall lies another boundary: a second gate that limits entry to the biggest mansions on the island to, once again, only those with clearance. Even Franks, with clear passage through the first gate, won't be able to pass through the second one unless he befriends the residents there.
Apartment and condominium complexes have additional security systems with cameras and entry codes. Each residence on the island, including the apartments and condos, has a security system.
Only about 10 percent of the homes have direct access to the water, said Hilficker, who sold several homes on the island during the boom years of the mid to late 1990s.
Those on the water can rest assured. Cameras comb the waterway for people approaching without permission. Electronic beams catch what the cameras miss. And security is dispatched to find out who is intruding.
O'Toole won't get any more specific than that. She says a lot of the residents on Harbour Island have work that involves traveling, which means they're away from home for long stretches.
"A lot of them will tell me that, that it's the security they're looking for," she said.
Belden, a single father, moved to the island in 1997. His son, Douglas Jr., who just turned 12, was a big factor.
"I can let him out. He can go Rollerblading," Belden said. "He can walk to the gym and back by himself."
Still, there are other appeals.
John Fitzgibbons, a lawyer who works on N Franklin Street downtown, says it takes him five minutes to get to work, three if he catches the lights right.
Since he moved in as one of the first buyers in 1991, he has seen new shops, restaurants and movie theaters open at Channelside, joined by an aquarium, hotels and the St. Pete Times Forum. It's all within walking distance.
"I think the main attraction of Harbour Island has been what it's been for a long time: Convenience and excellent security," he said.
To add to the entertainment, Fitzgibbons throws arguably the largest party of Gasparilla, an invitation-only affair that draws well more than 1,000 guests. He said he hasn't had a problem with the security gate, to which he supplies a guest list.
Fitzgibbons lives in the same area of the island as Franks. He said he hopes Franks will see fit to stop by this year. He has heard the general, a big fan of country music, likes to sing it, too.
"I'll be honored if Gen. Franks wants to come and sing a song or two," Fitzgibbons said.
- Staff writer Paul de la Garza contributed to this report.
