A "town center" at Paula and Ambassador drives is moving ahead, but some say the project doesn't fit with the area.
By JACKIE RIPLEY
Published March 21, 2004
TOWN 'N COUNTRY - The new and improved Westgate Library will most likely come equipped with a coffee shop. That's the plan, anyway - part of the Town 'N Country Community Plan that calls for the creation of a quasidowntown at Paula and Ambassador drives.
"A lot of good things are going to happen," said Bill Browne, president of the Town 'N Country Park Civic Association. "It's going to be a nicer area because of the new library."
Hillsborough County commissioners approved the Town 'N Country Community Plan last year. It focuses on 9.5 square miles bounded by Linebaugh Avenue to the north, Memorial Highway to the south, the Veterans Expressway to the east and Sheldon Road to the west.
Now it's a matter of procedural tasks, such as rezoning about 8 acres that would make up the "town center," which would take root at Paula and Ambassador.
The land is zoned for stores and homes. If the rezoning is approved, it would not allow stores but would allow limited commercial uses such as a coffee shop in one of the government buildings.
"It would be a good complement to the library," said Dave Borisenko, county planner on the project. "You could check out a book, get a cup of coffee and read."
The rezoning proposal calls for 4,000 square feet of commercial space, or about 6 percent of the proposed building space in the 8-acre town center. Commercial sites would be limited to government buildings in that area.
"It would not attract customers off the street," Borisenko said. "It would be there to serve patrons of the library or senior center."
The plan's supporters say the center would give Town 'N Country more of an identity and would increase property values. Others don't agree.
Stan Krick, who has lived in Town 'N Country for more than three decades, said he supports the plan passed by county commissioners last year. But he said the proposed rezoning does not reflect the plan.
"They said no commercial space, period," Krick said. "This was a big bone of contention from day one."
Other residents such as Albert Gonzalez, who lives on Hulsey Road, argued that a downtown district does not belong in the middle of a residential area.
"The only thing I see out there that might work would be an area that's across the street from the Lowe's shopping center on Waters Avenue next to the Veterans Expressway," Gonzalez said. "This area is surrounded by thousands and thousands of homes."
The county set aside money for a 65,000-square-foot library. The county also will build a 30,000-square-foot Head Start center as well as a 20,000-square-foot senior center.
The county has earmarked $3.8-million for road improvements in the area. And it has set aside 4 acres to be used for an urban park.
"It's going to be a pretty site," Browne said.
Town 'N Country is the most recent section of the county to undergo community-based planning, an initiative shaped by county commissioners in 1998 to give residents a greater voice in development and redevelopment affecting their neighborhoods.
Land Use Hearing Officer John Crislip will make his recommendation within three weeks. Hillsborough County commissioners will vote on the proposed rezoning April 27.
