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Soon to close, landmark fortress' future remains undecided

City officials aren't sure how they'll use the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory after soldiers vacate it in late summer.

About 400 soldiers assigned to the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory on Howard Avenue will soon be making their home in Pinellas Park, but what will happen to the landmark white fortress remains unclear.

When the main building is vacated in August or September, the city of Tampa will take over ownership. The military will continue to use the other smaller buildings on the site for storage and training, said Col. Mitch Perryman, commander of the 53rd Infantry Brigade of the Florida Army National Guard, which occupies the armory.

During the 1980s, the city deeded the armory to the military. Under the agreement, if the armory's purpose changes, ownership reverts to the city.

In 1999 the military decided to relocate the headquarters of the 53rd Infantry Brigade and the 253rd Military Intelligence Company from the armory to a $45-million Joint Armed Forces Reserve Training Center under construction across the bay. Detachment 1 of the 53rd Support Battalion will go to another armory in south St. Petersburg, Perryman said.

The city doesn't have plans for the armory yet, said Jack Rodriguez, manager of the city's real estate division. But if the 80,000-square-foot building is used for office space, for example, it would need land to park at least 320 cars, which it doesn't have, he said. A parking arrangement would have to be worked out with the state's armory board, which owns the property.

"If we can't have joint access to park there, the building's just going to become a monument," he said.

The armory, built in 1940, would need extensive renovations to bring it up to standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Rodriguez said the city and National Guard will continue to meet. Neither the armory nor the other buildings on the site willbe demolished. The armory has too much history, he said.

The armory once served as a popular public venue. High schools held graduations in it. African-American entertainers performed there during the segregated 1950s. The armory saw Elvis swivel his hips and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. give a rousing speech.