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AARON SHAROCKMANAffordable apartments on the Jack Russell Stadium site may encourage blight, a citizens group says. It also fears an office park wouldn't bring high-paying jobs for residents.
CLEARWATER - A city selection committee has recommended to reject a pair of proposals to remake the 16-acre Jack Russell Stadium site Monday, saying neither project fully addressed city and community concerns.
One plan for the North Greenwood neighborhood included a mix of affordable apartments and townhomes. The other called for an office park and college classrooms.
But both had problems, said Cheryl Wade, a resident on the selection committee.
"It's a community that has its good parts and its bad parts," said Wade, a banker who owns property in North Greenwood. "Most times, the bad parts overshadow the good parts.
"We're starting to rise to overcome that stigma," Wade said. "Neither proposal will help."
The committee's recommendation will be reviewed by City Manager Bill Horne, who will take his recommendation to the City Council. The council will decide what happens next.
Mayor Brian Aungst said he was frustrated the city only received two viable proposals for the 16-acre site after sending out 700 bid packets and heavily advertising the redevelopment opportunity.
The city might try again, Aungst said.
"We're a little bit disappointed we can't get more diversity as far as the plans," the mayor said. "Maybe it'll happen some time in the future, but ... I'm not sure what else we're going to get."
Horne warned that it might be difficult to get exactly what residents wanted. Some have talked about a grocery store, a fast food restaurant or a barbershop.
"The problem is we're not convinced the market will support (residents') dreams," Horne said.
Community members worried that affordable housing would attract blight-ridden conditions. They also believed an office park wouldn't translate into high-paying jobs. Dozens signed a letter from the local NAACP branch that didn't support either project.
Earlier, the NAACP had backed the housing proposal, developed by the Housing Trust Group of Florida. But the branch ultimately decided to oppose it.
"Our neighborhood already supports almost 1,000 units of housing, including 200 low-income apartments," the letter stated. "Having so many low-income units in one community greatly increases the density and provides the potential for returning the slum, blight and crime conditions that we are trying so hard to eliminate."
The Housing Trust Group wanted to build 58 for-sale townhomes at around $140,000 apiece and 192 affordable apartments.
The office park project, developed by Grubb & Ellis and Biltmore Construction, called for a 200,000-square-foot business park centered on manufacturing and technology-oriented businesses.
In that plan, the city would own the property until developers found businesses interested in building there. Assistant City Manager Garry Brumback, a member of the committee, said the Grubb & Ellis proposal put the risk on the city.
Residents thought the high-paying jobs would be soaked up by workers outside North Greenwood.
"Twenty years from now, we don't want to see what they wanted now falling apart and being forgotten," said local NAACP vice president Alma Bridges, who said she was happy the committee failed to endorse either redevelopment option. "We want something to stay there for a long time.
"It's right here in this community," Bridges said. "We're the ones who have to live with it."
- Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com