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Mayor backs hospital's call for lease of park for garage
By JANET ZINK
Published May 18, 2005
TAMPA - Tampa General Hospital had the backing of Mayor Pam Iorio Tuesday, as the City Council considered a controversial request to let the facility build a parking garage on about a half-acre city park on Davis Islands.
City Attorney David Smith, speaking for Iorio's administration, told the council the mayor supports allowing the hospital to lease the small park as site for a parking garage.
"It is in the best interest of the city to approve this lease," he said.
About 500 people turned out at the special council meeting, held at the Tampa Convention Center to accommodate the size of the crowd. About three-quarters of those in the crowd were hospital supporters and employees who ranged from transplant surgeons to the maintenance staff.
The council heard comments long into the evening, and at press time had not voted on the rezoning request.
Tampa General has asked to rezone its property and lease less than half an acre of a waterfront park for its most recent expansion. The hospital wants permission to build a 1,400-space parking garage on the parkland and a new office building on the hospital campus. It also wants to add a floor to an expansion under construction.
Davis Islands residents have objected to the request for months. They don't want a parking garage on public parkland. Now, they are also emphasizing the traffic the parking garage would bring.
Two years ago, the city approved a 280,000-square-foot addition for a new emergency room, intensive care beds and labor-and-delivery suites. Work on the $100-million project began in September.
Last year, the hospital announced it also wanted to build a 480,000-square-foot parking garage and a 125,000-square-foot office building, and add 67,000 square feet to the building under construction.
These rezoning requests would increase the hospital, built in 1927, from 1.3-million to about 2.2-million square feet.
TGH president Ron Hytoff has said the hospital needs to expand to keep up with the region's population growth.
[Last modified May 18, 2005, 00:49:11]
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