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High Point residents want to see some green

High Point residents are upset about the closing of their park, but Pinch-A-Penny has offered

By SHANNON TAN
Published June 26, 2005

to donate 5 acres to the county to create new recreational space.

LARGO - Families celebrate birthdays and munch on picnic lunches at High Point Community Park. The neighborhood family center has hosted petting zoos and other community events there. One Christmas, the center hauled in machines and made it snow.

But the community will lose the park Aug. 1 when the Pinellas County School District takes back the 3-acre property to build a new High Point Elementary School.

Residents are disappointed that they're losing the only green space in their neighborhood. That's why some people have welcomed an offer by pool supply giant Pinch-A-Penny, which would donate 5 acres to the county for recreational use nearby.

"If you drive around these streets, you've got duplexes, triplexes and they've got two to three feet of dirt," said Margo Adams, director of High Point Neighborhood Family Center, which runs the park. "It's not a place for our children to play."

The park, at 58th Street N and 150th Avenue N, was formed through a partnership of the school board, the YMCA of the Suncoast and neighborhood groups. The school board signed a temporary agreement with the YMCA in 1998 to use the land for a park, which was developed about two years later.

The new school will be built on 12 acres of land east of the existing school, which was built in 1957. Construction will start in August and the $14-million, 86,000-square-foot building should be completed by December 2006. It's unclear what will happen to the existing 46,926 square-foot building when the new school opens January 2007.

Many of the trees from the park will remain, said Tony Rivas, facilities director for Pinellas County schools. He said the school district is working on an agreement to open the school's playground to the public after school hours. Lakewood and Maximo elementary schools have similar arrangements with the city of St. Petersburg, Rivas said.

About 14,000 people live in the unincorporated High Point area. The diverse community is a hodgepodge of mobile home parks, apartment complexes and industrial buildings including the city's wastewater treatment plant.

More than three-quarters of High Point residents surveyed recently said there weren't enough recreation facilities in the area. The city of Largo is developing Datsko Park on Whitney Road, which is scheduled to open in summer 2006, but it's on the other side of busy Roosevelt Boulevard. Residents want a park within walking distance of their homes.

The YMCA has two pools, basketball court and fitness center, but it doesn't have green space.

"The biggest need for us is field space," said Stephanie Zaragoza, associate vice president for community and program development at the YMCA of the Suncoast.

She said some of the equipment at the park, such as the playground, picnic tables and shelter, will be moved to the YMCA and High Point Community Pride, a neighborhood group.

Cepcot Corp., a subsidiary of Pinch-A-Penny, wants to expand its corporate headquarters and build warehouse and distribution facilities on 29.6-acres near the Crossroads Mall that it has under contract with the county for $4.68-million. Upon closing, the pool retailer proposes donating 5 of the 18 adjacent acres it already owns in High Point to the county for recreational use.

The proposal has come under fire from Boulder Venture South LLC, owner of the mall, which says an industrial facility doesn't belong next to a $140-million town center Boulder wants to build on the site of Crossroads Mall.

Both projects need city permission before they can be built.

Adams, who supports both projects, said Pinch-A-Penny representatives contacted her in December to solicit ideas for the proposed park. Based on input from residents, Adams envisions a playground, shelters with picnic tables and a baseball/softball diamond with the outfield utilized as a soccer and football field. She hopes the city of Largo will work with the county to create the new park.

Frank Bowman, manager of the Southeast County Connections Center, said it would be an informal recreation facility for pickup games. He said the county is determining who will be responsible for the park.

It'll be at least one to two years before the new park is developed, Bowman said.

Shannon Tan can be reached at shtan@sptimes.com or 445-4174.

[Last modified June 26, 2005, 00:35:07]