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Study details museum options

Officials are presented with the pros and cons of each possible site for a new Tampa art museum.

By JANET ZINK
Published June 30, 2005

TAMPA - Tampa Museum of Art and city officials got their first look Wednesday at a study of three potential sites for a new art museum.

Mayor Pam Iorio said the report reinforced the viability of turning the Old Federal Courthouse into an art museum.

But museum leaders say they need more time to analyze the numbers. "It's a lot to absorb," said museum board chairwoman Cornelia Corbett. "We've got a lot of work to do."

The city initiated a study of the old courthouse in April after Iorio unveiled her vision for transforming the 100-year-old structure into an art museum, along with a 500-space parking garage on the southwest corner of Florida Avenue and Twiggs Street, and landscaping and public art on Zack Street to form an Arts Avenue.

At the request of museum leaders, the study was expanded to include two sites on Ashley Drive.

"Some said it couldn't possibly be done in the courthouse. That the cost would be exorbitant. That it can't be a museum," Iorio said.

But from a cost-per-square-foot standpoint, she said, the courthouse has emerged as a reasonable option.

The eight-week study includes no recommendations, just facts, said Pete Karamitsanis, an architect with HDR, an architectural, engineering and consulting firm. He led the study team.

"The decision can't be made on any one number," he said during a presentation for the museum board at the Tampa Convention Center. "The people making the decision really need to study the report."

The report looks at how each site might be able to meet the museum's programming needs or accommodate reduced programming with possible future expansion.

The museum needs 87,510 usable square feet to accommodate all that it wants, such as a larger auditorium, a cafe and meeting rooms.

A design proposed by renowned architect Rafael Vinoly provided 91,172 square feet of usable space in a 150,683-square-foot building. Plans for that design fizzled in April because of financing problems.

The current museum has 35,288 square feet in a 44,743-square-foot building.

All scenarios have pros and cons.

Renovating the courthouse provides 68,672 square feet of usable space but includes no auditorium and provides no opportunities for future on-site expansion.

One alternative is to replace a section of the courthouse that was added to the east side in 1931 with a new five- to seven-story wing.

"There are cases like this all over the country where new construction has been located next to old facilities, and they can be very nice," Karamitsanis said.

Any alterations to the building, which is a historic landmark, would require approval of state and federal historic preservation officials. The new wing would provide options for upward expansion in the future. But "vertical expansion doesn't come at a cheap cost," he said.

Another option is a long, narrow, five-story building on Ashley Drive that follows part of the footprint for the Vinoly design. The study found that this would be the most expensive and the least efficient use of space because its height requires devoting more space to stairwells and elevators.

The third site - at Zack Street - shows three stories over underground parking. It is considered the most efficient use of building space.

Board member Hal Flowers commended the study group for collecting valuable information.

"It was impartial. It was well-presented," he said.

Corbett said her biggest concern is to provide enough space for the museum's revenue-generating programs. The museum's business plan lists a cafe and facility rentals as significant cash draws.

"We need to be self-supporting," she said.

None of the options will have the cachet that Vinoly's $8-million design would have had, said board member Sara Richter.

His design prompted a South Florida family to donate $1-million worth of artwork to the museum, she said. And some people are holding back on donations to the museum's collection until they see what the building will look like.

Public meetings on the issue are scheduled for July 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Tampa Convention Center and July 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

--Janet Zink can be reached at 813 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 20, 2006, 14:39:38]