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GRACE CHENGA nonprofit group is transforming the noisy old Maccabee's bar into a business center, with room for Head Start, offices and even ice cream.
CLEARWATER - Maccabee's bar had more than its share of problems.
The bar on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in North Greenwood sat in the middle of Palmetto Parks Apartments between two apartment buildings. Residents complained about the noise. Fights broke out, usually when people from outside the neighborhood came in and stirred up trouble with North Greenwood residents.
"Anything where there's an area with a bar has issues," said Capt. Tony Holloway of the Clearwater Police Department. "(Maccabee's) was so close to the residential area, it would wake people up, neighbors would call, large fights were taking place."
But no more, said Isay Gulley, president and chief executive officer of Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services.
The nonprofit organization, which works to revitalize neighborhoods, bought Maccabee's in August 2003. The building was gutted and revamped to become a business development center that is slated to open by next month.
The new center will house a Head Start child-care center, an ice cream parlor and office space for CNHS and three small businesses. Head Start will occupy most of the 5,600-square-foot space.
Gulley said there are about six people on the waiting list to apply for office space in the center. The center will also have educational classes and training for small businesses.
As for the ice cream parlor, Gulley said she felt it would be a good feature in that particular spot.
"Right now, there is no place in the area of North Greenwood where you can go and get a cone of ice cream, a banana split or ice cream float," Gulley said. "With the apartment complex next door, the parks, all of the churches, the schools - we'll bring ice cream a little closer to home."
MacArthur Boykins, who was born in Clearwater, first opened Maccabee's as a restaurant and lounge in 1994 after retiring from GTE in Atlanta.
Boykins thought the bar was a good idea at the time, but he changed his mind.
"It had just run its course for that type of venue," he said. "The neighborhood was changing."
Boykins decided to sell. He knew CNHS had been involved with the redevelopment of Greenwood Apartments, now Palmetto Parks Apartments, and he initially offered up the idea of turning his property into more apartments.
He and Gulley decided, however, that the property should be used for something else.
"We decided it would be in the best interest of the community for us to find a different use of the building to support other needs," Gulley said.
CNHS bought the bar in 2003 for $125,000 with funds from the city of Clearwater and NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit organization that CNHS is affiliated with. The property also had $45,100 in liens against it, which were forgiven by the city, said Howie Carroll, assistant director of housing for the city of Clearwater.
Carroll said the property was identified as a problem, and CNHS's plan for it was in line with the goals the city had for the area.
With the purchase and renovation of Maccabee's, the project cost about $600,000, which Gulley views as an investment in the city.
"You look at it as an area benefit, you see what I mean?" she said. "Economically, it wouldn't make sense for an organization to just do this unless you're trying to make the community better."
Gulley believes that this project will receive some attention from other communities because of its unique evolution.
"It's not often, if at all, that bars are being turned into a building that will house child care and the mix that we have, especially in Clearwater," Gulley said.
At the moment, the property is little more than dirt and an empty building. Construction has just begun on the partition walls, and the floor is still bare. Gulley said the center will be finished by the end of the month and hopes Head Start will be able to open its doors in September.
No leases for the property have been signed yet, but Gulley said the office space is in high demand. She is also seeking someone to operate the ice cream parlor.
Boykins said he is glad that the project is being done.
"North Greenwood sometimes has a negative image," Boykins said. "Hopefully this will be a good story for them."