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Seffner

Schoolhouse rocks, and soon park will

Seffner Park is getting $250,000 worth of improvements, including a walking trail and new playground equipment.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published July 22, 2005

Fresh paint glistens on the inside and outside of the historic Seffner Schoolhouse, part of a major facelift for the building and Seffner Park.

By September, the park next to the historic school will feature new playground equipment for tots and children. Workers already have begun pouring cement for a 1,200-foot walking trail with benches accessible to people with disabilities.

Sickly oak trees are coming down. An enhanced parking lot is going in.

Asphalt will replace the dirt path in front of the schoolhouse. Better drainage will keep water and debris from pooling under the schoolhouse and on Kingsway Road.

In all, Hillsborough County's parks department plans to spend $250,000 sprucing up Seffner Park, at 1209 S Kingsway Road. That's on top of a recently completed $150,000 project to renovate the two-story schoolhouse, constructed in 1914.

Parks officials had to replace 75 percent of the building's siding and install all new windows.

"Maintenance of historic buildings presents a unique challenge," said Rebecca Valone, the project's manager with the parks department. "All repairs have to meet the original specifications."

She relied on architectural documents used in the last major renovation of the schoolhouse, more than a decade ago. In 1992, Seffner community members rallied to save the school, which was condemned after years of neglect. Two years later, it became a historic landmark.

Today, the school houses a county program that delivers daily meals to 154 seniors. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, retirees play bingo upstairs. Afterward, they gather for lunch downstairs.

"The walking trail is the first thing I asked for," said Ester Cantor, who coordinates senior activities based at the Seffner Schoolhouse through the county's Department of Aging Services. "It's part of their exercise."

Community organizations meet at the schoolhouse, which is also available for weddings. The Sheriff's Office has a substation next door in the park.

Eventually, the walking trail will link the substation and schoolhouse. A vastly improved playground will be moved to the front of the park. Resurfacing of and new hoops for the basketball courts are planned.

Pat Reidy, 79, who volunteers at the schoolhouse and drives meals to seniors, rarely sees children at Seffner Park. She hopes that will change soon.

"It needs to be made attractive and enjoyable to everybody," said Reidy, who lives in Brandon. "Something that's a historical site should be made beautiful."

The seniors who meet at the Seffner Schoolhouse are looking for players Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Call Ester Cantor at 744-5590.

[Last modified July 21, 2005, 09:00:09]