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Developers plan public housing, condo mixture

Central Park Village's transformation is backed by Bank of America and could involve realigning downtown streets.

By JANET ZINK
Published August 10, 2005

The only development team bidding to rebuild a downtown public housing complex presented its proposal to a selection committee Tuesday.

Committee members said they liked what they saw.

Leroy Moore, the Tampa Housing Authority's representative on the committee, said the presentation proved to him that the Central Park Group, led by developer Bill Bishop and Don Wallace, chief executive officer of Lazy Days Super RV Center, is interested in a real partnership with the authority.

"It's just a matter of us sitting down to make sure the proposal is feasible," Moore said.

His only criticism was a lack of detail on funding sources for community support services, such as youth programs or home ownership counseling.

"That's a glaring omission," he said.

The Central Park Group, which in addition to Wallace and Bishop includes Bank of America, wants to use the 28-acre Central Park Village plus nearby land to create a 60-acre community that blends public housing and upscale condominiums.

Questions Tuesday focused on financing, resident relocation plans and the business arrangement between developers and the Housing Authority.

Elon Metoyer, senior vice president at Bank of America, emphasized his company's deep pockets.

The developers have put forward $10-million to get the project going.

But Metoyer pledged that Bank of America will contribute whatever is necessary for the project.

"There is no floor and no ceiling," he said.

The Central Park Group also wants to charge a 2.5 percent transfer fee on resales. The money would go in part to support maintenance of public housing in Central Park and other city neighborhoods.

The group suggested realigning streets to integrate the neighborhood into downtown Tampa, Ybor City and Tampa Heights. To help pay for that, the proposal calls for the creation of a special taxing district for roads and other infrastructure. That would require city and county approval.

Current residents of Central Park Village would move into new homes either within the Central Park project or in other nearby locations.

The selection committee, comprised of representatives from the Housing Authority, the city and county, will meet today to evaluate the proposal and make a recommendation to the Housing Authority board. The board will consider the plan Tuesday.

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

[Last modified August 10, 2005, 00:36:13]