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Like building, proposal is abandoned

A project to redo the federal courthouse is on hold, but city officials are in no hurry to select another plan.

By JANET ZINK
Published September 24, 2005

TAMPA - Plans to revive the old federal courthouse downtown are on hold indefinitely.

The group chosen in October to redevelop the building and city officials are no longer negotiating for use of the property, said Mark Huey, Tampa's manager for economic development.

And the city is in no hurry to find an alternative.

Two years ago, when the city sought ideas for new uses for the abandoned 100-year-old building, it was seen as a potential catalyst for downtown redevelopment, Huey said.

"There's a lot happening now," he said. "We don't feel that compulsion any longer."

A group headed by managed health care executive Pradip C. Patel had been chosen by a selection committee to redevelop the courthouse. Backed by a $6.3-million donation from Patel, the group planned to put two charter schools, a photography museum and offices for nonprofit organizations in the building.

Patel and the city were working out details of the proposal when Mayor Pam Iorio announced in April that she wanted to explore the possibility of turning the courthouse into an art museum.

Iorio later dropped the art museum proposal amid community opposition to the idea, and after that, discussions with the Patel group apparently fizzled.

Patel did not return calls from the St. Petersburg Times for comment.

TBR Management Group, the No. 2 team in the competition to redevelop the courthouse, said Friday it will resubmit its proposal to the city. It wants to put a technology center with an arts focus in the building.

"It will basically be the same package as we had before," said TBR president Fred Anderson.

Anderson said TBR is working with the University of South Florida College of Visual and Performing Arts and the College of Engineering on the technology center. USF also might be able to provide art exhibits in the building through its Contemporary Art Museum and Graphicstudio. Additional plans call for a black box theater and a boutique hotel.

Huey said he is willing to consider proposals for the building, but doesn't want to rush into anything.

"The building's too special to just do something for convenience sake. There really needs to be a special use for it," he said.

Parking has emerged as a major roadblock to finding appropriate uses for the courthouse, he said. It's possible that problem will be solved in the near future and more options for the courthouse will arise, he said.

Iorio's plans for turning the building into an art museum included putting a parking garage across the street on Twiggs Street.

The courthouse on Florida Avenue closed in 1998 after the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse opened two blocks away. The federal government deeded the building to the city of Tampa in 2003, and city officials asked for proposals for redeveloping the site.

None of the ideas submitted to a selection committee generated overwhelming enthusiasm. The Patel group emerged as the top contender largely because of the hefty donation that came with it.

Scott Shimberg, a member of the selection committee, said it makes sense to wait awhile before determining what path to pursue next with the building.

"It's much better to step back and give it a little bit of time," he said. "There's no reason to jump into something simply because it's there."

[Last modified September 24, 2005, 00:59:07]