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Another Bayshore project seeks okay

The 18-story Bayshore Gardens condominium tower would include a public park and a $50,000 public art feature.

By SHERRI DAY
Published March 3, 2006

BAYSHORE GARDENS - The mere mention of Citivest unnerves some preservationists and rekindles memories of last year's battle over whether the developer could build a condominium tower in Historic Hyde Park.

For the moment, the fate of that project seems stuck in a legal netherworld.

But Citivest presses on. Its latest potential minefield: Bayshore Gardens.

This time, the company wants to build an 18-story condominium tower at the southwest corner of Bayshore and Bay to Bay boulevards. Before Citivest can move forward, the City Council must sign off on their proposal to increase the building height to 195 feet from 120 feet, which the current zoning allows.

A rezoning hearing is scheduled for April 13.

The site is one of the last public spaces on Bayshore Boulevard. Also known as Patriots' Corner, the space fills with flag wavers every Friday afternoon. Joggers and other Bayshore visitors depend on the land for free parking. Other residents appreciate the land's lack of tall buildings, which they claim preserves the area's traditional residential design.

"I'm not thrilled with another tall building on Bayshore," said Vicki Pollyea, president of the Bayshore Gardens Neighborhood Association. "I don't know when the city is going to say, "Enough is enough.' Each project I think, this is going to be the last one. But that doesn't seem to be what's happening."

It's too early to tell whether Bayshore Gardens' residents will protest Citivest's proposal.

Pollyea said the neighborhood association has not taken a stance but will encourage its members to show up at the council meeting to voice concerns.

Councilman John Dingfelder, who represents the area, said he had heard little about it from his constituents.

"People need to know that a lot of these (new Bayshore) buildings didn't get approved by City Council," Dingfelder said. "They got approved 20 years ago. On this particular building, the community has an opportunity to give some input. That's what I'm stressing. The community really needs to chime in on this."

According to Citivest's rezoning petition, the company plans to build a 40-unit condominium tower with 125 parking spaces, including 35 spaces reserved for the public.

In exchange for looser height restrictions, the company would add a public park fronting Bayshore with a flag pole and a $50,000 public art feature, city zoning records show.

If the council approves the building, Citivest would also pay for the park's maintenance, said John Grandoff, the lawyer representing the developer.

"We don't come picking a fight," he said. "We're expecting that the project will improve the community. It's zoned for a high-rise, and we're offering a very innovative plan to preserve the park and to preserve my client's development rights."

In an attempt to ease concerns, Citivest executives have been pitching their plan to neighborhood groups.

Bayshore Patriots founder Julie Whitney began talks with Citivest several months ago. Earlier this week, she began circulating a petition to drum up support for the project.

Patriots' president Bianca West-Fehring said fellow members also endorsed the project.

"As long as we're able to go out and have some place to park and wave our flags at Bayshore and Bay to Bay, it's fine with (us)," she said.

Last week, Citivest executives met with the Bayshore Gardens' board of directors. Pollyea said her board's primary concern is traffic, particularly at Bay to Bay and Ysabella Avenue, the condo residents' entry point. Visitors would enter on Bay to Bay.

"We're going to voice our concerns about the traffic and (say) that it's another high city building in an area where there are not a lot of roads," she said. Other than that, "there's not a lot to oppose. They have almost all the zoning."

Despite any apparent widescale opposition, the council could still reject the proposal.

Council members recently denied a developer's petition to build a 26-story condominium tower near Bay to Bay and the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway, shocking residents because the neighborhood association supported the proposal.

Whatever happens, Bayshore Gardens will likely have a new condo tower, Grandoff said. Reducing the height would require the developer to widen the tower, eliminating space for the park and community parking.

"There's got to be quid pro quo for it," Grandoff said. "If my client is going to sacrifice his land for a park, he's got to be allowed to go up to 195 feet."

- Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or 226-3405.

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 13:56:08]