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Remaking a blighted neighborhood

The redevelopment proposed for Tampa's Central Park Village is not as ambitious as the two plans that collapsed in the last two years. Still, it would raze the horrid public housing project and put 1,300 people into better housing. It also would begin the remake of a blighted neighborhood on the northeast gateway to downtown.

The basic idea remains the same: Tampa's Housing Authority would raze the cinder-block project. In its place, Bank of America would build mid- and high-rise rental and for-sale apartments. The project still includes mixed-income units, including some for public housing residents, office space and retail, but the project is smaller in scope. The plan would encompass 28 acres, not the previous 60, and include 2,000 homes, half the earlier number.

What's more important than its scale is using the project to jump-start redevelopment of the larger neighborhood. Mayor Pam Iorio will ask Hillsborough County commissioners Wednesday to designate 143 acres in the surrounding area as a special taxing district. The move would encourage development by pouring property taxes back into sidewalks, streets and other area improvements - investments that help property values rise and feed the rebuilding cycle.

Central Park is important, but it's also just a piece of the picture. Commissioners should focus on the larger opportunity to rebuild an entire community between downtown and Ybor City. This is the last major chunk of undeveloped real estate between a fast-growing downtown, bustling Channelside and the Ybor entertainment district. Even the Central Park plan is secondary; the height, design and density could change once lenders, landowners and developers see local government's commitment to resurrect an impoverished but prime neighborhood. The job now is to give the bank, the housing authority and the other partners a sign that improvements are coming. Do that, and Central Park could still be the catalyst for those earlier ambitions.

[Last modified June 6, 2006, 06:46:10]