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Neighborhood Report
Group targets condo plans
Homeowners say traffic will worsen if the 250-unit and 233-unit buildings are allowed.
By ALEXANDRA ZAYAS
Published July 21, 2006
The Beach Park Homeowners Association will rally against two condominium projects seeking zoning approval from the City Council. Members plan to attend Thursday morning's council meeting to object to a plan to tear down the 250-room Clarion Hotel at 5303 W Kennedy Blvd. and construct a 250-unit condominium building. Last year, the property owner and Clarion franchisee, Van Tampa Plaza Hotel Inc., received the council's approval for a mixed-use, condo-hotel project consisting of 160 hotel rooms and 168 condominiums on the site. Beach Park Homeowners Association president Emmy Purcell Reynolds accused the developers of trying to pick and choose between plans. "They claim that 250 condos will have less of an impact on traffic than the current hotel," Reynolds wrote residents in an e-mail. "Common sense tells you otherwise." Van Tampa president Joe VanWhy did not return a phone message left by the Times. The association opposes any zoning or land use change that allows higher density projects. The group also objects to a proposal by ATIVAS Development Group to construct a 233-unit condominium building in place of an office building at 5600 Mariner St. The plan is scheduled to go before council in the fall. "Traffic is already a horrible, terrible problem as everybody knows," Reynolds said. "We don't have the infrastructure to handle the additional density." ATIVAS president Tejas Patel said that while his firm is requesting a change in the land use from office to residential, the plan does not require an increase in density. The current use already allows for 233 units. He also said an independent study revealed traffic would not increase with a condo development. "There seems to be the same amount of impact with current office usage than there would be with these units for residential," Patel said. Alexandra Zayas can be reached at (813) 226-3354 or azayas@sptimes.com.
[Last modified July 19, 2006, 12:52:53]
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