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Neighborhood Report

Blu's builder looks for green light

Revised plans include removal of a grocery store neighbors had objected to.

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published August 18, 2006

It took a long time for the clouds to part, but now, Brooks Byrd sees only Blu skies ahead.

After four years, the developer envisions what he believes to be a finish line for getting under way on construction of his Blu residential and retail development.

Byrd has submitted revised plans to the city that he hopes will finally ensure approval of the project next to the Channelside entertainment complex along the Garrison Channel.

The main changes involve removing a grocery store and moving the development's main entrance from Beneficial Drive to Garrison Street. Garrison borders the Channelside plaza's west side, where patrons pull up for valet parking.

In February, the City Council rejected a plan that would have included a 58,000-square-foot retail center plus the grocery store.

The new plan has no supermarket and just 25,000 feet of retail, Byrd said. It still includes two 30-story towers with a total of 250 condominiums.

"With this new design, we're not adding any additional traffic than what's on there today," Byrd said. "It's a direct response to what the folks on Harbour Island wanted."

The entrance change was key to many island residents, for whom the Beneficial Drive bridge is one of only two ways to enter and exit the island. The other is the Harbour Island Boulevard bridge, near the Tampa Convention Center.

The original Blu plan would have required residents or shoppers entering Blu from downtown or the Channel District to make a left turn across traffic on Beneficial. Traffic studies estimated that would add up to 6,000 cars a day at the site.

That was unacceptable to island residents, said Dave Schlingman, president of the Harbour Island Community Services Association.

"That was absolutely going to choke off Harbour Island," Schlingman said. "It was going to make the Meridian Avenue/Channelside/Beneficial intersection a nightmare."

Joyce Schauer, president of the Harbour Island South Neighborhood Association, said "the whole density and the flow of traffic would have almost shut down Beneficial, in my opinion.

"We've always been concerned with the ability of emergency vehicles to access Harbour Island - it really is a safety and security issue."

Both Schauer and Schlingman credited Byrd, who developed the Grandview condo building on Harbour Island, for working with residents to revise the project.

"Everybody hit a home run with this," Schlingman said. "We were just elated when (Byrd Corp.) came back with the new plan."

The City Council will review the plan Sept. 14. And though the proposed project will not be exactly what Byrd first envisioned, he's happy to have reached a consensus with the neighbors.

"I'm very enthusiastic about this," Byrd said. "It's been tough to wait, but I'm thrilled to be moving forward."

Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 226-3431.

[Last modified August 17, 2006, 11:03:06]