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Letter to the editor

Donation of 9 acres forges stronger bond

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published June 13, 2007

Businesses often do a lot for the communities where they operate. They donate money, products or volunteers to community causes. They sponsor community events. They offer their business savvy and their executives to help address community problems.

However, even against that backdrop, what the Goodman Group has offered to do for Largo is remarkable.

The company has pledged to donate almost 9 acres to the city for construction of a community center. The property is valued at more than $1-million.

City officials were staggered by the size of the gift.

"This is, it's just - wow, " stammered Commissioner Mary Gray Black, who is known for her precise manner of speech.

The Goodman Group is not even based in Largo. It is a Minnesota company. However, the company owns the Palms of Largo, a sprawling senior living complex on East Bay Drive that is an integral part of the Largo community.

"The city's been good to us, and this is a chance for us to do something, " said Gary Solomonson, director of sales and marketing for the Goodman Group.

The company had planned to use the property, but changed its plans. Company officials decided to donate the land to the city to provide a home for a much-needed community center.

Largo has been struggling for years to decide what to do about its problematic downtown community center.

The center is not only outdated, but it also is situated in a block on Fourth Street that the city would like to see developed with more typical downtown uses.

An earlier plan to move the center to the old library building at Largo Central Park fell through when the building proved to be too costly and awkward to renovate.

The parcel Goodman is donating is close to the intersection of East Bay Drive and Lake Avenue and has an old house on it. Easy access to East Bay Drive is a big plus of the location. So is proximity to the Palms of Largo, because it offers the possibility of shared programming and participation.

The public isn't likely to see the center for two or three years. After the property changes hands, it must be rezoned in a public hearing process, and then the building and grounds will have to be designed.

With the gift of the land on which the center will rise, the Goodman Group has strengthened its bonds with Largo and proved itself a good neighbor.

[Last modified June 12, 2007, 21:43:51]