History center success

Construction begins this month on the Tampa Bay History Center, a fine addition to Tampa's waterfront.

The Hillsborough County Commission approved a financing deal Thursday that clears the way to begin building the center at Cotanchobee-Fort Brooke Park along the Garrison Channel in south downtown. The move capped 20 years of planning that, while contentious at times, culminated in a project with broad community appeal.

Civic leaders did a good job defining the center's mission. The permanent exhibits will showcase 12,000 years of history in the region, from the story of early hunters and gatherers and Spanish conquistadors to the pioneer settlers, cigar workers, immigrants and others who have shaped the modern Tampa Bay. The four-story, 60,000-square-foot facility will be both entertaining and interactive, enhancing its educational appeal across all age groups. Its location in the channel district should draw tourists and locals alike to an area where taxpayers have invested millions in parks, a riverwalk and other entertainment venues. Officials hope to complete construction and open by December 2008, in time for Super Bowl XLIII, which Tampa hosts Feb. 1, 2009.

By holding to its pledge of $17-million toward the center, the county sent the sign that the cultural arts are important to the region's economic future. It also was a deserved recognition of the civic effort to make the center a reality. Donors have already raised $23-million of the $32.-5-million in private money that will go toward the center's $52-million cost. That campaign, which will fund a $15-million operating endowment, offers a wide base of public support for the center to build on once it opens.

This effort worked because the city, county and state played a part, because civic leaders such as J. Thomas Touchton, George Howell and others stuck with it and because backers saw clearly the role history should play, avoided overselling their plan and involved the public from the start. The center's scholarly mission could also raise its profile and help attract quality traveling exhibits. The center needs to keep its ticket prices in check and remember its public and educational obligations. If all goes as planned, it will be a dynamic asset and a model for how civic projects should come together.

[Last modified September 8, 2007, 22:10:44]