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Letter to the editor

Timing haunts the Heights

Developers are confident, but observers see gloom as housing sales slump.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER Times Staff Writer
Published October 5, 2007

Undeveloped land slated for the Heights project is at left, across the Hillsborough River from Blake High School and downtown Tampa. Developers say it is still on track.
	[Chris Zuppa | Times]

Few development projects not bearing the Trump brand name get the kind of acclaim the Heights has received before construction begins.

Mayor Pam Iorio has called the 49-acre site crucial to changing the urban landscape. She has even offered the city's power of eminent domain to buy up scattered properties, a rare seal of approval reserved for projects deemed to have a beneficial public purpose. 

Earlier this year, Hillsborough County's Planning Commission gave the project one of its annual awards for design excellence in urban redevelopment.

Buzz was so strong for the residential and commercial project just north of downtown that mere rumors of it lured Realtors Steve Johns and David Purnell from another hot central city neighborhood, Seminole Heights, to buy a home in Tampa Heights and fix it up.

"The Heights of Tampa was a big factor in making us invest here," Johns said. "It would be a tremendous lift for the entire area, giving us restaurants and cafes that we could walk to and enjoy. I can't stress how important it is."

It has been two years since Iorio sealed the deal with the developers, and a project spokeswoman says the Heights is still on track.

Yet, with the housing market plummeting, the landscape set for a "new urbanist" overhaul looks nearly the same as before.

Few signs point to actual construction. Homeless people sleep during the day along the Heights' deserted riverfront. And barbed wire rings empty lots littered with weeds.

Joe Swain was walking his beat as the security guard for the Heights project about 2 a.m. on a Friday back in March. After he told a group of young men hanging out behind a building owned by the developers to leave, they jumped him. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital with a broken nose, broken arm, and scratches to his face and hands, according to a police report.

It has been that kind of year for the Heights, which is weathering a rough-and-tumble housing market.

Developers say the housing slump has only slightly delayed plans and that, overall, they're still very much on schedule to begin construction of new homes next year.

Others in the housing industry say the Heights faces a tough road to completion.

"Unfortunately, they have hit a bad time in the market," said Mark Huey, Tampa's economic development coordinator. "There's been a diabolical confluence in the drop in housing demand and the foreclosure crisis. It's a shame they got hit right at the beginning of the project."

Still, given that one of the developers is Bill Bishop, who helped develop FishHawk Ranch and Westchase, confidence in the project remains high.

"He's one of the best developers in Hillsborough County," said Ray Chiaramonte, assistant executive director of the Planning Commission. "For a developer to come into Tampa Heights and take the time he's taken to assemble land is extraordinary."

Bishop's imprint in Tampa Heights is closely entwined with Iorio's $40-million Riverwalk, a 2.2-mile linear park along a stretch of the Hillsborough River that meanders through downtown. Iorio envisions it drawing people to an area that empties out after 5 p.m. on weekdays.

About 60 percent of its costs will be paid by private donors. Developers of the Heights have pledged to construct 1 mile of the linear park, a contribution worth nearly $4-million.

Lee Hoffman, the development manager for Riverwalk, said he's not concerned about the slowdown in the Heights. He's busy locking up other parts of Riverwalk, confident that the Heights will follow through on its pledge. There's a lot riding on the northern section of the Riverwalk project. For one, it serves as a vital link between older neighborhoods and the rest of the project; it also makes the Riverwalk long enough for joggers, Hoffman said.

Also integral to the Heights is the renovation of Water Works Park, which is part of the development and sits next to the Riverwalk. Yet the park renovation, along Doyle Carlton Drive, has been delayed. Slated to have a fountain, canoe and kayak launch sites and a Tavern-on-the-Green type restaurant nearby, the park was set to begin construction in January of this year. Hoffman said it's now set for next year.

The Heights project also has yet to gain approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a seawall and about 100 boat slips. Bishop referred all questions to project spokeswoman Deanne Roberts, who said the focus has been getting that seawall approved, as well as a site plan showing how the streets and sidewalks will be laid out.

"While the current residential real estate market has slowed us down a bit, we were not planning to start construction on new homes until late next year," she said. "We still hope to follow that schedule."

* * *

Project manager Darren Booth gave a tour of the Heights in June. Standing along the northern bank in a vacant lot, Booth compared it to Georgetown and Annapolis in explaining how it will look and feel once built.

"Where we are standing now will be couples strolling together after leaving the restaurants," he said. "In five years, this will be the place to bring friends from out of town."

But the vision will be hard to accomplish, said Marvin Rose, publisher of Rose Residential Reports.

"The timing couldn't be worse," he said. "Right now, nothing is doing good now. Money isn't available. This is such a pioneering project, where its whole intent is to revitalize that entire part of town. They'd have their work cut out for them even in good times.

"If they haven't broken ground up to now, I wouldn't break ground," he said.

Neighbors, however, continue to pull for the project, said Ryan Schumann, second vice president of the Tampa Heights Civic Association.

"It has the backing of a major financial group," Schumann said. "They see this over several years. A one-year delay won't be a big deal for them. They've gone too far into this for it not to happen."

Michael Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3402 or mvansickler@sptimes.com.

More on the project

What is the Heights?

Size: 49 acres.

Residential: Includes1,517 multifamily units (315 townhomes, 1,050 condos, 152 affordable housing units).

Commercial: 260,000 square feet of office/retail space that could include a hotel, restaurants, shops.

Deadlines

Original deadlines (in 2005 development agreement) and the development's new dates.

[Last modified October 4, 2007, 07:56:40]