City loses last bid to block high-rise condominium

By Times Staff Writer
Published November 29, 2007

TAMPA - A Florida Supreme Court decision brings to an end a 3-year battle between the city of Tampa and developers who want to build a 24-story condominium tower on Bayshore Boulevard at DeSoto Street.

The high court this week rejected a request from the city to consider the case.

The city's Architectural Review Commission in 2004 denied the proposal by Citivest Construction Corp., saying the building was too tall for the Hyde Park Historic District.

Citivest appealed the decision to the City Council, which upheld the denial. Citivest took the matter to court, saying zoning rules allowed the building.

City Attorney David Smith in 2005 encouraged the council to accept a settlement from Citivest to construct a smaller building. The council voted to reject the offer and go back to court.

But the city lost the case, and, in September, the 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld the decision, prompting the city to go to the Supreme Court.

"This is an extremely disappointing conclusion as the courts have left Hyde Park quite vulnerable to inappropriate development," said City Council member John Dingfelder. "We have to amend our zoning code immediately to ensure that our historic districts are truly preserved and not overrun with high-rise condos."

[Last modified November 29, 2007, 02:35:23]