Perspective

Breathing new life into West Tampa landmark

The coming days mark a turning point for one of Tampa's oldest neighborhoods and most beloved landmarks. The City Council will hear a developers' proposal Jan. 10 to remake the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, a Depression-era complex on West Tampa's main thoroughfare, into a major retail and cultural destination. The move would add to West Tampa's resurgence, and breathe new life into a piece of Tampa's architectural history.

The armory, an Art Deco structure begun in 1938 and completed in 1941, is a former home of the Florida Army National Guard. But most area residents know it as the busy social backdrop for such varied events as wedding receptions, concerts, wrestling and appearances by Elvis, JFK and others. It is one of the few pieces of architecture in Tampa - Bayshore Boulevard is another - with both historic value and a history steeped in opening itself to public use. That is why the proposal by Heritage Square is promising. It both revives the site as a busy social scene while preserving the armory as a signature landmark for generations more to enjoy.

Heritage Square would build a hotel, spa, shops, restaurants, artist studios, a museum and a park on the property, which straddles a city block between the one-way streets of Howard and Armenia avenues just a stone's throw south of I-275, west of downtown. Its central location and easy access to the interstate gives it appeal not only to Tampa residents, but visitors from Pinellas, the airport and beyond. Its shops and cafes would be a social center for the nearby neighborhood and the emerging residential and retail corridor to the north.The $98-million investment would also be a magnet to attract more private capital to West Tampa, a bright spot in an otherwise depressed real estate market.

The developers have worked in good faith with the community to maintain the armory's historical integrity. The public benefits of revitalizing an area, shoring up the city's tax base and returning a historic structure, now shuttered, to public use are clear. The council should vet the details in the coming weeks and ensure the concept has all the essential strengths that enabled the proposal to advance this far. The city should also examine what it could do from here - from expanding mass transit to street beautification efforts - to help make Heritage Square a success. The armory has a long and rich history in Tampa, and it is time to bring that cultural icon back to life.

[Last modified December 29, 2007, 22:04:41]