Proposal not for Ybor, critics say

Business leaders say the modern look for a $20-million complex is a bad fit for the historic district.

CLARIFICATION (6/30/01): Willie Garcia's opposition to the design of a new building on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City does not represent Centro Asturiano, a restored social club of which he is president.

By KEVIN GRAHAM

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 29, 2001

TAMPA -- Architect Ken Kroger wants to make a statement with a new building in Ybor City.

His client, Penet Land Corp., proposes a $20-million complex with nightclubs, bars, restaurants, shops and offices under one roof.

And what a roof it is: A blue conical skylight would rise almost 20 feet above the roof, evoking the smokestack of a ship. A rooftop bar would be enclosed along the sides with blue glass.

The ship motif would continue with windows in the shape of portholes. A series of 50 doors would open onto Seventh Avenue. A 240-foot balcony would wrap around much of the second floor. Silver beams would rise from the sidewalk to the roof. The entire structure would be 59 feet high, 14 feet above the district's height restriction.

It's a statement, but one that some business leaders don't think belongs in the Ybor City historic district.

"All these things together start to make the impression of something modernistic," said Patrick Manteiga, publisher of the weekly La Gaceta, head of the Cuban Club Foundation and the project's most outspoken critic.

Manteiga is circulating a petition to oppose the design. Willie Garcia of Centro Asturiano also plans to write a letter complaining about the structure. "Ybor City doesn't need a ship on Seventh Avenue," Garcia said.

The debate raises questions about whether there is a place for modern architecture in a historic district known for its brick buildings and wrought-iron balconies.

Kroger and his supporters think so and welcome the opportunity for a public debate.

It's time for Ybor City "to create a history of buildings that make a statement," Kroger said. Architecture, he added, "is about taking the forward-thinking approach. Establish a sense of place where you are currently in time."

He doesn't favor simply mimicking Ybor City's historic buildings. "To go backward in time gets you into a problem -- authentic reproduction," Kroger said. "Authentic means real. Reproduction means copy. It becomes fake. I believe in the idea of creating history. Otherwise, you get a Disney-like environment."

Besides, says one supporter, other new buildings in Ybor City should never have been allowed, yet didn't draw public criticism.

Nothing can be built in the historic district without the approval of the Barrio Latino Commission, a city board whose members are appointed by the mayor. Ybor City's design guidelines say new buildings must reflect the area's existing architecture. The commission has scheduled a public hearing on the project for July 10. Kroger's critics hope to persuade the commission to force changes in the design of the building, planned for Seventh Avenue and 15th Street where Blue Ribbon Grocery once stood.

"The glass skylight is something that's an unusual shape and design and doesn't come close to anything currently in Ybor City," Manteiga said. "The blue glass that surrounds the top floor also seems to be out of place in our community."

He wants the height reduced, the balcony shortened and some of the doors eliminated. And the smokestack's got to go, he said. Garcia agrees.

"If the city of Tampa had wanted this in Ybor City, they wouldn't have set up the Barrio Latino," he said.

Kroger said the Barrio Latino Commission already recommended replacing some of the building's doors along Seventh Avenue with windows.

Kroger, however, says the ship motif is supposed to evoke the nearby port and the old widow's watch that once topped Ybor City buildings.

Tampa architect Joe Toph, who designed Frankie's Patio a few blocks away, embraces Kroger's philosophy of making an architectural statement.

"If you're making a major civic focal point," he said, "then do something that stands out and makes a very bold statement."

Toph said Kroger's project looks like a "handsome" building from renderings he's seen. "It's an urban, pedestrian building, which is probably the most important criterion in Ybor City."

Toph, who served on the Barrio Latino Commission in the early '90s, questions the design of a couple of new buildings that never drew public criticism, the Hilton Garden Inn Ybor and the Camden Ybor City apartment complex.

"The Hilton hotel belongs on the interstate," Toph said. "The building is nice, but from a site plan standpoint, it's fundamentally inappropriate for the pedestrian district."

Manteiga said he didn't speak out against the Hilton because Ybor City needed a hotel. If a grocery store were planned, which Ybor City "desperately needs," Manteiga said, he'd be more open to bending the rules.

But not for a nightclub.

"This particular project doesn't bring anything new to Ybor City," Manteiga said. "I don't think we need to break our backs to get a bar or more offices here. While I appreciate the art of architecture, I don't appreciate it in Ybor City."

- Kevin Graham can be reached at graham@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3404.

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