Ybor complex back on track

After being destroyed by a fire 11 weeks ago, the Camden Development Inc.'s project is under construction again.

By KATHRYN WEXLER

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 7, 2000

TAMPA -- Since the massive blaze May 19 that destroyed an Ybor City apartment complex, nearby business owners have watched workers rip out the foundation and cart it off in dump trucks.

Dirt has been shifted and piled into mounds. The only row of apartments to survive the blaze is growing with newly built units.

Although most of the site still looks largely barren 11 weeks after the blaze, the rebirth is under way.

"They had to dig down under the ground and take all that out and that part goes very, very slow," Mayor Dick Greco said. "It looks like they're not doing anything. Then all of a sudden it'll be like, boom!"

The developer, Camden Development Inc., won't comment. But the company has not asked the city for any variances to its original blueprints for the 454-unit complex called The Park at Ybor City.

The rebuilding should be finished by the end of 2001, about a year later than the original opening date.

"Our feeling is they're making reasonable progress after the setback," said Steve LaBrake, director of the city's business and community services. The 70 apartments untouched by the fire could be ready for tenants by year's end.

A forklift operator sparked the blaze when he snagged a power line that fell near a stack of building materials and debris. The fire quickly spread through the construction site, destroying it and a post office across the street.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

Forklift operators rebuilding the complex won't have to worry about live power lines this time around. At the developer's request, the Tampa Electric Co. has diverted a 13,000-volt line away from the construction site.

City Fire Marshal Gary Gonzales said he has made a few recommendations to Camden to ensure a safer construction site.

He suggested a night guard to watch for arsonists, and fewer stacks of building materials.

Once again, Camden will pack the dividing walls with fire-retardant materials after the wooden apartments are built. Fire walls had yet to be installed in May when the fire ripped through the complex, unimpeded.

But that's the way so-called garden apartments are usually built. Fire walls are largely made with dry wall, which require a protective structure before installation.

"Drywall material is subject to damage by the weather," Barrios said.

U.S. Postal Service spokesman Gary Sawtelle said officials hope to rebuild a full-service post office on the same site, but with the widening of Interstate 4, there may only be room for a smaller post office.

"Exactly what size and kind of operation hasn't been decided yet," Sawtelle said.

In the meantime, Ybor City's streets will be crowded and dusty with construction-related noise and traffic.

"We're very happy that it's going back up," said Tina Hunter, marketing manager for the Ybor Brewing Co. next door. "It'll do the community a lot of good."

- Kathryn Wexler can be reached at (813) 226-3386 or wexler@sptimes.com.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.