Largo leaders balk at downtown plan

Commissioners worry rental apartments at the old City Hall site will not spark the hoped for downtown revival.

By ERIC STIRGUS

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 24, 2000

LARGO -- For several city commissioners and some business leaders, discussion concerning the lone plan to develop 7.75-acres downtown near West Bay Drive comes down to a word.

Apartments.

Denver-based developers Simpson Housing Limited Partnership wants to use much of the land to build 144 upscale apartments and 26 townhouses. Others say putting 170 rental units on what was once City Hall is not what they envisioned when discussions began last year about revitalizing downtown.

"The very last thing I want to see is a very large rental complex in downtown Largo," said Commissioner Pat Burke, echoing the sentiments of several commissioners. "I don't care what you do with it, it is an apartment complex . . . We still end up with 170 apartment rentals. Nothing else matters to me."

"This project is going to have to bring magic to the town and I don't think I see it," said Commissioner Harriet Crozier.

After two hours of back and forth between the commissioners during a work session Tuesday night, they reluctantly agreed to work with the developer in hopes of making changes that would include reducing the number of rental units.

However, a top official for Simpson Housing said after the meeting that it was "doubtful" the company could reduce the number of apartments and still turn a profit. Simpson Housing estimates the development, named Kensington Park, will cost $18-million to build.

"We have to look at the numbers and see where it is," said Paul Herskowitz, a senior vice president for the company, who works out of Palm Harbor.

Simpson Housing owns or manages about 30,000 apartments across the country. In addition to the rental units, the developers proposed building 12,500 square feet of space for businesses and 11,500 square feet for restaurants.

Simpson's designers also envision the project having a 32,670-square-foot park, which addresses a concern of people who don't want Ulmer Park, located across the street from the old City Hall property on First Avenue SW, destroyed.

Greater Largo Chamber of Commerce president Marc Mansfield gave commissioners a two-page letter outlining the group's opposition to the plan. Mansfield and other chamber members said they wanted more commercial space.

"We simply do not feel comfortable that the square footage space is going to be a catalyst to get people excited about fixing up their shops," he said.

The Downtown Largo Main Street Association, a city-funded civic group that reviewed the proposal, was more optimistic. The association liked Simpson Housing's record of finishing projects on time, and the spaciousness of the park.

The group also surveyed 73 downtown merchants and found nearly 85 percent believe the project would help their businesses.

Mayor Bob Jackson and Commissioner Mary Laurance pointed to the support from area businesses as a prime reason to continue working with Simpson Housing.

"The first step to revitalizing a downtown area is to bring residents into it and I think we are doing that here," Jackson said.

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