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Developer floats revised plan for self-storage building near Pebble Creek
By SUSAN THURSTON © St. Petersburg Times, published November 19, 2000 PEBBLE CREEK -- A developer has revived plans to build a disputed self-storage facility across from Pebble Creek in New Tampa. The move comes two months after community opposition killed the original proposal for a four-story, 85,000-square-foot storage center off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The revised plans call for lowering the building to three stories and shrinking it to 71,000 square feet. The number of units also would decrease to 437 from 518. The developer hopes the changes will alleviate residents' concerns about the building creating an eyesore. The four-story facility would have been taller than most New Tampa buildings, including the neighboring apartment complexes. "As we talked to more and more neighbors we noticed the height was what many of them were concerned about," said Ron Weaver, an attorney representing the developer, Randy Ferreira. It's unknown when the new plans would go to the city for approval, he said. Some residents opposed the storage center because they said it would be too visible from Bruce B. Downs and wouldn't benefit the community. In September, the City Council unanimously voted against it. Since then, representatives of the developer have met with some members of the New Tampa Community Council to go over the changes and gauge public sentiment. At a Pebble Creek Homeowners Association meeting last week, about 30 of 100 people polled said they still opposed the idea. "The objections that were raised before . . . are still issues for a lot of residents," said President Mike Carricato, who asked for the informal vote at the developer's request. During previous talks, the developer said the storage center just north of the Mobil gas station would have minimal impact on the area. It would create less traffic than retail businesses and would be set back from the road behind trees. He also said it wasn't feasible to reduce the number of stories without sacrificing the quality of the building. Now, he says it is. Some residents remained skeptical. Mary Vien of West Meadows said she still didn't like the idea, but wanted to look at the new plans before drawing any conclusions. She preferred a church, coffee shop or day care center. "We would like to see something that is more useful to us," she said. "No one I've talked to said they would use it." Don Nevins of Pebble Creek said he suspects the entire project has changed. As head of New Tampa's transportation Task Force, he opposed it from a traffic standpoint. "They've got to come and give details," he said. "No one group can speak for the area. They are going to have to come to the people." - Susan Thurston can be reached at (813) 226-3463 or thurston@sptimes.com.
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From the Times |
