Planners work on Tampa arts district

A new Tampa Museum of Art site and local history museum are part of the plans.

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 26, 2000

TAMPA -- In the art of hometown boosterism, Mayor Dick Greco bows to no one. He'll tell you Tampa is friendly and diverse and weather-perfect. He'll cite the times Tampa has made "most livable cities" lists. Night life? Ybor City. Pro ball? Everywhere you look.

But there's that nagging, uh, culture question.

Even Greco acknowledges the city has a way to go on that one.

Particularly if it wants to attract an influx of well-educated e-commerce types to fill the jobs of tomorrow, he said. They live well-rounded lives "and to them that includes libraries, the arts. Not just football teams and that type of thing, which we are saturated with."

Greco added: "If we have an arts district downtown, I think we can almost be boastful of having just about everything we need."

Urban designers have been busy drafting plans for the proposed arts district, expected to encompass a 28-square-block area between Ashley Drive and the Hillsborough River, sandwiched between Kennedy Boulevard and Interstate 275.

The gems of the district are expected to include the central library, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, a new site for the Tampa Museum of Art and a new museum showcasing Tampa Bay history. It's meant to be pedestrian-friendly, a place where people can spend the day shuttling among arts attractions or lingering along a riverwalk.

Proposed ideas include everything from a big marina to a "Library Square" that would feature a large park around the library. Three public meetings about the district have drawn hundreds of people, and a persistent theme has been how to maximize the view of the river from Ashley Drive.

Sol Fleischman Jr. of Fleischman Garcia Architects, which is drawing up designs and will present the latest ideas to the public Jan. 30, said the notion of bringing the water to Ashley Drive struck a chord.

"Everybody seems to be very excited about that concept," he said. The master plan, which will incorporate suggestions from the public, is expected to be ready by February.

Ron Rotella, the mayor's development consultant, envisions the arts district as a must-see attraction for out-of-town visitors -- like Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

"Here we are, a city with a river that runs through it, and visitors don't know it because a wall has been created," said Rotella.

While the river runs parallel to Ashley from the distance of only a stone's throw, it would be easy to walk the street between the interstate and Kennedy Boulevard without knowing it existed. Impeding the view are the 10-story Times building, the performing arts center, the John F. Germany public library, the Poe parking garage, and the 31-story cylindrical office tower at 400 N Ashley, among other structures.

The area's look owes to urban renewal efforts of the 1960s. Before then, it was home to crumbling wharves and warehouses, railroad freight depots and food-packing plants. Council member Linda Saul-Sena remembers watching rats scuttle over the train tracks when she was a girl. The plan has its critics, however, like David Brown, co-owner of the Old Tampa Book Company on N Tampa Street. He favors a flourishing of the arts, but doesn't want to see it limited to the 28-block area, which he calls "a major mistake."

"Culture should permeate the city," he said. "You shouldn't have culture in enclaves, and the rest of the place a wasteland."

Renee A. Williams, the city's director of arts and cultural affairs, said planners have studied cities from Boston to Barcelona for ideas, but "the whole key is to keep our identity as Tampa."

She said the first building, the $17-million history museum, might rise within two years. Some observers fear, however, that the Hillsborough County Commission's aggressive new Republican majority might jeopardize the funding.

Other plans are a new $45-million museum of art and an expanded Performing Arts Center. One goal is to narrow Ashley Drive or add on-street parking to slow the traffic for pedestrians.

"You're talking about a lot of people that will be converging on this 28-block area of Tampa," Williams said. "Never before have we clustered our cultural entities in a way that they could work with each other."

It's far too soon to guess at a price for the whole project, Williams said, but the city will look to the state for cultural grants. "The number is elusive," she said. "It could cost several hundred million."

- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright