Upgrades In The Pipeline For Tampa Bay
Tampa Tribune
Published February 4, 2006
By Michael H. Samuels
http://www.tampatrib.com
City officials and developers say the redevelopment will benefit residents south of Gandy. "These projects will actually help improve their infrastructure problems," Iorio said. Projects such as EcoGroup Inc.'s New Port Tampa Bay include water and sewer upgrades that will benefit surrounding neighborhoods, officials say. The city also recently imposed a new impact fee on developers to pay for a 10-mile, $48 million pipeline to improve water service in downtown and South Tampa.
EcoGroup President Ed Oelschlaeger said that, in addition to providing infrastructure improvements, his 1,200-unit project will open the waterfront to the public, with amenities such as a boardwalk, shops and cafes.
South Tampa Chamber of Commerce President Anita Ramirez said she expects more people will relocate south of Gandy when they see what's planned there. "It's a no-brainer," she said.
Thom Snelling, the city's land development and zoning manager, said the boom south of Gandy isn't unique. He paralleled Florida's growth-related difficulties with California's boom in the 1940s and 1950s. "Hopefully, we will learn from it," he said.
The city is completing an evaluation of the anticipated development during the next 15 to 20 years, Snelling said. "I think growth is good compared to nothing," he said. "It has to be handled in the right way."
'Too Many Homes'
Some longtime residents say that has not been done. They say the city council continues to rezone single-family lots for multifamily projects.
Joe Marchitto lived south of Gandy for 33 years. He moved to the Regency Cove Mobile Home Park just north of Gandy in November after selling the house he bought for $22,000 in 1973 for $194,500. The neighborhood had changed, Marchitto said. The fast pace and speeding cars became too much. "I couldn't get out of my house anymore," he said. "They started to build too many homes down there."
For Monroe Berkman, however, life south of Gandy is the future. Berkman and his wife, Suzette, bought two units in the Castillo condo tower at the Westshore Yacht Club. The condos are an investment for the Berkmans, who live on the water north of Gandy. "We do not know what we necessarily want to do," Monroe Berkman said. "We may want to move." He's excited by what is happening south of Gandy.
"I've been watching the growth of Tampa for a long time," he said. "It's really incredible. I feel like I don't want to see this pass us by."
Michael H. Samuels can be reached at msamuels@tampatrib.com.
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