MEDIA RELEASES

By PAM IORIO

 

Tampa has an opportunity over the next several years to transform its downtown from a business center to an exciting 24/7 urban center - with both business and residential neighborhoods, sparked by many diverse cultural and artistic enterprises. This transformation will create an ambiance for individual fulfillment and social possibilities.

It is an exciting vision that focuses on reclaiming the waterfront for the people, expanding our cultural arts district four blocks deeper, wrapping the Tampa Theatre into the heart of the district, making our downtown streets safer for pedestrians, and paying attention to the details that make for great, livable communities. Our proposal to move the expanded Tampa Museum of Art to the historic federal courthouse is part of a much larger plan to transform our downtown.

A little bit of retrospective: When I first took office in April 2003, a plan had already been adopted for the Curtis Hixon waterfront park. It included the 150,000-square-foot Vinoly-designed museum fronting Ashley Drive. Alongside that museum was the proposed Tampa Bay History Center (65,000 square feet). The city had entered into a $2.3 million contract for a private, 24-story condo tower behind the history center on the south side of the Poe Garage. This was planned on prime, city-owned, waterfront property.

The whole plan seemed out of step with our city. How could the public readily access a park adjacent to the waterfront when the entire frontage along Ashley Drive was to be blocked by two museums and a good portion of the backside was for those who lived in condominiums?

Fortunately, the condo tower contract lacked a final approval, and we made the decision not to go forward with that plan. We determined that large-scale residential developments should instead be across the street on Ashley Drive, not taking up valuable waterfront green space.

 
Once the condo deal was off the table, we focused on the planned site of the Tampa Bay History Center - a site the board of the history center thought unworkable. In partnership with the county and the Florida Communities Trust, we moved the site to the Channel District, where Tampa got its start as Fort Brooke.

We then turned our attention to the Vinoly museum. This project was already under way with Vinoly under contract and millions already spent for design. But ultimately, the financing plan was found to be unattainable, and in March of this year the art museum's board of trustees informed the city that the project could not move forward.

I recognize there are those who were associated with the Vinoly project who will always be disappointed that it could not be built, and I empathize with that disappointment. I also remain concerned about the amount of tax dollars that went into the project. I am therefore determined that planning for Tampa's future be done in a more systematic and holistic way. We must not focus just on one big project, but rather take into account all the special assets we have in Tampa that can be enhanced. And I understand that the citizenry is expecting us to move on and move our city forward.

The current site of the Tampa Museum of Art has never added to a sense of community. The concrete plaza in front does not contribute to the environment we live in. Curtis Hixon Park is visually dismal; the public doesn't use it and the south side of the Poe Garage looms as an unsightly deterrent to a pleasing experience. Further, the existing museum is built on top of a parking garage so that the expanse of water and the beautiful minarets across the river are obscured.

An important part of the plan I am proposing calls for a Riverwalk that will stretch from the Channel District to Tampa Heights. This 2.5-mile walkway can be a defining feature for our community, bringing people and events to our waterfront. But along the way, there should be a destination that becomes a focal point for our community - a central park where we gather together for celebrations - where people can come together as a community to enjoy the natural beauty our riverfront provides.

Curtis Hixon Park can be transformed by removing the museum and collapsing the garage underneath to street level. People will be able to enjoy a beautiful vista of the river and the minarets of the University of Tampa. Such a change will add more than four acres of green space to our downtown waterfront.

The proposal to bring some limited commercial development to the park has been misunderstood by some. Our proposal takes the unsightly south side of the Poe Garage and envisions not only the Children's Museum, but shops, restaurants and cafes that would be a welcome, inviting space for people strolling along the Riverwalk.

We are exploring the concept of low-rise residential units atop these shops along the lines of what you see in Westchase's Town Square or Hyde Park Village. This kind of village green concept on each side of the park would take limited space and provide a maximum benefit to people.

Adding these aesthetic and structural changes can only enhance the life and vitality of the entire area. Even with these additional amenities, the public waterfront green space increases.

To invite riverfront visitors into the downtown, we have created the vision for an "Avenue of the Arts" - Zack Street. At the corner of Zack and Ashley, a 32-story condo tower is being developed, where 500 people are expected to live 20 months from now. Zack Street leads past the old Maas Brothers building, which likely will be another residential community, and right across Franklin Street is the Tampa Theatre, a cultural treasure.

To the north up Franklin Street, other residential projects are planned. Once the current construction of North Franklin Street is complete, downtown will connect to The Heights project, soon to become a lively residential neighborhood in Tampa Heights. At the corner of Zack and Florida is the beautiful historic federal courthouse. Imagine it as the home for Tampa's Museum of Art.

What we are envisioning is not unique. There are many cities across the country that have taken precious older buildings and transformed them into beautiful museums. Indeed, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, a consulting firm that helped to develop the Tampa cultural arts district plan in 2002, has been the architectural consultant in several of these conversions of historic buildings.

When this idea was first proposed, some said it was impossible; the costs would be prohibitive. So the city and the art museum jointly commissioned a study to see if there was anything about the courthouse that would prevent it from being transformed into a museum. The report has come back, and it shows that it is not an unrealistic proposal. In fact, it is very viable. The courthouse can indeed become a museum of art.

The issue of individual taste and preference is an important one. For some, the idea of an iconic building along the lines of a Vinoly is what they envision. Others firmly believe the museum should be on the waterfront.

I respect that people have different ideas and that there is no one right idea. But the courthouse can be a beautiful and workable home for the museum of art. It is centrally located in the heart of what will become a thriving residential community. It could serve to draw visitors into the core of our downtown while using and preserving a significant historical structure. We have seen this done successfully throughout the United States - why not here?

The city has discussed the potential to build a parking garage next to the Florida Avenue museum site - a garage built with the arts in mind. The bottom level could be built out for gallery space or other art uses. This garage could contain roughly 350 spaces - enough to handle special events and possibly help with the museum's operating revenues.

At the same time, the city is embarking on a five-year plan to turn Tampa's east-west one-way streets into two-way streets, enhancing each roadway for pedestrian safety. Many cities accomplished this years ago, successfully adding to the vibrancy of their downtowns.

This year's budget contains funding for Madison Street. Crosswalks will be redone. Signage, landscaping and safety features will be added so that traffic through everybody's neighborhood will slow down, helping retailers, downtown workers, residents and visitors.

Envision future visitors strolling up the Avenue of the Arts, visiting the museum, stopping by the bookstore on Tampa Street or enjoying refreshments at a cafe. By the time they are back at the Riverwalk, their Tampa experience will have been greatly enhanced by their stroll into Tampa's revitalized downtown and their visit to an art museum in a beautifully restored building.

This is my dream for Tampa - a vibrant city where the waterfront is opened to the people - a city that cherishes its historic structures.

From opening up the vista to the river and minarets to the restoration of the historic federal courthouse, Tampa is transformed into a city where a cultural district is defined by a much larger geographic space that involves the core of our downtown. It can be a livable, walkable downtown that is vibrant and alive - a downtown that is truly everybody's neighborhood.

Pam Iorio is mayor of Tampa.