The Push Is On For The New Tampa PAC To Recognize Doug Wall

Doug Wall

Unfortunately, Doug Wall didn’t live long enough to see his vision of a New Tampa cultural or arts center come to fruition, but those who remember his impact on the local arts scene say his contributions shouldn’t be forgotten.

The founder of the New Tampa Players (NTP), a local acting troupe, Wall succumbed to cancer in 2017. But, in a recent letter to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera urged the board to give Wall “a place of named honor” in the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, which is currently under construction in the Hunter’s Lake area off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and is expected to be completed later this year.

“He came to New Tampa long before we became a booming suburban area,” Viera wrote. “He quickly became the backbone for the performing arts scene in New Tampa….Mr. Wall was here as one of the early pioneers of (zip code) 33647.  He needs to be honored on this building.”

Others, like former Hunter’s Green resident and former State Rep. Shawn Harrison and his wife Susan, also support recognizing Wall.

Wall founded NTP and held its first event, a membership gala, in June 2002, and began auditions for its first production “They’re Playing Our Song” the next month, with plans to perform it later that year and Hunter’s Green and Tampa Palms Country Clubs.

For two decades, he fought to help make the Performing Arts Center a reality, while putting on productions and holding youth theater camps in the area.

Nora Paine, the producing artistic director for the NTP, says it would be a fitting honor to include Wall in his long-hoped-for dream.

“Community performing arts in New Tampa are Doug Wall’s legacy,” she said. “Starting in 2002, he set in motion and promoted the efforts that have finally come to fruition in the New Tampa Performing Arts Center…We miss Doug every day, and we are proud to continue his legacy at New Tampa Players.”

New Tampa All Abilities Playground Breaks Ground

When K-Bar Ranch resident Pauline Sturtevant lived in California, she would drive 30 minutes, sometimes more, to the nearest all-abilities park for her son Caleb, who has Downs Syndrome.

It was the only place she could find with swings that were designed to hold his neck up properly, slides with higher sides to prevent him from falling off, or even a ramp to accommodate Caleb’s still-developing walking skills. 

Caleb is 17 now, and while he may be too old for it, Pauline Sturtevant is thrilled that other parents will have a similar park closer to their homes in New Tampa.

“It’s important, you just don’t realize how much,” she said. ‘‘For the parents to feel like someone took the time to think about (a project like this), to make sure their kids were included and had a place to go, was super important.”

On Feb. 14, ground was broken at the New Tampa Community Park on the City of Tampa’s first disability and sensory-friendly playground.

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who championed the New Tampa All Abilities Playground almost immediately after being elected in 2016, echoed Pauline Sturtevant’s message at the groundbreaking.

  • Tampa City Council member Luis Viera
  • Mayor Jane Castor
  • Nora PaIne (NT Players Club Penguin Project President)
  • Phyllis Guthman, Disability Resource Hub Founder
  • Parks and Rec Director Sherisha Hills
  • Zach Mueller
  • Congresswoman Kathy Castor

“You are not alone,” Viera told the crowd, which included members of the New Tampa Players’ Penguin Project, a theatre program for children and young adults with special needs. “You have friends, you have family, you have people who have been through this many many years before…and you have the City of Tampa having your back and making sure everyone has a place at the table.”

The 10,000-sq.-ft. park will cost roughly $2 million — paid for by city money and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding — and will include multiple play pieces that are wheelchair-accessible, a sensory area geared towards children with autism and other sensory or cognitive challenges, a new art mural based on a “Fantastic Florida Nature” theme, and more.

At the groundbreaking, City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said that the park will have “16 different opportunities involving all of the sensory abilities in that park. It will be fantastic.”

Mayor Castor said the importance of parks in the development of a number of skills in children is sometimes taken for granted.

Making the city’s parks more accessible to everyone is a movement she strongly supports.

“I feel everything starts at parks and recreation, out on those fields,” Castor said. “That’s where children learn the life skills, that’s where they make lifelong friendships, and that’s where healthy skills and attitudes are developed. It all starts with ‘Hey, you wanna play?’”

For children with special needs, regular playgrounds can be a haven for emotional discomfort and even injuries, and it is easy for them to shrink away in fear. Pauline Sturtevant says it always pained her to see special needs children sitting on the sidelines at most other parks, and “developing a mentality that they are different and should be in a different place.”

Now, they will have their own place.

“The families are excited,” said Melissa Ewen, the director of fellowship and special connections, a special needs ministry at St. James United Methodist Church, also located in Tampa Palms. “Most of the ones I talk to have older high school or adult-aged family members, but for them it’s a sigh of relief. They know the challenges they faced; others won’t have to.”

New Branchton Regional Park Set To Begin Permitting

A splash pad, pickleball courts and hiking trails are just some of the amenities that could be available to New Tampa residents by the end of this year, or early next year.

According to District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, the county is ready to move ahead on a new park for the Branchton area off Morris Bridge Rd. south of Cross Creek Blvd. Hagan says the county staff is ready to submit plans for the park’s permitting.

“Ideally, after that’s approved, we should be able to have a groundbreaking out there probably in the April-May range,” Commissioner Hagan says.

If that happens, Branchton Regional Park will likely be completed sometime in early 2023, although Hagan says he is hoping the park can be finished by the end of 2022, if the summer weather and supply chains cooperate. 

The park will replace the current Branchton Park, which sits on the southwest corner of Morris Bridge Rd. and Cross Creek Blvd. While the current park has an outdoor basketball court, playground and trails, it only has parking for roughly 10 cars and no bathrooms.

A Little History

In 2017, the county acquired four parcels of land totaling an additional 10 acres just south of the existing Branchton Park. The newly acquired land will be home to the new park, which will be developed in two phases.

Branchton Park

The first phase of construction includes 130 parking spots, walking trails, two dog parks, restrooms, shelters, four pickleball courts and a multipurpose court that can be configured as two basketball or two volleyball courts, according to a conceptual site plan provided last year.

The separate dog parks for small and large dogs will include shelters, benches, dog agility equipment, water and wash stations.

The new park also will include a playground and a splash pad.

Hagan says he has already secured the $6.1 million to construct the first phase in previous county budgets.

He added that he also has talked with Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister about building a mini-substation at the park, and that Chronister was in favor of that possibility.

“He likes the idea,” Hagan says. “I spoke to him about it and we agree that it would help increase the Sheriff’s Office’s presence around the park and also increase its presence throughout New Tampa.”

Although nothing has been formalized, Hagan also says that there also has been continuing conversation with private sector companies about a possible public-private partnership (PPP) about a zip line or “challenge” course for the park, perhaps in Phase 2. 

The county already has completed the public survey portion of the project. Last year, nearly 500 people responded online to a survey with their requests for what they would like to see the park include. Many of the residents’ choices are included in the plans, according to the county’s website. 

Plans to build some kind of new park in the Branchton area have circulated in Hillsborough County for years, going as far back as 2005 when the county had plans to build an athletic complex south of the existing Branchton Park. Those plans, however, never materialized.

As for that old Branchton Park, it will remain intact for the most part, but Hagan envisions re-developing it into a business center that could include a sports bar and other restaurants.

The KRATE Container Park At The Grove Keeps On Growing!

Although a lot more signs announcing places set to open have gone up at the KRATE Container Park, the only additional restaurants to open by our press time are The Fry Room, El Prince Mediterranean Cuisine & Palani’s Hawai’i Noodles. Other new eatery signs that have gone up since November include SubZero Nitrogen Ice Cream, Chamo Bites Venezuelan Cuisine, Bakery X Authentically French, Flipn’ Fries Factory, Rhythm Pon Jamaican Cuisine, Bebo’s Cheesesteaks, Sugar Pop! and CafĂ© Zorba.

The KRATE Container Park, the long-awaited jewel of developer Mark Gold’s redevelopment of The Grove at Wesley Chapel, is really taking shape these days. On these pages is an update on all of the new signs that have gone up at KRATE since we told you about Provisions Coffee & Kitchen and the then-new Shake-A-Salad back in November.

We also showed you pictures of and/or mentioned all of the dining- and/or drinking-oriented establishments that had their signs up at that time —  CafĂ© 365, La Creacion Express Puerto Rican Bakery, The Bacon Boss, Mojo Grill Latin Fusion, TJ’s Famous Hot Dogs, Tacos el Patron, Åto Sushi Burritos & Poke Bowls, Palani’s Hawai’i Noodles, Tasty Ramen, The Fry Room, Urban Sweets, Yummy Tablas, El Prince Mediterranean, Blush Wine Bar, Boba Macs Tea & Eat and The Fry Room.

We also mentioned the other places with signs up that weren’t about food or drink — Center Ed Education, Reset Natural Remedies, We Rock Rocks, SmartStart Market Space, Budget Blinds, The Rebellious Hippie and All Good Things Gifts.

As we went to press with this issue, the only additional KRATEs that had opened since November were The Fry Room (we’ve sampled not only owners Donny & Lori’s delicious apple cider donuts, but also their crispy chicken tacos and French fries — all excellent), All Good Things and El Prince, as everything from Covid to supply chain issues have not only delayed the construction, the complete shutdown of the few parking spaces around the open KRATEs have had many people thinking that none of them were open. 

Here are all of the additional eateries coming soon that we found: SubZero Nitrogen Ice Cream, Chamo Bites Venezuelan Cuisine, Bakery X Authentically French, Flipn’ Fries Factory, Rhythm Pon Jamaican Cuisine, Bebo’s Cheesesteaks, Sugar Pop!, Brew Bar, Pisco Express Peruvian Chinese Fusion Food and Cafe Zorba.

We’ve also included some of the signs for new stores and boutiques we hadn’t mentioned before, such as The Toy Jungle, MaeBerry Co., 2 Extreme Tattoos, Grove Cigars, Katie Beth’s Boutique, Tonella’s Handpicked Flower Shop, Valiart Jewelry, Pup Protectors and the second Wesley Chapel location of Gadgets Emergency Room. Are you excited yet? — GN

Nibbles & Bytes: Hot, Cold and Warmed Up!

Super Hot Asian & BBQ Is Open In Former Fushia Location!

For those who have been waiting for something to open where Fushia Asian Bistro closed in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms, your wait is over.

The new restaurant is called Super Hot Asian & BBQ, and it also is Chinese/Asian fusion. We’ve only gotten to try a few menu items so far, but we definitely enjoyed the pan-fried gyoza dumplings (served by an actual robot server), as well as the Yangzhou (aka “Young Chow”) combo fried rice. 

For more info about Super Hot (15317 Amberly Dr.), call (813) 680-4124 or visit https://superhot.kwickmenu.com/index.php. — GN 

Kobé Re-Opening Delayed By Supply Chain Issues!

For those who have been waiting patiently for KobĂ© Japanese Steakhouse to re-open in its new location a mile or so south on BBD (in the former location of Vuelo and Señor T’s Mexican restaurants, and Romano’s Macaroni Grill before that), well, we’re sorry, but you’ll have to wait just a little bit longer. 

According to Kobé spokesperson Hien Nguyen, the original hoped-for opening of as early as Dec. 2021 has had to be extended by several months.

“Unfortunately, construction is slower than expected, as supply chain delays for large equipment are stalling our progression.” says Nguyen. “We can’t move forward until some of these items are delivered. Unfortunately, we do not have an exact date, but hopefully in a few months if some of these items can be delivered soon.”

If you’ve driven by the site of the future KobĂ©, you’ve probably noticed that a tremendous amount of exterior work has been done, but that it definitely has stalled in recent weeks.

We know our readers are excited about the re-opening of Kobé, so be sure to keep checking these pages for further updates.

Unfortunately, we also haven’t received, seen or heard any updates about when Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood & Bar is expected to open in the former KobĂ© location in front of the Pebble Creek Collection, also on BBD. 

In fact, unlike KobĂ©, which has had the monument sign in the picture up for several weeks, we haven’t even seen a banner sign yet for Hungry Crab, which has six other locations already open, the closest of which is in Largo and the furthest of which is in Brunswick, GA. The New Tampa Hungry Crab is one of three additional locations opening soon. — GN    

Las Palmas Food Truck — Same Great Food, All-New Look!

When last we checked in with our friend Ramses Garcia, the owner of Las Palmas Latin Grill (which was shuttered by a fire in its storefront location on Oct. 11), he had just recently opened the Las Palmas Food Truck, which was just a plain white truck Ramses had renovated so he could continue serving his authentic Cuban cuisine in the same parking lot while rebuilding his popular eatery.

Well, since then, Ramses has added a custom exterior wrap to the truck, complete with a caricature of Al Pacino’s character and his famous line from “Scarface” — “Say Hello To My Little Friend.”

Yes, the revamped truck looks great, but it’s still the food Ramses and his wife Ana serve inside that’s the most important thing. Whether you crave award-winning Cubans, amazing roasted pork, grilled chicken breast, deviled crab or Ana’s Tres Leches dessert, visit LasPalmasLatinGrill.com to order  your favorites today — and please tell Ana and Ramses I sent you! — GN