By Matt Wiley
Just more than a month since a meeting was held to gather public comments about what to do with the land across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from Hunter’s Green in New Tampa, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has approved a Request For Proposals (RFP) for a private-public partnership to develop the property.
During the June 18 BOCC meeting, commissioners unanimously (by a 5-0 vote) approved the RFP that will be open to developers in August.
Situated across from the entrance to Hunter’s Green, the county owns an 81-acre parcel of land, made up mostly of conservation areas and a large retention pond used for the BBD widening project. Included on the property is 13.4 acres of developable land, as well as 3-4 additional acres for commercial development along BBD itself. The RFP asks developers to submit options for the 13.4-acre parcel, but all must include a two-story, 30,000-sq.-ft. civic building (community center/theater) for county use, a 250-space parking lot and a three-acre dog park.
The dog park, the second for the area (the New Tampa Rotary club is in the process of raising funds to develop another at the New Tampa Rec Center on Commerce Park Blvd. in Tampa Palms), will include separate fenced areas and separate fitness and agility stations for large and small dogs, as well as water fountains and plenty of shade trees. The RFP states that the county is open to proposals that include leasing, purchasing or joint-use of the land in a private-public partnership (P3).
Regardless of what is developed, the commercial development must follow the same design format/architectural style as the entrance to Hunter’s Green. Although owned by the county, the land is within the Tampa city limits, so it also will be subject to the city’s zoning requirements.
“We’re still very far from the finish line,” says Dist. 2 Comm. Victor Crist. “We’re asking for proposals for anything within the stated parameters. We want to make sure that the community as a whole is happy.”
Crist says that, even though proposals are being sought now, the process still will be a long one, adding that it takes months to receive and go through proposals. In addition, depending upon what is submitted by contractors, more public hearings will have to be held to keep the public informed.
“It’s not going to be a closed-door process,” Crist says.
According to county documents, the schedule for developing the land has the RFP opening date set for mid-August, with another public meeting tentatively scheduled for the end of that month to present proposals to the community. The proposals then will be evaluated and ranked by county officials (based upon developer qualifications, the proposal itself and the proposal’s financial value to the county) in September, with approval set for mid-October. Zoning, design and permitting is estimated to take several more months and construction on whatever project is approved for the site isn’t estimated to begin until at least October 2015.
As far as the commercial development along BBD is concerned, Crist hopes to attract businesses that currently are not in the area, most notably, a specialty food store, such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Right now, New Tampa residents have to travel all the way to N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Carrollwood to shop at either store.
“We want to attract businesses that are highly specialized,” Crist says.
At the May 5 public meeting at the New Tampa Regional Library (located on Cross Creek Blvd.) about developing the land, Crist and other county officials took questions and noted concerns from attendees, who were mostly in favor of a community center and park. However, several attendees were skeptical about a private-public partnership.
“Overall, it appears that the citizens would support commercial use (depending upon type) so long as it provides the funding to build-out a public park or community/cultural center,” the county’s report from the meeting reads in the RFP. “Citizens also expressed a desire for the process to be transparent and to have an opportunity to review the plans as they are developed.”
Stay tuned for updates as we continue to follow this story.
No comment yet, add your voice below!