County Making Moves On New Tampa Cultural Center & Local Parks

Hillsborough County completed a land purchase that could lead to new development in New Tampa. (Map: Blake Beatty)

The long-proposed New Tampa Cultural Center (NTCC), which will be built across the street from Hunter’s Green on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., could receive a financial boost from the state under a new idea that could see it transition into being built to serve not only as a home for the arts, but as a hurricane shelter for special needs evacuees, too.

“We made the decision, we’re going to a hardened hurricane shelter for special needs evacuees,’’ said District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, who has spearheaded the project for years. “There is a regional need for that kind of facility.”

According to Comm. Crist, the shelter would serve as an evacuation spot for Tampa General Hospital and other hospitals in Pasco and Manatee counties as well. He cited hospital evacuation issues in Manatee County when Hurricane Irma came through in September

“It’s on high ground, it’s close to a medical hub and it’s on a major roadway,’’ Crist says. “It will be built at a very high wind standard.”

Crist says the county is contributing $5.8 million to the building of what is expected to be a 30,000-sq.-ft. NTCC, and the developers of the adjacent public-private (P3) Hunter’s Lake project are contributing $2.5 million.

The county will ask the state for matching funds of $7.5 million, getting the NTCC to the $15-million figure Crist has said would be required to build a state-of-the-art facility that can serve the entire Tampa Bay arts community from the beginning.

“The state has made it clear they will be focusing on hurricane and natural disaster preparedness,” Comm. Crist says.

Developers of the site are proceeding with permitting, so the pad on which everything will be built can be finished, although it has recently asked for a 90-day extension as it waits for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval.

“They still plan to deliver the pad by October of 2018,” says Josh Bellotti, the county’s real estate & facilities services director. Ground would be broken on the NTCC project shortly after that.

Branchton Park Project Another P3 Possibility?

Hillsborough County also cleared the way for another possible P3 project down the road, completing the acquisition of 10 acres of land in the Branchton Park area off Morris Bridge Rd. and Cross Creek Blvd.

The county paid Jimmy Gardner $1,175,000 to acquire the four parcels, totalling 10 acres. The land was appraised at $800,000, and Gardner was asking for $2 million. The closing on the purchase helps the county complete a long-sought-after deal to complete its holdings in the Branchton Park area.

The county had purchased three parcels of land totaling 13.18 acres for roughly $3.1 million in 2005 to expand Branchton Park. Attempts then to acquire the 10 acres owned by Gardner were unsuccessful. The property, which fronts Morris Bridge Rd. and is surrounded on three sides by the park, became available again and the county re-engaged and was able to close the deal.

“It completes the assemblage with the adjacent property and looking ahead, we are now able to do some kind of P3 (public-private partnership),” Bellotti said.

Bellotti said the county has no specific plans for the property, but will play a role in how it is developed. Hillsborough will send out a request for proposal (RFP) to see if there are any interested developers.

Bellotti said the project could be something similar to Hunter’s Lake which, in addition to the NTCC, is also adding apartments, a green grocer, a restaurant, a shopping plaza and a dog park.

District 5 County Commissioner Ken Hagan said that in addition to Branchton Park, the county also is working on a park project in K-Bar Ranch.

“We’re excited about both,’’ he said. “We’ve made significant strides in bringing both in for a landing.”

The 55-or-so acre K-Bar park project has been in the system for years, but a deal is getting closer for what would be the first-ever co-located county-city park, Hagan says.

The specific amenities haven’t been determined, but Hagan says he is confident the partnership between the city and the county will finally yield positive results, soon.

“There’s a little more work we need to do there,” Comm. Hagan says.

Hagan and Dist. 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera will host a New Tampa Town Hall on Thursday, November 16, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. at The Venetian on the grounds of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church at 9724 Cross Creek Blvd.

Crist Announces New Tampa Cultural Center Delay & New Partnerships

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On Nov. 18, Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist updated the New Tampa Players on the progress of the New Tampa Cultural Center at Hunter’s Green Country Club.

The New Tampa Players (NTP) non-profit community theater troupe unveiled its 2017-18 schedule on Nov. 18 at the Hunter’s Green Country Club clubhouse, but not before receiving a little bad news to kick off the festivities.

District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, who represents New Tampa’s District 2, speaking before the group of local actors and supporters, said plans to finally get NTP its new home — the New Tampa Cultural Center (NTCC), to be built across the street from Hunter’s Green on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. — had hit a speed bump.

“There’s good news and there’s bad news,” Crist told an audience of about 50. “The good news — I got the money. The bad news — I don’t like the timeline.”

Crist says that the county is now looking to have the foundation for the NTCC in place by April of 2019, meaning the center likely won’t be ready to open until 2020. The news drew a collective groan from the audience. “I am going to go back and work on that schedule and see what I can do to speed it up,’’ Crist said.

Until then, the NTP will put on its 2017 season at the University Area Cultural Development Center (UACDC) on N. 22nd St., where so many of the troupe’s previous shows have been performed. Next year’s slate of performances includes “Jesus Christ Superstar” (in Mar.-Apr.), “The Wiz” (July & Aug.) and “The Addams Family” (Oct. & Nov.).

The NTCC will be part of the tenatively-named Village at Hunter’s Lake development, which is being built on 17 acres of land by Harrison Bennett Properties, LLC. In addition to the cultural center, the project was approved in Dec. 2014 by the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) by a unanimous (7-0) vote to include a three-acre dog park, a green grocery store, shops, restaurants and 100-250 condos, townhomes or boutique apartments.

Land-use, permitting and rezoning issues have slowed the project. David Harrison, who runs Harrison Bennett Properties, was hoping the inspection and approval process would end by Apr. 2017 so construction could finally begin.

“The City of Tampa is giving (the developers) a difficult time and that’s where I think I might be able to help,’’ Crist said.

He also said that because the NTCC has to be self-sustaining, he is working on bringing in multiple partners who will be able to create those revenue streams. While stressing that the NTP will be the primary resident of the NTCC, Crist said he has negotiated a deal to bring the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts and the Patel Conservatory on board as well. He said the NTCC would serve as an annex for Patel in North Tampa.

“This will be Patel North,’’ Crist said.

That is a huge partnership, Crist added, because, “it brings ethos, huge credibility to the facility and elevates it from just being a neighborhood cultural clubhouse to a real, high-scale, quality arts-based programming center.”

The hope is that the notoriety provided by such partnerships will help lure the deep-pocketed residents of South Tampa north for additional cultural opportunities. Crist also said that he sees that relationship as being reciprocal.

Crist also announced a third partner, the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program, which reaches more than 3,000 Hillsborough County youth annually who live in high-risk neighborhoods or have been diverted from the Juvenile Justice System.

And, while Crist told the NTP that he doesn’t want the NTCC to be a place where people just walk in off the street, he stressed that it needs to be inclusive, not exclusive.

The NTCC itself will still be a 25-35,000-sq.-ft. facility that will cost $10-million (according to the county), although Crist thinks the figure should be closer to $15 million.

He said the county currently has $5.5-million to spend, and is looking for the rest.

“Let me assure you, it is going to be something you’re very proud of,’’ Crist said, even if it gets built in stages. Crist noted that when he was spearheading the construction of the UACDC, where NTP currently practices and performs, it was built in five phases, while he raised money throughout the three-year construction phase to get it finished.

As for where he will get the money, Crist simply said: “I’ll find it.”

One of the only concerns raised during the 15-minute presentation was how the partnership with the Straz and Patel centers at the NTCC would impact local dance studios like New Tampa Dance Theater and America’s Ballet School. Crist, however, said that he thinks there are more than enough aspiring performers in New Tampa to support everyone.

And, Adam Shoemaker, one of the NTP performers, asked if once the NTCC is completed, will his group of local thespians finally have their own home to practice and perform on their own schedule?

Crist wrapped up his comments by promising him they would.

“You are a guest at the UACDC, a second thought,’’ Crist said. “It was built for Prodigy. But, this will be your permanent home. You will be the lead tenant in that space, and anybody else would have to work around you.”

That final line drew the loudest applause of the night.

For additional information about the NTP and their schedule for 2017, visit NewTampaPlayers.org or Facebook.com/NewTampaPlayers.

New Tampa Cultural Center Weaving Way Through Red Tape

Hunter-Lakes-WEBThe land across from Hunter’s Green’s main entrance still sits there, mostly untouched, other than serving as a retention pond for a road widening.

Despite county approval 18 months ago for a village/town center, dog park and New Tampa Cultural Center, there are no dump trucks, no cranes and no men in hard hats wandering around.

If you are one of the many who have wondered — and many have asked us — what is going on, the answer is plenty.

“Tell them it’s definitely coming,’’ says District 2 County Commissioner Victor Crist, who represents New Tampa on the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and was one of the key forces in making the long-sought-after New Tampa Cultural Center a reality.

“There are so many hoops we have to jump through,’’ Crist says. “But we’re jumping through them.”

David Freeman knows that all too well. His company, Harrison Bennett Properties, LLC, won the rights (along with Regency Centers as part of a joint venture) in 2014 to build a mixed-use village center, tentatively called The Village At Hunter’s Lake at the time of approval.

The development is expected to feature a 20,000-sq.-ft. cultural center (expandable to 30,000-sq.-ft.) that will seat roughly 300 and include art and sound galleries — and its primary tenant will be the New Tampa Players, a local acting troupe that has been putting productions in our area for more than a decade — a 3-acre dog park and a town center that would include a “green” grocer, shops and restaurants and anywhere from 100-250 condos, townhomes or boutique apartments.

Harrison Bennett will build on roughly 17 acres of land purchased by the City of Tampa. The property is part of 80 acres originally purchased by the city for drainage and a retention pond for the widening of Bruce B. Downs to eight lanes.

Freeman’s proposal was chosen via a unanimous 7-0 vote by the BOCC on Dec. 17, 2014, with the understanding that Harrison Bennett would be responsible for obtaining the necessary zoning, permits and land-use approvals from the City of Tampa.

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Victor Crist

“At this point, we are really getting started with the process of rezoning so we can move ahead,’’ Freeman says. “Right now, everything else is just on the backburner.”

“People are excited,’’ says Crist, who is often asked about the status of the project. “They want to get it up and opening and running immediately. Unfortunately, this is not just a clean piece of dirt. It’s environmentally protected land, and had an original zoning as a park site or preserve. This is a very complex deal.”

The project is currently in an inspection period, according to Josh Bellotti, director of Hillsborough County’s Real Estate & Facilities. He said that engineers are continuing their investigation of environmental and stormwater issues.

The inspection period was scheduled to conclude on July 30, but has been extended through Sept. 9 to allow the buyer to conduct its due diligence. The extension is nothing too unusual, Bellotti said, as engineers begin digging into undeveloped land and find new issues to deal with.

After the inspection period is over, the project moves into the approval period – which lasts 180 days – when Freeman has to obtain all of the necessary regulatory approvals. The approval period, should any issues arise, can be extended up to a maximum of 360 days. Closing would occur 30 days after the approval period ends, which could be sometime in March of 2017.

A Little History…

Sure, red tape can hold up projects for years. But you can’t blame those skittish about the development of the cultural center clearing obstacles. The quest for a cultural center — or a “pulse” and “identity” as some had referred to it over the years — has stretched more than a decade.

In 2001, a Connecticut firm was paid $27,000 by the city for a study that determined New Tampa could support a cultural center. The nonprofit New Tampa Cultural Arts Center — led by Hunter’s Green resident Graeme Woodbrook — was offered the six acres it requested for the project, but the city wanted the group to come up with a $10-million endowment to pay for it, killing the effort in 2005.

The project was revived again for a brief time in 2007 by New Tampa Players president and founding artistic director Doug Wall, who also was involved in the earlier efforts. But again, money was an issue, until Crist was able to secure promises of funding and the project gained traction.

“It’s rewarding for them to know their work was not done in vain,” Crist says.

Crist says he is currently working on creating a new nonprofit, similar to the University Area Community Development Corporation (which Crist helped start and he is still a Board member). The nonprofit would be housed at the Cultural Center and would manage it, while being responsible for programming and fundraising.

The cost of the Hunter’s Lake project is around $7.5-million. The county has $3.1-million budgeted in its CIP program, Harrison Bennett will provide the county with $2.02-million in cash, as well as making another $1.885 million in site improvements.

Crist said he has been told the final appropriations for the project are included in the 2016-2017 county budget, which will be debated and finalized by Aug. 1. 

Land Sold Across From Hunter's Green

A conceptual rendering of what the retail center at the future Village at Hunter’s Lake development could look like once it has been completed.
A conceptual rendering of what the retail center at the future Village at Hunter’s Lake development could look like once it has been completed.

By Matt Wiley

The New Tampa area is officially one step closer to having its own cultural center, community theater and dog park — which are all planned to built on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (across from Hunter’s Green) — as Hillsborough County officially has approved the sale of nearly 18 acres of land at the site to a developer.Continue reading

Land Sold Across From Hunter's Green

A conceptual rendering of what the retail center at the future Village at Hunter’s Lake development could look like once it has been completed.
A conceptual rendering of what the retail center at the future Village at Hunter’s Lake development could look like once it has been completed.

By Matt Wiley

The New Tampa area is officially one step closer to having its own cultural center, community theater and dog park — which are all planned to built on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (across from Hunter’s Green) — as Hillsborough County officially has approved the sale of nearly 18 acres of land at the site to a developer.Continue reading