Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Costa recently lamented the lack of activity in northern downtown Tampa; that the emptiness is “creepy” (see the comments). It’s true that there has been little there in recent years for people to enjoy, but it looks like all of that might be about to change.

1. The city of Tampa plans to reconnect downtown to Tampa Heights via Franklin St. City Councwoman Linda Saul-Sena wants to demolish a building in the way, but for now the city intends to just go around it.

2. The Arts Center Lofts recently opened, and residents began moving into downtown. This is good news for northern downtown. As people move in, more shops will open, and the CBD will stop dying at 5pm every day. At least that’s the theory.

3. Mayor Pam Iorio desperately wants mixed housing in the Central Park area. The Tampa Housing Authority had come up with a plan to develop the property, and now Mayor Pam wants them to wait six months to give developers a chance to create something that will work there. If the Housing folks agree to the delay, don’t be surprised if you see Civitas jump back into the headlines.

I would think that mixed housing would be preferred by everybody, but will it work? Or are they just giving it lip service? Costa is not sure.