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Entryway Makeover A Step Closer

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By LAURA KINSLER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

TAMPA PALMS - The community's entryway makeover continues on pace with community development district supervisors' vote last week to solicit bids for the estimated $1.11 million project.

Tampa Palms' iconic blue and gold signs will be replaced with modern black granite slabs and etched gold lettering. Replacing the signs at village entrances with the new design should eliminate the recurring vandalism problem in many neighborhoods. "This is not what we started out with, but it is the most beautiful," supervisor Patty Maney said.
Village signs will be given a uniform, arched design with improved lighting and more simplistic landscaping. The new signs, which will be attached to the existing brickwork, also will be taller and more visible to motorists.

The new signage is part of an effort to give the 22-year-old community an updated, cohesive look.

Supervisor Bill Shimer continued to argue for a less-expensive option that would keep the existing signs intact but replace the blue tile with the granite slab. "We're talking about spending another $500,000 to build new monuments," he said. "That's not a step, it's a leap. I don't see what we've gained."

He was overruled, 4-1.

Even Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern, attending her first CDD meeting, endorsed the more expensive option, saying it makes a stronger impact.

The CDD board expects to award the contract by April.

The following neighborhoods would receive the new signs: Asbury, Manchester, Sterling Manor, Tremont, Wyndham, Ashmont, Cambridge I, II and III, Coventry, Canterbury, Enclave, Faircrest, Palma Vista, Nottingham and Somerset. Wellington would receive a new granite face for its sign.

New signs also will mark office parks at Palm Lake and Somerset, as well as the Shoppes at Amberly and Bristol Place apartments.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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