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Agency Discusses Designation For Area

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By LENORA LAKE

llake@tampatrib.com

Published: March 4, 2009

UNIVERSITY AREA - The area west of the University of South Florida may become the first Multimodal Transportation District in unincorporated Hillsborough County.

Such a district is one is that is high-density area with a safe, comfortable and attractive environment for walking, cycling and using mass transit.

The members of the University Area Enterprise Zone Agency liked the idea so much that they endorsed it at a recent meeting. The volunteer agency seeks business investments in the area, which has state tax incentives for those companies operating there.

The University Area Development Corp., which seeks funding to redevelop the blighted community and operates the area's community center, also is expected to endorse the proposal.

Ned Baier, manager of Hillsborough County's Transportation and Land Development Review Division, explained the proposed district at the agency's Feb. 24 meeting.
Baier said an area has to have a high density and employment opportunities such as the university, the hospitals and shopping centers in the University Area.

The funds that developers would pay for road widening for additional traffic would be used instead for sidewalks, bike paths, bus bays and other such amenities. Those would still meet the state's requirement of concurrency when projects are built.

"The area must have the ability for people to take transit and then walk to employment," Baier said.

The application for a designation would be submitted to the state for approval, and the county would need to modify the comprehensive plan. This could take about 18 months to work through the system, he said.

The redevelopment area of Temple Terrace near 56{+t}{+h} Street and Busch Boulevard already has the designation, Baier said. A proposed main street area for Brandon also is being considered for the designation..

He said the classification also could open the door for some grant money for projects. "This does nothing but good things for this area," Baier said. "It allows more flexibility for you."

Julian Garcia, executive director of the University Area Development Corp., motioned for the endorsement.

"I'm all for this and this being in place," Garcia said. "I'd like us to be the first in the county."

IN OTHER BUSINESS

• Enterprise zone coordinator Lynn Shultz reported that during the first quarter of the fiscal year (October-December), the University Area had 49 new businesses, of which 24 were on the main streets, including Fowler and Fletcher avenues. She confirmed 88 new jobs were created because of the businesses.

• The number of businesses seeking tax refunds as offered by the state through the enterprise zone designation also has grown.

• Agency chairman Tom Locke, general manager of University Mall, commended the work of the agency members and longtime advocates of the community's redevelopment. He said the report was encouraging in light of the current economic downturn. "We could have been in the same situation as everyone else, except for all the groups helping over all the years through the enterprise zone," Locke said.

Tribune correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851.

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