Roundup 9-18-2015
Contents
Transportation – Check Yourself, Love Yourself, Hurry and Wait
— Go Hillsborough
— The Commissioners Support the Commissioners
— And One More Thing
Downtown/Hyde Park/ West Side – The Altis Grand and Settling
Downtown – Grant Block Moves Forward
USF – Med School Moves Forward
West Tampa/Built Environment – On Transformations
Economy – Housing Market
Economic Development – Start-Ups
Rocky Point – It Deserves Better, Too
TIA – When You Stop Going Along to Get Along
Meanwhile, In the Rest of the Country
— What Can a Billion Buy These Days
— Desert Rail
— Google Town
List of the Week I
List of the Week II
_____________________________________________________
Transportation – Check Yourself, Love Yourself, Hurry and Wait
This week, the head of the EDC spoke about issues that get in the way of getting an HQ.
The last two issues first. Building an office building is not that hard, and, as the article points out, the Lightning owner would love to do it. As for being the first to move, someone has to be first. There is nothing you can do about that.
Which leaves us with the ever-present issue of transportation. Our transportation problem is the result of bad planning, poor decisions, lack of political will, and lack of vision. Now, we have the TED/PLC/Go Hillsborough process that is supposed to address all that. Whether it will or not, no one knows. So far, based mostly on a lack of will and uniformity of vision and purpose among the elected officials, it is doubtful that if will solve our problem. But all that can change as long as there is a proper focus.
— Go Hillsborough
This week, that focus, which was never really sharp, got a little blurrier.
(You can read the above-referenced rather extensive WTSP report that also touches on a lot of local governance issues here and come to your own conclusions.) Setting aside that we are not sure there ever was real confidence in the process, especially as it seems to constantly get drawn out, vaguer, more confused, and apparently lacks the confidence of a number of decision makers, that is fine. We are not sure that having the County audit itself – rather than someone independent – is even worth the effort.
However, a lot of that does not have to do directly with transportation. As far as transportation goes, the process has been an expensive mess for a while now. But then, a lot of what the County does is an expensive mess. There is still time to produce something coordinated, comprehensive, and useful. Whether that happens remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, at the City Council,
Indeed, it’s just a question of having the will to do it.
— The Commissioners Support the Commissioners
In another example of silliness at the County, we give you, as usual, the PTC:
Given that the PTC Board features three out of seven County Commissioners, it is not surprising that the Commission basically supports itself. That does not make the PTC’s activity make any more sense nor justify its existence. In fact, once again, it provides more reason why it is redundant and should be abolished.
— And One More Thing
Finally, as part of the Go Hillsborough thoughts – they are not really a proposal – is the idea that Hillsborough County would move to mobility fees, an idea of which the County has been aware but done nothing for years. We and others have said that if the Commission is really serious about the Go Hillsborough process they should just go to mobility fees regardless of the referendum. This week:
Pasco already has them (though you wouldn’t notice). Now Sarasota has them. Hillsborough really needs to show some real urgency.
Downtown/Hyde Park/ West Side – The Altis Grand and Settling
As most of you probably know, there was a long, contentious hearing about the Altis Grand Central project near the Oxford Exchange. The project had been through a number of tweaks, but the owners of the Oxford Exchange, and, it turns out, a number of other neighbors, opposed the project. In the event, the City Council rejected the zoning change.
So what did the City Council say was the reason for denying the rezoning?
“I think the issue has to do with the context of the neighborhood,” said council member Harry Cohen.
And
The developer responded:
Ok.
We could get into a lot of detail on this issue, but we have already said what we think: the project is poorly designed, with not enough street retail and the far too prominent garage. We are not opposed to residential on the block. We understand the parking needs. We just think it can be done better, even saving some of the trees and historical structures that mysteriously stopped being historical during this process. (In fact, URBN Tampa Bay has some ideas of a better plan here) Frankly, we have no problem with something bigger being built on the lot as long as it pays attention to design and has proper street interaction.
But none of that is the bigger issue. Anyone who watched or attending the hearing heard over and over that this project complied with planning and code because on lots nearby the City had already approved midrise office buildings and parking garages. This project, it was said, was in line with the size, scale, and character of what the City had already approved and, therefore, should be approved. Because of that, to say they did not want this project as designed, the City Council had to come up with other reasons, like trees, structures or “character of the neighborhood” (we won’t get into the generic Dunkin Donuts being built a few blocks away on Kennedy.) All those reasons will limit what can be built on this lot and how.
We have complained about the City settling many times. Some readers have contacted us in response saying that sometimes it is ok to settle. Yes, on very rare occasions it is ok to settle if there is a very good reason. But the reality is that every time the City settles, you not only get a bad project, but you set a precedent that compels more settling and more bad governance/planning/etc. This neighborhood is no exception. If you do not get a quality project on this lot, to some degree you can blame the persistent settling that lowers standards and compels the acceptance of lower quality. Settling is not a one-time event. It has lasting effects. And they all arise from a combination of a bad code and pad precedents based on settling and a lack of political will at all levels.
We hope the developer fixes what we do not like (obviously) and builds a really nice project on this lot. We are all for that. We also hope that people realize that what they do now will linger, not just in the one project, but in all manners of surrounding projects. By settling and lowering expectations, we lower the quality of our city. It is fine to have this one event, but this story is not over. And things like this will keep happening.
Now, fix the code and stop settling. Tampa really does deserve better – and not just here.
Downtown – Grant Block Moves Forward
It seems that the Grant Block apartment building is getting closer to getting built.
While we are not huge fans of this design – it could easily have been made much better – but it will be good to have construction in the heart of downtown on something other than a midrise, stick construction building and it will be good to have more residents. Hopefully, if the streetcar extension goes up Florida, the City will not rue not trying to get a better, more lively design rather than settling for a dead streetscape.
USF – Med School Moves Forward
There was news that the Med School relocation process is moving forward.
Setting aside that less than a year to decide move the med school is not a long time (though maybe the “pre-planning” took a while), so be it. When will the new school open?
With new BOG approval, USF expects to open the new facility in August 2019.
In other words, unless something odd happens, those who applied to the USF med school this year will not be in med school when the downtown campus opens, which kind of proves our point when we said that the improvement of candidates for the med school this year has little to nothing to do with the med school move. (See “USF – Med School Achievement and the Hype” ) Regardless of the overblown rhetoric and misleading hype, if it is going to happen, we hope it is very successful and does not hurt the main campus. And USF should be proud that it is drawing better applicants.
West Tampa/Built Environment – On Transformations
This week the Mayor suggested that some of the BP oil spill money should be used to redo Riverfront Park. While some of the proposed changes are good, we are not supportive of flattening the whole park. Though leave the big mound – and note that once again the Times used this picture of the main mound for an article, this time on the budget.
From the Times – click on picture for the article
Why? Because they are unusual, have merit – at least in creating a vertical element – and people like them.
Setting that aside, what is the reasoning for using that money?
While fixing the park would be nice (if it were really to be fixed and made truly unique in the area), is that really the most transformative thing for the neighborhood? We suggest there is something that would be much more transformative – changing the code. For instance, per URBN Tampa Bay:
This is just another example of not creating an urban corridor where one should exist. It is obvious that Rome (and Cass) should be a walkable, mixed use, urban street with commercial. (Even the InVision planning makes reference to commercial on Rome and Cass. ) Yet, here we have another project that completely ignores that. In fact, as far as we can tell, there is only one proposal for Rome that has any retail. (Not to mention Cass) Having a nice park is good. Having proper development that really creates an urban neighborhood would be even better.
If the City wants to spend money fixing up the park, fine. But fix the code to actually fix the neighborhood. And do not settle. Even north of Kennedy deserves better.
Economy – Housing Market
Going back to the theme of improving but not as much as other areas, we look at the housing market:
While yes, the market is getting better and prices are going up, the fact that we can have the third largest decrease in foreclosures and still have the worst rate shows how badly our previous economic model worked and how far we have to work to really catch up. It is better, but it is not nearly good enough. And it is an interesting comparison to other areas.
Economic Development – Start-Ups
There was a column in the Times about the start-up scene in the Tampa Bay area. Actually, to be more exact, it was about the resources for start-ups in the area. The first thing one notices reading the column is that those resources are fragmented. However, at least there is a recognition that maybe they should cooperate a little better.
On Friday, a regional group known as the Entrepreneurial Pow Wow met at the Poynter Institute. The downtown St. Petersburg journalism school (and owner of the Tampa Bay Times) has set aside portions of its building to house the Innovation Lab, where startups can lease space. The Pow Wow gathers key bay area people who are affiliated with incubators, university programs, business support groups and other startup interests to discuss ways to boost the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
And all that is good, though, as noted:
It is a step forward, and we are all for the website. It is a good idea. Whether it is a leap will be decided by this:
Right. Except for that misses one unstated – but very major – point. Not only do we need startups to become substantial businesses. We need them to stay and grow here. This area has had businesses start here and grow. However, too often they either move or sell themselves to companies from other areas. One of the big problems is lack of money. Of course, money will come with success, but that is a chicken and egg problem.
So, we are moving forward, and it appears to be more regional. All of which is good. How fast and whether we are keeping pace with other areas is still an open question. We look forward to the day we write about actual companies that are successful and growing rather than the process of running incubators.
Rocky Point – It Deserves Better, Too
This week there was more news on a project proposed for Rocky Point.
That is all theoretically fine, provided the development is good. Rocky Point has long been a lost opportunity. It could have been turned into a real live, work, play (stay) area. (Yes, there are ways to deal with the Causeway.) It has hotels, offices, restaurants, apartments. All of it. But it is a mess.
So what will this project be like?
From public records – click on picture for bigger version
That will not do anything to make Rocky Point nicer. Yes, this fits with what Rocky Point is now, but Rocky Point could have been a cool, mixed use neighborhood. However, after all the settling, it is just a car-focused blob.
TIA – When You Stop Going Along to Get Along
In the run-up to the start of Lufthansa service, there was a nice column in the Tribune regarding the airport, incentives, and the airport director’s efforts to bring international flights.
Which is the proper attitude, though an attitude not shared by most people in the area at the time. (check out the articles linked below for some of the influential people who just went along with the failed strategy.) Luckily, some shared it.
Except for, as the article shows, the critics were actually wrong. Orlando and Miami may handle more international passengers (Orlando to some degree because the previous director stopped competing), but we can get flights – and we are getting flights. It is also interesting that, under the previous director, it was policy that Tampa should not use incentives:
A critic of the airport’s efforts to recruit international carriers says more needs to be done.
And we did not get international flights. (The previous director also argued that Orlando did not use incentives.)
Now, we use incentives and are successfully getting, retaining, and expanding service. And, interestingly, Orlando now uses incentives, too. Yes, you have to have demand, but you need to get the flight to show you have the demand. Thankfully, the airport director and his staff get it.
The really interesting thing is that the whole international flights idea required going against much of the local political culture and consensus. It required people who were not content with the local hype and local politics and saw something better could be done. And it involved getting people would create and execute a plan soberly and without more silly hype. Luckily, that was done. That was a real change in our DNA.
Meanwhile, In the Rest of the Country
— What Can a Billion Buy These Days
As regular readers know, since the announcement of the Lightning owner’s project (which, once again, we like), we have been looking at various billion dollar projects around the country just to keep a bit of realism in the hype filled coverage. This week, someone posted a reference to another project on URBN Tampa Bay, so we decided to check it out. This specific project is in Milwaukee.
The first thing to note is that this plan requires some public funding for the arena, which is not an issue in Tampa. Other than that, it sounds very familiar to this:
Which is fine, but does provide context. As does this about Milwaukee’s downtown:
And basically everything else in this article on Milwaukee’s downtown vision.
Like we said, we very much hope the Lightning owner’s plan is successful – and even denser. Our point is more to the hype surrounding it – which, it should be noted, does not really emanate from the Lightning owner. (Yes, he is marketing his project like any good businessman, but he is quite restrained.) We would not trade Tampa for Milwaukee. We think we have much better natural assets. However, it always has to be remembered that the project has competition and, as good as it may be, keep it in perspective.
— Desert Rail
Arizona (hardly a left wing stronghold) is considering building intercity rail.
Annual operations and maintenance costs also vary from $66.8 million to $85.9 million.
The per-mile operating costs varied from $557,668 to $669,240.
Both Phoenix and Tucson have rail. Now they are considering (just considering, it has to be said) rail to connect them. (It also needs to be noted that the map in the article seems to indicate that while the route may be between airports, it runs through downtowns.) We could have already been riding such rail to Orlando. As it stands, if All Aboard Florida is actually built (and, as has been reported, the first expansion is to Jacksonville), we are likely to be the only major area of Florida without a rail connection to other cities. We are still waiting for an actual plan to expand the streetcar and/or connect downtown to the airport.
— Google Town
Getting back to startup scenes (discussed above), there was an interesting article on Google Fiber in Kansas City. (You can read it here). It talks about how the startup scene has been helped. However, it is not Pollyannaish at all. It discusses social issues, problems with business, and a host of other things. We are not going to get into the details, including the social disruptions, you can read it.
For the purposes of start-up culture, one thing that was interesting was this:
Sounds familiar.
List of the Week I
Our first list this week is niche.com’s Best Cities for Millennials. The methodology can be found here.
We will list the top 25. Coming in first is Cambridge (MA), followed by Manhattan, Alexandria (VA), San Francisco, Jersey City, Seattle, DC, Berkeley (CA), Boston, NYC, Denver, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor, Brooklyn, Sunnyvale (CA), Austin, Madison, Portland (OR), Bellevue (WA), Santa Clara (CA), Pittsburgh, Rochester (MN), Queens, Chicago, and Tempe. We are not sure why they feel the need to list all the boroughs of NYC as well as NYC overall, but whatever.
Florida does not do so well. Orlando is 44th, Ft. Lauderdale is 52nd, Tampa is 61st (just above Lexington, KY and Buffalo and just below Dallas and Grand Rapids), and Gainesville is 66th.
List of the Week II
Our second list this week is wallethub’s list of Least & Most Recession-Recovered Cities. It was featured in the Times, which noted:
So who was at the top of the list? Lubbock, followed by Denver, Corpus Christi, Anchorage, Houston, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Fayetteville (NC), El Paso Pittsburgh Sioux Falls San Jose Austin, Oxnard (CA), Jersey City, Boston, Nashville, Durham, Seattle, Fort Worth, Raleigh, Madison, St. Paul, and Miami.
So a lot of Texas and the usual suspects. No surprise there. As we often say, lists are not the be-all and end-all of how you are doing, but it would be good if we were consistently among the usual suspects (rather than average).
tampasphere 