Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 7-17-20

Feature
West Tampa CRA Makes Inroads To Improve Community
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Four years ago, the West Tampa Community Re-devel- opment Area (CRA) came into existence. It is the newest or- ganization of its kind in the City of Tampa.
The CRA was developed and adopted the West Tampa Strategic Plan through an in- tensive community process over the course of a year. The organization keeps residents informed on the City of Tampa’s website. It has also created subcommittees to ad- dress the priorities of the area.
Joe Robinson, Chair- man of the organization shared some of the many ac- complishments that have taken place since its inception in the following area:
Housing: Developing a Homeowner Exterior Reha-
bilitation Program in partner- ship with the City’s Housing Division; Developing two ad- ditional programs in 2020 to assist with housing chal- lenges; and Hosted Home- stead Exemption Workshop.
Infrastructure: Façade Grant Program on Addressing Litter, alley clean-up, and community-wide SWEEPS; Lighting, sidewalks, and secu- rity cameras along Main Street; Updating the West Tampa Overlay District; and Parking challenges in West Tampa.
Economic Develop- ment: Addressing workforce development, brownfields, marketing, small business de- velopment, and land banking
Special Events: Exe- cuted Two Unity West Tampa Historical & Cultural Festivals at Julian B. Lane (JBL) River- front Park in 2018 and 2019; and Supported: Flavor of
JOE ROBINSON Chairman, West Tampa CRA
West Tampa: Sangria and Ci- gars event in 2019 at JBL Park; Joining Together Elim- inating Poverty 24M Dads 5k Run; and West Tampa June- teenth Festival.
Other accomplishments in this area are: Community De- velopment of Art/Mural at Salcines Park, and its installa-
tion; Partnered with Rebuild- ing Tampa Bay to bring im- provements to Rey Park; Finalizing Newsletter Layout; Hosted a variety of speakers on services available to resi- dents and businesses; Hosted an FDOT tour of West Tampa; Participated in an FRA tour of West Tampa and FRA Conference held in Tampa in 2019; and Working with Metropolitan Ministries to have a West Tampa Com- munity Tent for the Super Bowl in Tampa in 2021. From MLK Birthday until week of Super Bowl.
While its members are proud of the accomplish- ments of the organization so far, their plans for the area continue.
Private Sector Invest- ments: Clinical Research of West Tampa of Psomi Restau- rant; Bay Cannon Beer Com- pany; Views at North Hyde
Park Apartments; Cass Street Deli; 301 N. Rome Apart- ments; and the Tampa Hous- ing Authority is underway with the construction of Ren- aissance at West River and other facilities.
TIF and non-TIF Funded Capital Improve- ments: The City of Tampa is constructing the Cypress Street Outfall; the project consists of the construction of a dual box culvert from the existing stub at Cass and North Blvd to Rome Ave. An- other box culvert will connect at Cass and Rome Ave. and run south towards Kennedy Blvd.; and The City of Tampa has completed the design for phase two of the East-West Green Spine Cycle track; the project consists of an urban trail/cycle track along Cass Street, to connect North Hyde Park from Howard to the Hillsborough River.
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