Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 4-22-16 Edition

Features
Laundromat Owner Believes In Clean, Operating Facilities
PALM RIVER SQUARE LAUNDROMAT
TAMPA COIN LAUNDROMAT
Grand Opening Held For New ‘Bro Bowl’
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Plans to convert a strip of land just west of the Encore site into a park were discussed more than a decade ago. It was during that time a funding source was sought for the project that would be called Perry Harvey, Sr. Park.
As the city was preparing to move ahead with renovating the land, an obstacle called “The Bro Bowl” stood in their way.
The “Bro Bowl” is the name that was given to the skate- boarding rink at the park that was constructed in 1976.
Shannon Bruffet, Direc- tor of the Tampa Chapter of Skateboarding Heritage, peti- tioned the city, state, and fed- eral government to have the skateboarding rink declared a historic landmark. That meant it couldn’t be moved from its present location, and that meant plans for the park were put on hold.
City of Tampa historian, Fred Hearns, speaking on behalf of the city, attended all of the meetings involving Bruffet’s efforts to have the rink designated as historic, and at first it looked like the park would never get off the drawing board.
After a lot of discussions, and mediating by Andre White, a compromise was reached, and Bruffet agreed to the construction of a new state-of-the–art-rink north of
The New Bro Bowl
where the original “Bro Bowl” is located.
Construction began on Perry Harvey, Sr. Park and the new Bro Bowl, and two weeks ago, the park was officially dedi- cated.
This past Saturday, with Mayor Bob Buckhorn, a formal dedication of the new skateboarding rink was held.
Hearns said the biggest challenge was getting Bruffet and his group to agree to the rink being moved.
“There was also some con- cern about the cost of the new rink. I didn’t want to see funds diverted from the park for the skateboarding rink.
“Although the cost of the rink exceeded expectations, I think in the end everything turned out alright.”
Hearns said he’d still like to see a performance arena similar to the one at Water Works Park be constructed at
FRED HEARNS
the park.
“We need to have a place to
hold our events, and Perry Harvey Park would be per- fect.
“The city went the extra mile to appease the skateboard community, thanks to people in high places in Tallahassee.”
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Using a Laundromat can be a frustrating experience. You can find some that have wash- ers and dryers that never seem to work, and their overall facil- ities aren’t clean. One of the most telling points is the ab- sence of an attendant at the fa- cility.
When Ada Carey and her partners decided to look into a business venture, she thought owning Laundromats was per- fect.
“What better way can you provide a community with a service they desperately need better than opening a Laun- dromat.”
Carey and her partners have taken over the operations of a pair of Laundromats, and are looking for more.
Right now, the Tampa Coin Laundry at 1613 East Dr. Mar- tin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, and the Palm River Square Laundromat, 7815 Palm River Road, have been purchased by Carey and her partners, and the first thing they did was make sure everything was op- erational.
“We talked about various business interests, and owning Laundromats seemed to be the right move for us,” said Carey.
“We looked around and were lucky to come up with two that were up and running. They both had a lot of potential and just needed upgrades.”
What’s now featured at these locations that wasn’t there be- fore are alteration services and dry cleaning.
“We think Laundromats are great assets to a community, and so many of them are run- down and unattended,” said Carey.
“We didn’t want that. We wanted clean facilities with all the equipment up and running, and an attendant to help with any problems.”
Carey said they are now looking to put children centers inside their buildings to help parents.
“In the past, we partnered with a program that offers free laundry services once-a- month, and we’d like to get them back.
“We strongly believe that the place you bring your clothes to be cleaned needs to be clean, and have someone there to help you. That’s why we’re looking to pick up more Laun- dromats in the area and trans- form them.”
FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B