Page 3 - DemoFlorida Sentinel 3-5-21

Feature
City Of Tampa Hanna Avenue Municipal Facility Plan Taken Before City Council
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The facility will house about 500 employees
Members of Tampa City Council will hear 2 Resolu- tions during its Thursday session to discuss the Hanna Avenue Municipal Facility plan. That plan will cover a new facility to house the city’s municipal offices in East Tampa. This may be the first major project of this type that the City has under- taken. This project is one of Mayor Castor’s promises to bring government into the neighborhoods.
Each Council member will hear about the $6.2 mil- lion project to transpose Hanna Avenue, between 22nd and 30th Streets, into a new development.
The Sentinel spoke with Sal Ruggiero, Deputy Ad- ministrator,
Infrastructure Services, City of Tampa, about the project. He said Resolutions 62-63 as presented individually to Council members, will dis- cuss the final design and clearing of land at 2515 E. Hanna Ave.
Formerly, the site held a cable company and ware- house – General Cable Cor- poration – that made and sold a variety of electrical and cable products.
The City of Tampa pur- chased the 11 acres of land in 2014 with plans of moving city offices there. Ruggiero said his office has been studying the property for about a year, and are now prepared to present the res- olutons to the Council.
Offices expected to oc- cupy the building will in- clude: Code Enforcement, Economic Development, Construction, Workforce, Minority Development, and Information Technology. Also on the property will be the headquarters for Fleet Maintenance.
“These facilities will serve more than one pur- pose. There will be opportu- nities for training and employment,” he explained.
City Councilman Or- lando Gudes agrees that the project will be a win-win for the City and for the com- munity. “The project will bring an economic impact, workforce of jobs, activity to the area for people to spend money, and it’s a way to bring city services to the people. We just want to make sure the community embraces it,” he said.
When asked about the increase in traffic in the area, Ruggiero said trans- portation engineers have studied the area and don’t see where there will be any problems. “We will be checking to make sure there are no impact changes in the roadway. “Even though there will be 500 employees coming into the area, they won’t all be coming and leaving at the same time,” he said.
Also, the unused railroad track right next to the prop- erty may be of use in the fu- ture if and when the topic of rail comes up.
There was also a question about contamination on the land. Ruggiero said the land has been treated since 2015 and the contamination level is going down. “The treatments will continue even after the demolition of the current buildings to get the level down and the ground water clear. There are no wells in the area.”
Also on the grounds will be a Public Safety Center housed on a site currently owned by the County. That 3-story building will house the 3 top officials of the Tampa Police Dept. – Chief and 2 Assistant Chiefs.
“Putting these 2 build- ings in East Tampa will en- hance economic development, and will add a positive outlook for the com- munity,” Ruggiero said.
Plans call for the comple- tion of these Category 4 buildings by March 2023.
Those who wish to com- ment on the project may call, or go to the second floor of the old City Hall to com- ment in person.
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