Tampa City Council Votes to Use Eminent Domain in Tampa Heights Development

Strategic Insights -

The Tampa City Council voted unanimously to begin eminent domain proceedings in Tampa Heights if necessary, to facilitate the development of a 60-acre master-planned community with nearly 2,000 homes. The area, roughly bounded by North Boulevard, Ross Avenue, Tampa Street, and the Hillsborough River, has been identified as a neglected and economically depressed neighborhood. A development team, including developer Bill Bishop and Lazydays RV SuperCenter founder Don Wallace, has already paid top dollar for properties in the area.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Tampa City Council voted unanimously to begin eminent domain proceedings in Tampa Heights if necessary, to facilitate the development of a 60-acre master-planned community with nearly 2,000 homes.
  • The development team, including developer Bill Bishop and Lazydays RV SuperCenter founder Don Wallace, has already paid top dollar for properties in the area, with one property owner selling a vacant parcel for $200,000 in August.
  • Fewer than a dozen property owners remain as holdouts, with the developers seeking city assistance to acquire their properties.
  • City Attorney David Smith stated that the Tampa Heights case serves a public purpose and meets the statutory criteria for slum and blight.
  • Some property owners, including Julia Jackson and Carmen Brown Johnson, do not want to sell their properties and are willing to fight the taking through the courts.
  • The developers have offered good prices to property owners, with one resident receiving $700,000 for their seven parcels of land, valued at about $240,000 by the Hillsborough County property appraiser.
  • City Council members, including Rose Ferlita, believe the developers' proposal benefits the public and will help revitalize the economically depressed neighborhood.

Statistics:

  • The development team has already paid top dollar for properties in the area, with one property owner selling a vacant parcel for $200,000 in August.
  • Fewer than a dozen property owners remain as holdouts, with the developers seeking city assistance to acquire their properties.
  • The Hillsborough County property appraiser values Julia Jackson's seven parcels of land at about $240,000, while she has been offered $700,000 for all of her land.
  • The Tampa Heights area has been identified as a neglected and economically depressed neighborhood.
  • A study in 1999 determined the area suffered from slum and blight, and the city turned it into a community redevelopment area.
  • The city has collected some property taxes from the neighborhood and reinvested them directly back into the area.

Sources:

  • Tampa City Council
  • Carmen Brown Johnson
  • Julia Jackson
  • Bill Bishop
  • Lazydays RV SuperCenter founder Don Wallace
  • Bank of America
  • City Attorney David Smith
  • Rose Ferlita
  • Hillsborough County property appraiser