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City Agrees To Close Part Of Ward Street

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By MICHAEL H. SAMUELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 17, 2007

BEACH PARK - The war over Ward Street has ended.

A portion of the road between Kennedy Boulevard and Cleveland Street will be closed when Porter Development redevelops the Brazzeal Goodyear Tire shop into a four-story office and retail project that will include a Publix grocery store and fitness center.

No schedule is set for the project, which will include the Wachovia building on the east side of Ward. The road is being closed to prevent cut-through traffic in the northwestern portion of Beach Park.

The city council voted 4-3 to approve the closure, with John Dingfelder, Joseph Caetano, Charlie Miranda and Gwen Miller in favor and Linda Saul-Sena, Mary Mulhern and Tom Scott against.

The neighborhood was bitterly split.

"What has bothered me the most is seeing friends against friends, neighbors against neighbors, families against families," Miranda said at the Nov. 8 hearing.

Neighbors had harsh words for leaders of the Beach Park Homeowners Association, saying they weren't notified of meetings about the closure and questioning the leadership because no community vote was taken.

Association President Emmy Purcell Reynolds said the group's board of directors worked closely with the developer to come up with a laundry list of conditions to help the neighborhood.

Among them was closing Ward.

"I use Ward all the time," Reynolds said. "I will have to give up that convenience."

The road handles about 1,500 daily trips; the development is expected to produce 3,000 to 5,000 daily trips.

That's why it should be closed, said Mark Zajac, who lives on Azeele Street just off Ward.

"Those of us in the immediate vicinity have much more at stake," Zajac said. "There's already a tremendous amount of traffic in Beach Park. We want Beach Park to remain a family-friendly neighborhood and safe for children."

Other residents said Ward should not be closed because four other streets in the area have been blocked.

"All Beach Park residents will be saddened by the closing of Ward Street," Ben Bloomston said. "We all use it for our convenience."

Ron Weaver, who represents Porter, said the developer is working with the city on utility, water, sewer and maintenance easements.

"We are looking to move as quickly as possible on this," Weaver said. "We are looking to providing the community with an amenity that's much needed in this area."

Reporter Michael H. Samuels can be reached at (813) 835-2109 or msamuels@tampatrib.com.

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