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Marina Project Outlined

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By MARK HOLAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 5, 2007

WEST SHORE - The Tampa Port Authority will hear plans for a private 90-slip marina, canal dredging and other coastal work proposed as part of a major redevelopment of the Georgetown Apartments.

Fort Lauderdale-based developer Motta Group wants to dredge existing boat channels along the north and south borders of the 162-acre property along West Shore Boulevard. The developer also wants to expand the private marina on the south channel and excavate land to connect five stagnant canals on the site.

The port authority meets at 10 a.m. Friday at 1101 Channelside Drive.

Up to 99 additional slips could be built by property owners along the improved canal system, which hasn't been fully developed since Georgetown was built in the late 1960s.

'We're excited about our ability to take the current dead-end canals and improve them for an exciting project, and at the same time improve the overall water quality,' said Roy Paskow, a principal of the company.

The coastal work also includes building sea walls and installing riprap to prevent erosion and protect the shoreline.

The project, known as the Westshore Beach Club, would tear down 624 apartments and replace them with a mix of 1,249 condominiums, town homes and single-family houses, according to plans filed with the city.

Georgetown tenants must vacate by the end of October.

Motta wants to dredge about 7 acres of existing canals and excavate slightly more than 7 acres of canals and waterfront, according to plans filed with the port authority. The plans also show a boardwalk around the approximately 15-acre lagoon near the open waters of Old Tampa Bay.

Paskow declined to discuss details of the project, including what the company wants to build on the undeveloped western half of the property. Motta Group paid $125 million for the site in April 2005.

The waterfront work has conditional approval from several state and local agencies, with a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pending.

Nearby homeowner and neighborhood association leaders said they know little about the project.

The Georgetown property is just north of Gandy Boulevard, where boaters are protesting a condo and marina project they say would crowd a public boat ramp.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Public hearing on marina development at Westshore Beach Club, the former Georgetown Apartments
WHEN: 10 a.m. Friday

WHERE: Tampa Port Authority, 1101 Channelside Drive

INFORMATION: (813) 905-7678

Reporter Mark Holan can be reached at (813) 835-2102 or mholan@tampatrib.com.

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