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Funds Promised For Oaks Center

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By KATHY STEELE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2007

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - With money falling into place and a land lease with the city nearly ready, a community center at the Oaks at Riverview could open in 2008.

The city council on Thursday approved contributing $500,000 toward the $1.3 million project at Florida Avenue and Kirby Street. The Tampa Housing Authority will own the building, and the city will provide a long-term lease for a portion of Riverview Terrace Park, 7700 N. Florida Ave., where the center will be built.

'Attorneys are working on the details,' the authority's chief operations officer, Leroy Moore, said.

Construction is expected to start in January. The housing authority will operate the facility, which will include a meeting room, library, video and game rooms, and an arts and crafts room.

The $500,000 is the final installment of $2 million approved by the city for the Oaks project, which began construction in 2004 and opened a year later. The money was earmarked for infrastructure, including roads, sewer, water and recreation.

The Oaks is a mixed-income community of apartments, town houses and single-family homes for families and seniors. The complex, which is privately managed, replaced the housing authority's 60-year-old cinder block apartments at Riverview Terrace.

A federal grant provided about $20 million of the nearly $100 million construction cost for the Oaks, with other funding from county bonds, state tax credits, private sources and the city.

A portion of the community center project will be paid with money from home sales, Moore said.

The housing authority also donated vacant land to Hillsborough County for a senior center at Florida and Kirby, across from the park and planned community center.

County records show about $2.4 million has been allocated for design and construction costs for the Riverview Terrace Senior Center through fiscal year 2008-09, with an anticipated completion in June 2009.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 835-2103 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

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