The Central Tampa News & Tribune
Ex-Fishing Village Hooked On Future
Tampa Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH
Bermuda Vista is a new development that will be located on McKay Bay.
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Published: April 30, 2008
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PALMETTO BEACH - Tom Taylor walks into the center of DeSoto Park to marvel at the stately clump of tall, skinny pine trees and oaks draped with moss.
"It's all about the trees," he said. "This neighborhood has wonderful shade."
As the new president of the Palmetto Beach Community Association, Taylor believes the area is finally able to see the forest for the trees, metaphorically speaking. Things are coming together for the former fishing village along the shores of McKay Bay near downtown.
That hasn't always been the case. But Taylor credits the hard work of his predecessor, Darlene Guzman, and the vision held by residents.
Taylor did his homework before moving in, learning the history of the community's three cigar factories and former trolley route, all of which once made Palmetto Beach a popular place. A hurricane destroyed most of the area in 1921, so the homes date mostly from the 1920s.
Taylor, 37, his wife, Cindy, 38, and their 10-month-old son, Luke, live in a 1922-built home on the same block as the former V. Guerrieri cigar factory, 202 S. 22nd St., built in 1899.
Taylor, a contractor, said they are putting "sweat equity" into their fixer-upper, having moved in in May 2006 after six months' work on the place. They wanted a nice community in which to raise Luke and an older home they could renovate.
When they finally settled in, Taylor dropped into a community association meeting, and he was voted into the top spot recently.
Like a handful of other new residents looking for a similar urban experience, the Taylors believe in the future of this waterfront area.
Many of the past challenges have been overcome, such as the long wait for landscaping on the 20th Street Bypass, a Florida Department of Transportation route to keep trucks off 22nd Street, the community's main street. The six-lane bypass was completed in 2004, and residents waited more than three years for palm trees, flowers and shrubs in the median.
In spring 2006, a dilapidated houseboat that had been docked in the bay for years was mostly destroyed by fire and then finally removed.
After much emotional discourse, all but one of the houses on Long Street, part of the 32 parcels to be cleared by DOT south of Adamo Drive, have been bulldozed to make way for a trucks-only ramp to Interstate 4. Construction is to begin in 2009, DOT spokeswoman Kris Carson said.
While the community, founded in the 1890s, has applied for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, projects are in various stages of development.
The Bermuda Vista complex, which will have 20,000 square feet of retail and 75 condominiums, soon will have a sales trailer on its property along 22nd and Bermuda Boulevard. Developer Gary Gauthier said 49 boat slips are planned near the McKay Bay dock, where there used to be a crab shack.
Hoping To Net More Members
In summer 2009, Swedish furniture giant Ikea is set to open a store at 22nd and Adamo.
Just west of the community, Gibraltar Development Corp. plans a hotel, residences and retail space at North Ybor Channel.
As for the community association, a bilingual newsletter is ready for delivery to 700 homes, and www.palmettobeach.org has been online about a month.
Yard signs post the group's monthly meetings. Taylor wants membership to grow from its current 45; annual dues are $10.
He hopes the three-story Guerrieri factory, vacant since Christmas 2000, becomes condominiums. "I'll be pretty excited when that proceeds," he said. "We see plywood fall out of the building every once in a while."
Swim Season Shortened
Right now, he's irked that the pool at DeSoto Park, 2601 Stuart St., will open only from May to August because of budget constraints. "It stinks," he said of the shortened swim season.
This summer, a University of South Florida intern will work in the community under the direction of geography professor Elizabeth Strom. The urban studies project is part of a Bank of America grant.
Taylor would like the intern to research other communities and bring information to share. Also, there's a need to determine what questions Palmetto Beach residents have.
A Clean & Safe program is also under way by the community association. At the meetings, residents are updated on problems from code violations to feral cats.
Architect Paul Jackson, who works from his Oceanview Drive home near the 20th Street Bypass, said he's happy to see young couples such as the Taylors move into Palmetto Beach.
"We've had false starts before, but those usually involved proposed buildings that never went in," said Jackson, a 22-year resident. "But this time it's about people moving in, so that's good."
Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.
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