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Channel District Still Young At Art

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By JANIS D. FROELICH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 21, 2008

CHANNEL DISTRICT - Under better circumstances, Leith ter Meulen would have been addressing a packed house when she unveiled the results of her six-month study of what's needed to make this emerging urban neighborhood an art mecca.

But sluggish condominium sales coupled with a lack of retail means the community stands as a rather quiet victim of the economic downturn.
Ter Meulen told the 30 or so people at her June 12 presentation that the community should become a cultural production district. That would mean not so much competing with Ybor City, which has many art galleries nearby, but being more a place where organizations such as the Stageworks theater company are welcome.

Stageworks plans to move into donated space in the Grand Central at Kennedy condo complex next year.

Although Artists Unlimited, an artists' co-op, has closed, ter Meulen said the Channel District has Rustic Steel Creations and a dance studio run by Luisa Meshekoff. The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center also is considering reopening a small dance studio here.

"There's still a great core," she said.

She proposed a full-time art director to work under the direction of the Tampa Downtown Partnership initially. As the Channel District's population grows, the position would expand to a leadership role in a development corporation, similar to Ybor City's.

She also suggested that vacant storefronts in about a dozen condominium projects should display art.

"There's not a lot happening in those windows," ter Meulen said, adding that light shows and silent movies also could be considered.

She would like to see catchy artwork painted on industrial silos bordering the district.

"Turn eyesores into icons," said ter Meulen, who was paid $40,000 in local property taxes for the study.

Sculptures and other art also could be displayed near trolley stops and shelters.

The New York City resident, who helped redesign Times Square, said she likes the dragon-themed works of Rustic Steel owner Dominique Martinez and said something similar could be a symbol for the Channel District.

Martinez said he would be happy to make a dragon to decorate a community entranceway.

"It'd be a great icon for the neighborhood," he said.

The city council will consider the arts study this summer.

The next step for the Channel District is a branding study to determine how the area should be identified. Attendees at last week's presentation at The Florida Aquarium said there continues to be confusion over the Channel District versus the Channelside Bay Plaza retail and entertainment complex.

Signs and some type of boundary markers should fix that, ter Meulen said.

For information on the Channel District arts study, contact Bob McDonaugh, the city's urban development manager, at (813) 274-8245 or bob.mcdonaugh@tampagov .net.

Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (81) 259-7657 or

jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

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