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First Pond Project Nears Completion

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By KATHY STEELE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 19, 2008

Updated: 03/17/2008 09:33 pm

EAST TAMPA - A pond makeover at Fair Oaks Community Center should be ready for an unveiling within a month.

Construction on the retention pond, 5019 34th St., began in November, almost two years after the city proposed a pilot project to transform three ponds at Fair Oaks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 19th Street, and 22nd and Chelsea streets.

Local property taxes will pay the estimated cost of $1.5 million.

East Tampa redevelopment manager Ed Johnson gave the council an update on the ponds at a Community Redevelopment Agency meeting Thursday.

"This is the first-of-its-kind project Tampa has undertaken," Johnson said. "Over the years, the ponds had created kind of a nuisance. It's just a hole in the ground with water."

Residents have complained for years that many of East Tampa's retention ponds are eyesores and could be used for development or parks.

"This neighborhood has been really, really eager to see that this is going on," Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena said.

East Tampa has among the city's largest concentration of ponds, with an estimated 19 scattered over 67 acres. A 2004 study by the Hillsborough Planning Commission questioned the need for so many, but stormwater officials said the ponds protect against flooding.

Through the years, unsightly chain-link fences were removed and bollards installed, but residents said they wanted more done.

The project is a partnership of city departments, the University of South Florida's Department of Architecture and the East Tampa Redevelopment Office.

The Fair Oaks pond will have walkways, a gazebo, a water spray and a drinking fountain.

Soon after its completion, work will begin on the pond at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Johnson said. It will have walkways, a shelter, a boardwalk jutting into the pond and drinking fountains. Students from nearby Young Middle School will be able to use the pond for science projects. Completion is expected by the fall.

A timeline for the 22nd Street pond is pending due to escalating costs.

The city allocated $500,000 for each pond, but the Fair Oaks site will cost more than $800,000.

"Each pond is coming in at a different price," Johnson said. "We may have to go back for additional funds for the third pond."

Negotiations are under way with contractors Gibbs & Register to retool designs and trim costs.

Johnson said the long delay was due in part to contractors' reluctance to bid pond by pond. It was only when the ponds were bundled into a single contract that bids came in, he said. The 22nd Street pond will be the most challenging, Johnson said.

"It's a large pond with steep banks and not a lot of space to do pretty stuff," he said.

The initial design includes a bus stop and a covered market area where local vendors can sell their wares.

"We think it's something that will be greatly received by the community," he said.

Once the ponds are complete, the city could expand the program. Councilwoman Gwen Miller recommended an Osborne Avenue pond for the next project.

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

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