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City OKs More For Pond Project

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By KATHY STEELE

ksteele@tampatrib.com

Published: January 14, 2009

EAST TAMPA - The makeover of a retention pond along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard into a community lake will be bolstered by an additional $158,000 for upgrades, bringing the total cost of the project to about $1.5 million
Tampa City Council members, acting on a recommendation by the East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership, last week approved the added expense.

This is the second East Tampa retention pond the city has developed into a lake. The first pond makeover - Fair Oaks Community Lake - was completed last year. It is near the Fair Oaks Recreation Center, 5019 N. 34th St.

Construction on the Martin Luther King pond, between 17th and 19th streets, is set to begin in February. Completion is anticipated within a year.

The additional money approved by council members will pay for benches, bicycle racks, signs, an exercise course and an aerator system which were not part of the original design.

Residents and the partnership years ago lobbied for a pilot project for three retention pond makeovers, referring to the ponds as community eyesores. East Tampa has more retention ponds than any area in the city.

Improvements to the Fair Oaks pond cost more than $900,000. With the Martin Luther King pond project costing about $1.5 million, the makeover expenses have exceeded initial estimates of about $500,000 per pond.

Rehabilitation of a third pond at 22nd and Chelsea streets is pending. The design for that pond is completed, said East Tampa redevelopment manager Ed Johnson. "We're still planning to do it but we have to wait for funding opportunities."

Partnership chairwoman Evangeline Best said the pond makeovers enhance the neighborhood. "It is going to be a showcase," she said.

Still, she said, the partnership wants to be cautious given the economic downturn. It has agreed to hold off on improving the third pond.

The partnership works with the city to redevelop some 7 square miles bordered by Hillsborough Avenue, interstates 275 and 4, and the city limits.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.

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