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Owners Have Plans For Vacant Collins Lot

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By GEORGE WILKENS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

PLANT CITY - The owners of Snellgrove's Restaurant, a family owned downtown institution for nearly a half-century, have specific plans for their vacant property across the street - as soon as the economy turns around.

Responding to one city commissioner's recent comments that the vacant South Collins Street lot is a downtown "eyesore," Snellgrove's co-owner Tammy Devane said the property has been vastly improved since she and her husband, Curtis, acquired it.

Addressing the void created by the 2005 fire that destroyed nearly a block of historic downtown, Commissioner Mike Sparkman called it "a blighted area in the heart of our city." Speaking at a July 28 budget workshop, Sparkman likened it to "something you expect to see in Europe in World War II."

For now, the corner parcel from the Whistle Stop Cafe, 102 S. Collins St., south to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is a parking lot for Snellgrove's Restaurant, on the opposite side of Collins.

Following a plan developed for the previous owner of a portion of the property, the Devanes plan to erect there a three-story building to include a mix of residential and retail.

"I can't give a time frame, but it's not going to be today or tomorrow," said Tammy Devane, citing the poor economy blamed for many empty storefronts, including two adjacent to the landmark restaurant, 109 S. Collins. "For right now it doesn't make sense," she said of the pricey project.

Their plans call for spending more than $3 million for a brick structure that would complement surrounding historic buildings. The building would include 4,424 square feet of ground-floor retail space, plus 2,249 square feet of space to possibly accommodate a new Snellgrove's Restaurant. Three two-story apartments would occupy the upper floors. There would be 10,549 square feet of parking in a rear lot.

The plan was created in September 2005 by Tampa architect Stephanie Ferrell for entrepreneur David Hawthorne, who then owned the northern half of the fire site.

Hillsborough County property records show Hawthorne sold the .2-acre property to the Devanes in November 2007 for $125,000. They bought an adjacent parcel of about the same size from Dennis Spurlock for $165,000 in February. Both properties had been vacant since the February 2005 arson fire.

The parking lot is far superior to what it replaced - a gaping fire site dotted with foundations of burned-out buildings, overgrown with weeds and retaining rainwater in low-lying areas, Tammy Devane said.

The parking lot serves not only Snellgrove's, but accommodates customers and delivery trucks for neighboring businesses, she said. "I think it's good for everybody right now," with downtown parking tight, she said.

She questions whether many residents and downtown merchants concur with Sparkman's assessment that the property is an eyesore. "I would think if people didn't like it, they'd complain," adding she has heard nothing negative from customers.

Were anyone to have a complaint, she said, it would likely be about the walls of bordering buildings made visible by the fire, not the parking lot. "Those aren't my buildings. I don't know what I can do," she said.

Sparkman said the Devanes' proposed project would be "fantastic, an ideal situation" for the site. Sparkman said he has had positive response from residents since he complained about the property's appearance at a city commission meeting last month. "I've had an awful lot of positive comments about it; people do think it's tearing the heart out of our downtown," Sparkman said.

The Devanes emphasize the southern half of the lot at 110 S. Collins was still owned by Spurlock in February when the 1974 "Reflection of a Town" mural at the property's south end was demolished.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or gwilkens@tampatrib.com.

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