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Commissioner Concerned With Site Of 2005 Fire

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By GEORGE WILKENS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 31, 2008

PLANT CITY The 2005 fire that destroyed nearly a block of historic downtown created a void one Plant City commissioner calls an eyesore and a blight.
"It looks like it's bombed out," Mike Sparkman told fellow commissioners during Tuesday's budget workshop that included reference to the midtown project. Calling it "an eyesore to downtown" and "a blighted area in the heart of our city," Sparkman urged improvements be made there before proceeding with the planned redevelopment of the 85-acre midtown area to the south.
The corner parcel from the Whistle Stop Café, 102 S. Collins St., south to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard serves as a parking lot for Snellgrove's Restaurant, on the opposite side of Collins.
The open lot exposes the walls of bordering buildings, a view Sparkman wants blocked, one way or another. "I want to block off alleyways, backs of buildings to stop such an open eyesore," he said after the budget workshop.
The February 2005 fire destroyed near a block of historical buildings on Collins Street, although firefighters saved a wall decorated with a historical mural at Collins and the boulevard. Snellgrove's owner Curtis DeVane bought the site and earlier this year hired a contractor to tear down the wall and mural. He made the property into a parking lot.
Sparkman said improvement is necessary to protect the integrity of the downtown historic district. "We've got a lot of people who invested a lot of money downtown and are not going to tolerate that kind of an eyesore," he said. "You drive by there and it looks like something you expect to see in Europe in World War II."
Sparkman has asked Stephanie Ferrell, a Tampa architect who specializes in historic restoration, to outline the city's options.
DeVane couldn't be reached for comment.
Sparkman said the city needs to develop specifications to resolve the appearance of the site. Working with Assistant City Manager Greg Horwedel, within the next few months, Sparkman plans to draft a proposal for city commission consideration.
"I think basically what we as a government have to do is what is best for the community," said Sparkman, who did not rule out the city acquiring the property.
"We could take it by eminent domain for public use," he said. "We could resell it or do several different options. That's basic what we're look at: what should we do and what best serves our community?"

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