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Business owners on the north side of West Bay Drive wonder how they fit in Largo's redevelopment efforts.
By ERIC STIRGUS
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 8, 2001
LARGO -- Adam Gentile is feeling a little neglected by the city.
Gentile owns Largo Feed, a business that sells pet food. The store is on West Bay Drive between Missouri Avenue and Clearwater-Largo Road, the center of the city's planned redevelopment efforts.
Gentile has heard about the city's vision for the area: small specialty shops, trendy cafes and restaurants and new townhouses or condos. He wonders whether that vision includes his business and the others along that stretch of the busy thoroughfare.
Yes, the city has almost finished a road-widening project on West Bay Drive, complete with retro-style street lights. And yes, the city plans to create a program to fix up the facades of those businesses.
But Gentile believes city officials would like to see his and other businesses along the north side of West Bay Drive move elsewhere.
"I've always felt that," he said. "We don't fit into the grand scale of boutique-style places."
City officials deny the charge, but some developers, well-respected business leaders and others say the question of the economic viability of the north side of West Bay Drive is one of several issues that must be resolved as Largo pursues its efforts to spur economic growth in its downtown.
Some are skeptical that the 73/4 acres the city wants to sell to a developer to build a mix of retail, residential and commercial space is large enough to fit such disparate uses. There is also the question of whether the city will have to provide financial incentives to strike a deal with a developer.
"No developer builds completely out of their own pocket," said George de Guardiola, a West Palm Beach developer who tried, but failed, to work out an arrangement with Clearwater to develop its downtown last summer.
Still, de Guardiola and others see many positives in the city's efforts thus far. They said it was important for city commissioners to approve a list of objectives for what they want in the area, which they did at a meeting last week.
"All these things they said are the right things," de Guardiola said of the objectives.
Largo's lack of a blueprint hampered its failed efforts to work out a deal on the city-owned property, said John Skicewicz, who has marketed commercial space on West Bay Drive.
"It really fouled up the process," said Skicewicz, regional commercial director of Arvida Realty Services, based in Clearwater. "It's easier now because they have a more concise vision."
Skicewicz sees several positives in downtown Largo. Largo Central Park, which he frequents, is one. The city's infrastructure improvements, which include the road widening and drainage improvements, are another.
The face of the businesses on the north side of West Bay Drive, however, is not on his list. Many of the buildings were constructed in the 1950s. Most are one-story. Some have noticeable lines in their white exteriors that could best be described as beauty marks.
"The buildings are old," Gentile said.
Fred Thomas, the straight-talking former Clearwater city commissioner, doesn't like the view of the north side.
"I don't see anything upscale at all," said Thomas, who owns a Pinch-A-Penny pool supplies shop on Clearwater-Largo Road.
Thomas believes the developer who builds on the south side will have to create something extremely attractive to draw other businesses to the area and to make them forget about the appearance of the north side.
Such talk offends Ron Bortolini.
Bortolini owns a paint business of Clearwater-Largo Road. He has worked hard on redevelopment efforts on Clearwater-Largo Road and on West Bay Drive.
"If you want to destroy the identity of downtown and rebuild it in a homogenized fashion, you'll have your little Disney town with no traces of who we are and why we're there," he said.
Skicewicz believes the north side, with its tile shops and auto repair businesses, can mesh with the specialty shop.
"Just look at Belleair Bluffs," he said. "There's a auto repair shop across the street from a French restaurant."
Others think that the new development on the south side of the street will cause property values to soar, and the businesses on the north side of the road eventually will sell their stores.
"The plumber suddenly finds someone willing to offer them a lot of money for their property," said Randy Wedding, who served as St. Petersburg's mayor from 1973 to 1975 and now owns an architectural firm.
Wedding remembers when downtown Largo was known as the home of the county fair. He shares the city's view that its site can fit an array of uses.
"If you are going to create a hot spot, you may have to have a lot of high density," he said. "You are going to have to pack them in."
Others are not so sure it can work.
"To try and fit in all of those uses in 8 acres would be pretty dense," said Jay Miller, executive vice president of Steiner and Associates, a Tampa firm that developed Centro Ybor.
"It's not a lot of land, so you have to be extremely creative in what you design and build," said Thomas.
De Guardiola suggested that Largo may need 20 acres to successfully achieve its goals on the 73/4-acre site. He and Thomas agree that Largo will have to provide financial incentives to a developer for that land because of construction costs and efforts to find tenants for the property.
"The taxpayers are going to have to pay an enormous amount of money to make it happen," Thomas said.
De Guardiola thinks the city erred by not hiring a development consultant to help Largo understand what motivates developers and how to gain financial backing for its plans. Largo's efforts have been organized by Ric Goss, the city's community development director.
"Almost from Day One, you are creating somewhat of an adversarial relationship because eight times out of 10, (the city) needs to modify" its plans, de Guardiola said.
Largo is seeking feedback from community groups on its objectives.
Still, de Guardiola is optimistic about Largo's efforts. The city has created a list of objectives. City leaders are committed to a unified vision. Largo has made major infrastructure improvements.
Most think it will work, although Thomas suggests it might take a couple of years due to the sluggish economy.
Bortolini hopes that the plans include the north side.
"I see the potential of little stores," said Bortolini of his vision of the north side. "I see small businesses with the potential to succeed."
A plan for downtown adopted by the Largo City Commission last week includes:
Prohibiting new industrial and heavy commercial businesses along West Bay Drive between Missouri Avenue and Clearwater-Largo Road.
Requiring all new homes to have a front porch and at least one tree planted.
Installing brick streets in the area.
Removing all overhead wires.