Seminole Heights Topless Joint Goes Bottomless
Seminole Heights notorious topless joint became bottomless yesterday.
These two buildings located at NE corner of Nebraska and New Orleans have been without a roof since I moved into the neighborhood in 2000. News stories show there have been topless since at least 1999 Neighbors always had hopes that roof would be put back on and some good businesses would move into there. The owner of the building's, Al of next door Mini Mart, had said would would like to have gone into business with an investor and run Crazy Al's BBQ. However nothin ever came of it and a few months ago condemned signs appeared on the building. Since this building has been the site of a long running code violation situation for years, I thought nothing of the signs. Yesterday I was tipped off to the demolition by one of the blog contributors and snapped these photos on my way home and then on way to work today.
The demolition crew seemed to just pay lip service to safety moving one faded battered orange cone around as the bobcat(or what ever that thing was) knocked the building down, a few feet from rush our traffic. (only 3 feet from Osborne with no sidewalk as a buffer.)
This plot of land could become a perfect parking place for the ghost town buildings to the south.
Foggy morning photo
18 comments:
::sigh::
One of the few places on Nebraska with a series of interesting, inexpensive commercial spaces is now significantly smaller.
Anyone want to take bets on what we see there next?
1) Strip Mall (with an EZ-pawn) and street-front parking
2) Used Car lot
3) Long-term Vacant and trashy
Crud.
HAVING VAGRANTS SLEEP THERE AND NO ROOF WAS SO MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE!!
COME ON!!
How about a landscaped parking lot to help with the parking issue. Or better yet a three story, retail on street level, apartments and a parking level!
Resident Blogger... all good optimistic ideas. :-) That'd go over well in areas with demand for high-rent commercial spaces.
Sadly, we're not there yet.
I suppose condos might be a decent thing since they'd increase population density and add to pedestrian traffic on the street.
(I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best... but all things considered, I expect less.)
At least they'd be quiet business neighbors. Unlike some I might mention.
while the suggested mixed use project sounds perfect for the neighborhood, the reality is the parcel is too small to accomadate parking, stormwater, current zoning setback requirements and allow for a building footprint that will justify the price for the property if and when it goes on the market.
It's too strong of a presence on that corner to just having a praking lot -although to make the other remaining buildings come to life that would work - the building that just came down was the best fit - too bad the owner was too short-sited (selfish) to not maintain or sell for a higher use.
It is a shame and a disgrace that the former owner (AL) never did a damn thing to make improvements to that property. Come to think of it, he doesn't do much to make anything he has in the neighborhood any better. AL....CLEAN IT UP AND MAKE IT PRETTIER!!!!!!!!!
He could start by cleaning up the drug dealers that hang out at the drive mini mart.
I'd vote for the parking lot as a test for the concept. make it attractive to match the "someday" plans for the remake of Nebraska.
maybe a low brick wall. access to Osborne and Nebraska. Maybe the east Tampa CDC can partner with the city and USF or UT to develop a small business incubator program to bring to life the other marginally "productive" properties in the vicinity.
Rick,
That makes a very broad based assumption that the owners of said properties would be interested in improving the property. As one can see by the current conditions - I assume - they are waiting for the big bucks when they sell.
Yes it is a big assumption. Keeping in mind that Phil Alessi was going to rent his building a block away to the scientologist, it gives me hope that if something makes the surrounding buildings more marketable to tenants there might be greater interest. The number of smaller structures and quantity of them on Nebraska between MLK and Hillsborough and the relative absence of the CI zoning and automotive business gives that section a leg up for broad retail/office revitalization.
Parking would help.
Parking for what????? Ybor Pizza? The Drive Through Beer Barn??? Please lets promote more businesses along Nebraska before we start option for open parking lots...I don't see a need for a parking lot when there isn't a use next door to utilize it. Lets attract business first and then work with them on parking solutions.
Sure which came first the chicken or the egg. One the biggest costs for businesses to open in the neighborhood is parking and one of the biggest reasons they fail. A good example is Cappy's and the problem with meeting the parking requirements and the related stormwater issues. How many businesses have opened and closed on the corner of Osborne and Florida...more than half dozen in the past 6 years. Why? Lack of parking was a factor.
People keep saying they want resident serving businesses and that they prefer not to have a bunch of big corporate chain stores. Taking parking issues out of the mix makes it more financially viable to independent merchants and retailers. Rather than looking at what is, maybe it is past time to start envisioning what could be and making room mentally and physically for it to happen.
While I agree with your conclusion, Rick, I disagree with how you get there. :-)
What makes that section of Nebraska unique is the existing commercial buildings with some surviving historic character. (I assume rent on these building will be relatively small.) This creates a location for risk-taking businesses to open and attract residential customers. These are the sorts of businesses that seed commercial revitalization.
Contrast that with the $1 Million price tag for getting an empty lot turned into a Starbucks. It's just too expensive to build from scratch when attempting to start small businesses that are taking a risk. Pre-existing buildings with character, all in a row within walking distance, is ideal.
Parking would be valuable for enabling activity there. But balance that against Ybor Pizza's relative abundance of parking and how that hasn't really done much.
In order for the owner of the now empty lot to build a parking lot there for businesses to use, he'd have to be willing to not develop that lot for anything else for 30 years. I come up with that number because it is the minimum lease-length required by the city to count the parking as satisfying code for any particular business. So if the current owner is willing to lease that parking for 30 years at a reasonable price, we're golden. Otherwise, we're hosed. (My money is on "hosed".)
As a minor nit to pick, the failure at the Osborne location had nothing to do with parking. A great deal of parking is available up Osborne on the South side of the street. This parking is legal and counts towards code requirements. Having patronized all the businesses that existed there since Sugardaddy's, I can say with some certainty that these businesses failed for other reasons. Keep in mind the popular figure for small business failures is about 60%. More than half of all the small businesses that open in the area will close within 3 years. This should give you some appreciation for the tenacity of businesses like Forever Beautiful, Viva La Fridas, Bo's, etc.
Thats just it.. Osborne and Nebraska is a different animal that Osborne and Florida. We need to generate the foot traffic first before we think about dedicated parking lots on the east side (ie nebraska). Florida avenue, thats a different story.
Starbucks is successful partially because it pulls traffic off for drive through service going to the interstate and beyond. If residents want businesses to come in, we are going to have to deal with more traffic/parking issues and we ought to be concidering changing our attitudes about accessing those services and walk to them, bike to them rather than always drive.
Foot traffic would be wonderful, and bike...but there has to be something to trek to. Not going to buy groceries on foot, nor buy a piece of antique furniture, nor a boat or a tub. So we need both parking for businesses where you buy larger purchases, AND smaller businesses where you can consume on the spot or carry small items while you walk back home.
Shawn
I think our path diverges on the subject of leased parking. You are correct there is no real demand so the owner has no incentive to develop the lot as a parking lot. It would be a foolish waste of his money. On the otherhand if the city approached him to purchase it and develop it that could be a good infastructure development. No it might not come to a point sustained use for a few years. However, it would be an incentive to entice businesses to relocate or open in the vicinity. It would could be marketed by the neighborhood and business groups.
Remembering when 7th Avenue was dead after 5 and nearly dead before 5, it takes a critical mass to get noticed. Once that happened Ybor came to life (though the retail didn't survive the sea of wet zonings).
A new business here or there along our 6 or 7 miles of commercial arteries will not create a critical mass.
I also realize that Osborne has parking but the perception was that there wasn't any.
Parking could also be a plus on Florida between Cappy's and Hillsborough for the same reason that is already gelling as a retail node between Yesterdaze, Feado's, Forever Beautiful, and Cappy's. There is commercial property structures for sale as well as vacant land.
This is not to say ignore the other commercial areas but these two areas are a start. And success usually leads to more success. just as fixing you house can often inspire surrounding neighbors to do the same. It will spread.
Rick, I sorta start from the position that the city will not buy land for parking on Nebraska. I like the idea of it, but I've never gotten the feeling from various officials I've had the luck to speak with that the city would even consider it. So if the city doesn't purchase it, the owner would have to cede control for 30+ years which is a long time to forgo potential profit on a commercial parcel.
There's a rumor that the city is going to reduce the 30-year rule to 10. That might help a bit. But as we've seen in SH, a lot can change in 10 years.
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