[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6223701,"mediaKeyId","3567047-e973001ea04555734263f725bedc369d","parentId",3567047,"title","BLC Recommends City Council Approve Mediated Design, Parking Changes for 4‑Story Ybor Avenue Project","audioSeconds",3175,"startMs",203000,"endMs",3378000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3567047-e973001ea04555734263f725bedc369d&start=203&end=3378","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3567047-e973001ea04555734263f725bedc369d/thumbnail_203000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6223701/Tampa/Hillsborough-County/Florida/BLC-Recommends-City-Council-Approve-Mediated-Design-Parking-Changes-for-4Story-Ybor-Avenue-Project","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6223701-facc492b05e07ed17e09d1e0f316281e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771159923&Signature=LCjzlArckNKF8SWZLMof2-4ZLmO8-X~kJXd8g7eqORVK7qdYsZ-pgF5semdGD-sXTmoE33PnnnbLcBYvGdpgffVNoGxQop9WTPLK3VjeM-y9Roq4jNjfuPOl9dvg5RiN0GAceSX~innVcyukI9vwkN1fi7rDPU86Sak8xzW2zoD80Gb2LDexHZOfC9ygmrFVJ9oOzox5BKEgjDC3-ZQXVNW8UGb3XImulAM1MuH-JsCVnziCQJmx1ZXIcCSP4wIpEioIxUT1GZvBsQ5UVDyCt8R4u6CaEXh81oBOLyhq7t~ZDupDeAmyFhX5vJ-mtgVIO7CXfNIt5Zz550cn0mAFEg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Tampa, FL","date","2025-05-28T02:47:26Z","article","The Board of Landmark Commission on Tuesday recommended that Tampa City Council approve a mediated settlement revising earlier approval for a multi‑story apartment project in Ybor City, after the council previously overturned the commission’s certificate of appropriateness.

The settlement would keep the previously approved architectural details while moving all required parking on‑site—largely under the building using hydraulic lifts—reduce portions of the building’s height and step back upper levels along Fourth Avenue to lessen massing, and require screening of parking visible from the alley, the commission heard.

The matter began when the commission’s March 26, 2024 certificate of appropriateness for new construction on parcels at 1715 East Fourth Avenue, 1707 East Fourth Avenue and 1411 North 17th Street was overturned by City Council on Aug. 1, 2024. Council found the original design inconsistent with the city code, the Ybor City design guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior’s standards, citing excessive height and massing and uncertainty about off‑site parking arrangements. The property owner then requested relief under a state alternative dispute process referred to in the hearing as FLUDRA; the parties entered mediation before a special magistrate in February and continued negotiations through April 14, 2025, when they reached the settlement now before the commission.

City attorney’s office representative Dana Crosby Collier told the commission the mediated agreement (Exhibit A to the special magistrate’s recommendation) internalizes parking and updates the building design to address council concerns. “If council approves the proposed settlement, we will ask council to authorize the BLC administrator to issue the CA in accordance with these drawings,” she said.

Project attorney Jim Schimberg of Schumann Law Group and project presenter Stephanie Gaines walked the commission through the mediated redesign. Gaines said the prior approval required 96 parking spaces (one per residential unit plus three for the commercial space). The original plan counted 69 on‑site spaces and relied on off‑site leased spaces for the remainder; the mediated design places essentially all 96 required spaces on the site, using individual hydraulic lifts in a largely covered garage area beneath the building and one additional public space, for a total shown in the presentation of 97 spaces.

Gaines described several design changes meant to reduce perceived bulk: the upper level facade along Fourth Avenue is stepped back 15 feet on the fifth floor, several rooftop mechanical elements were moved inside the building footprint, and the primary roof and parapet heights were reduced (presenters cited a drop of several feet and a lower roof line on the primary facade). She also described a one‑way alley configuration that would be widened to 12 feet (from a previously platted 10 feet) by moving two feet of area onto the project’s property, and an alley screen to conceal the mechanical lifts from view.

Dennis Fernandez, the city’s architecture review and historic preservation manager, told the commission staff reached a consensus with the applicant that the revised design addressed City Council’s basis for denial and concluded the revised plans were consistent with the Ybor City design guidelines. Fernandez and Ron Veil of Historic Preservation recommended the commission forward the settlement to City Council with a recommendation to approve and to authorize the administrator to issue the certificate of appropriateness if council adopts the settlement.

Commissioners asked technical questions about the car lifts—confirmed to be individually operated, attendant‑controlled lifts sized for passenger cars rather than trucks—the materials for the stepped‑back upper facade (intended to be stucco with a gray tone to visually recess that level), screening materials for the alley, and whether the parking counts included any public curb spaces. Gaines said the alternate parking elements (motorcycle/golf cart spaces and a possible shared car service space) were not counted as required vehicle spaces; the core required spaces were internalized on the property.

One motion, presented by the city attorney, directed the commission to recommend City Council approve the special magistrate’s report and recommendation and to request council authorize the BLC administrator to issue the certificate of appropriateness consistent with the settlement—adding a condition that the rear‑elevation balconies shown during the hearing be retained. Commissioners asked the applicant to acknowledge the added condition; the applicant agreed. The commission voted to adopt the recommendation; the clerk recorded the motion as carrying.

The settlement still requires City Council approval and, if adopted by council, would return the matter to the BLC administrator for issuance of the revised certificate of appropriateness in accordance with the mediated drawings.

A copy of the mediated drawings and the special magistrate’s report were in the meeting packet and remain the operative documents for any future review or modifications.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Barrio Latino Commission - 05/27/25 Part 2","oneSentenceSummary","The Board of Landmark Commission on Tuesday recommended that Tampa City Council approve a mediated settlement revising earlier approval for a multi‑story apartment project in Ybor City, after the council previously overturned the commission’s certificate of appropriateness.","taxTitle","Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida","taxId",2914,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6223696,"Commission Grants Variances to JC Newman Project; Restoration of 1601 E. Columbus Drive Moves Forward",0,5466000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3567047-e973001ea04555734263f725bedc369d&start=5466&end=5466","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3567047-e973001ea04555734263f725bedc369d/thumbnail_5466000.jpg","/articles/6223696/Tampa/Hillsborough-County/Florida/Commission-Grants-Variances-to-JC-Newman-Project-Restoration-of-1601-E-Columbus-Drive-Moves-Forward","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6223696-24f6e6f86cfabd029051d8c9ff360ae5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771159923&Signature=JMmDgrE1LcKn16WuhCLfSgBmM99yM6LREycd55FpW0iIsgUdzdnWuVHOhnRWKZlr4O2ONsbg7QNt5xeQFJ8Cto0VNZmpcIaI9jlZLCZgVIXWWhO7kX~wWKCPfk4aRsfOE48dm~Rg-IpVq-1AxOrxQAotwIeoWz2VsSjO07-1b7ttlH6~z5ZrEdqM3DXaFOWBVergZ1VrE9U63AMwg3Ae6atGYkLIEZkOl0xazswqMwavzO7kDCVF~C2M6c33J5bRFyuSpkY4dUPdl89KjsJA~y2vcVUV0yj-EcWqDFOHkJWIUFdAyPbE~-XqGBA3Xcva-uh396VS3J-0C8mflVi-Pg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The commission granted variance requests on Tuesday that the applicant said are necessary to adaptively reuse and restore a historic Sanchezi Haia building at 1601 East Columbus Drive and to provide on‑site parking and associated landscaping for the project.

Drew Newman, representing the family‑owned JC Newman cigar company, told the commission the building is part of Tampa’s cigar‑manufacturing history and that the restoration aims to reopen the facility as a cigar museum, first‑floor bar/restaurant and an 11‑room inn on the second floor. “We roll cigars today just like he did a hundred years ago,” Newman said, describing visitor growth at the existing cigar factory and plans to reactivate the adjacent building.

Ron Veil, historic preservation staff, explained the case is before the commission because when the project was initially reviewed and granted a certificate of appropriateness in early 2024, the site plan showed multiple reduced landscape buffers but only one reduced‑buffer variance had been formally requested and documented. During the alcoholic beverage licensing process, Natural Resources staff flagged the missing variance documentation; the applicant returned to the commission to formalize the previously shown reduced buffers.

Attorney Alex Schaller and architect John Hadley described the hardship justification tied to the parcel’s age and historic footprint. Schaller said the site predates current zoning and the building’s historic configuration creates constraints for parking and landscaping. The applicant told the commission the requested reduced buffers are limited, that they do not result from the applicant’s actions but are inherited legacy conditions, and that the adjacent homeowner (identified in the presentation as Mr. Breeze) has been engaged and favors preserving existing large canopy trees in his backyard.

The variances approved and the locations shown on the site plan presented at the hearing were:

- A reduction of the landscape buffer from 15 feet to 8 feet along an adjacent single‑family northern property line.
- A reduction from 15 feet to 5 feet at an adjacent single‑family northwest corner.
- A reduction from 15 feet to 10 feet at an adjacent single‑family western property line.

Presenters said the camphor tree on the property line will be preserved where feasible, and the final landscape plan (including species and specific placement) will be coordinated with Natural Resources staff; the project team stated they can provide the detailed landscape plan for the record. John Hadley said parking stalls will use historic brick pavers for the parking bays with asphalt drive aisles and concrete delineation, consistent with earlier work the applicant completed at its factory and the adjacent park.

The commission found the applicant met the code’s six hardship criteria for variances and approved the request, tied to the approved site plan. Commission members praised the restoration effort and the project team’s attempts to work with the neighbor and to preserve canopy trees. The motion granting the variances carried and the site plan as presented remains the operative plan; any modifications to the approved site plan will require further review.

","The commission approved variance requests tied to the adaptive reuse of a historic commercial building at 1601 East Columbus Drive, allowing reduced landscape buffers adjacent to nearby single‑family property lines so the restoration and public‑facing uses can proceed under the approved site plan.","actionData","errors"]

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BLC Recommends City Council Approve Mediated Design, Parking Changes for 4‑Story Ybor Avenue Project

Commission Grants Variances to JC Newman Project; Restoration of 1601 E. Columbus Drive Moves Forward