BLC gives preliminary OK to rooftop cover at Columbia Restaurant space, asks design changes

The Bay Latino Commission (BLC) on March 25 gave preliminary approval to a rooftop canopy over the north end of the Columbia Restaurant Group’s Casa Santo Stefano at 1607 North 20 Second Street in Ybor City, but asked the applicant to return with revisions to make the canopy appear lighter and to consider further setback from the building edge. The commission continued the item to its April 22 public hearing for final action.

The rooftop addition proposal would place a flat, weather-protective roof over a portion of the restaurant’s existing Second Floor dining area. Staff found the application “consistent with the Ybor City design guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior standards” for rooftop additions as submitted on March 5, but recommended measures to reduce the rooftop’s visibility and visual weight.

The project team said the roof is intended to make the Second Floor reliably occupiable during frequent afternoon and evening rainstorms and thereby improve the restaurant’s economic viability. “We invested almost $8,000,000 into that,” said Tim Steele, facilities and construction manager for the Columbia…