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

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.