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F.E. Lykes Foundation, Trust For Public Land, Local Initiatives Assistance Coalition, City of Tampa Parks Department, City of Tampa Recreation Department, University of South Florida - Florida Center for Community Design &
Research, Mayor's Beautification Program, Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association
By now you may have heard about the efforts to revitalize Giddens Park (5202 N. 12th St.) through Tampa’s Greenprinting Initiative. Southeast Seminole Heights has been selected as the first neighborhood to participate in this ten-year project to enhance one public open space resource in Tampa’s inner-city each year.
Why should you care about improving Giddens Park?
· It makes your neighborhood a more appealing place to live and work.
· Revitalizing public parks is an amazingly cost-effective way to generate economic redevelopment.
· “Quality of Life” includes trees, parks and a healthy environment.
· Open space enhancement promotes smart growth through creation of neighborhoods where people like to walk, where community collaboration is fostered, and where distinctive, attractive areas with a strong sense of place are developed.
The Southeast Seminole Heights Greenprint Committee invite you to attend a Giddens Park Design Workshop. This is an opportunity for you to participate in the design and future of Giddens Park.
· Tuesday, March 18, 2003
· 6:30 pm Social w/pizza, 7:00 pm meeting
· The Seminole Heights Baptist Church – Mathis Hall (Corner of Hillsborough Ave. and I-275 in the small building closest to Nebraska Ave. behind the auto muffler shop.)
Come, be heard and provide your vision for Giddens Park.
This is your neighborhood – we need your input!
For additional information, please contact Andrew Baker at 237-6480 or email [email protected]. Rides available for the elderly/disabled – contact Denise Toledo 234-9143.
By SEAN LENGELL
[email protected]
SOUTHEAST SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - Giddens Park is set for a major facelift, thanks to a local nonprofit group's guidance and a benefactor's gift.
The Southeast Seminole Heights green space has been chosen as the first recipient of the Mayor's Beautification Program's new Tampa Greenprint Initiative. The project is dedicated to renovating a park a year for the next decade.
The F.E. Lykes Foundation has committed $75,000 annually for the initiative.
No plans have been drafted for Giddens Park. But possible improvements include major landscaping, playground improvements and public art, said Erin Budde, executive director of the nonprofit program.
The Lykes Foundation also wants a ``water feature'' included in each of the 10 parks it helps renovate. Examples include a fountain for children, a traditional fountain or a wading pool.
Residents near each park will be included in the planning process, Budde said.
The Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association is working with the program on a survey about Giddens Park to be distributed throughout the neighborhood.
``We didn't want to plan [the park improvements] too definitively because we want the neighborhood to help define it,'' Budde said.
Project coordinators will forward residents' ideas to landscape architects, who will draft a final design.
Work on Giddens Park is expected to begin later this year and to be completed by year's end, Budde said.
Recent renovations to Kate Jackson Park in South Tampa inspired Norma Gene Lykes Burr of the Lykes Foundation to help develop a citywide parks improvement program.
Lykes Burr said she chose Giddens Park on the suggestion of Andrew Baker, a Southeast Seminole Heights activist and city council candidate. The neighborhood's history of strong community activism also helped in the decision, she said.
``They have everything organization-wise in place except the money,'' she said.
Budde said the Greenprint Initiative and the foundation's financial commitment is unique.
``It's a nifty thing, and we're quite excited about it,'' she said. ``Hopefully, other cities will look at Tampa and use [the program] as a model.''
More money is needed for the Giddens Park renovations, which could cost as much as $400,000, Budde said. Her group is seeking money from several sources, including government grants and private donations.
Residents long have complained the city has neglected Giddens Park, a block-size green space just east of Nebraska Avenue and south of Hillsborough Avenue. Crime at the park also has been a frequent problem.
``This neighborhood kind of feels like the red-headed stepchild sometimes, but maybe this makes amends,'' said Beverly Morrow, president of the civic association.
The public is invited to a meeting regarding the Giddens Park renovation plans at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Kathryn Malone Center, 5209 N. 12th St.
Reporter Sean Lengell can be reached at (813) 259-7145.
This story can be found at: http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGA51U4V2BD.html
