According to a consultant hired by the neighborhood association, such a move would mirror a national trend and capitalize on University Park's nearness to downtown and the water. The association hopes that the plan will pack enough appeal to persuade the City Council to help put its recommendations in place. There are signs the area is changing already, landscape architect Peter Setzler told association members last week. Developers are building an upscale 290-unit apartment complex at Fourth Avenue S and Delmar Terrace. Of the 14 members attending the meeting, five rent out apartments or single-family residences and, according to them, the rental market is good these days.
People are tired of it.
The entertainment district that baseball was supposed to create is bounded mostly by the dome itself, Setzler said. Even during the five months when the Devil Rays play, stadium shops, bars and restaurants eat up most of the profits that planners had hoped would benefit downtown. By contrast, Setzler forecast a series of meetings with city officials to put the neighborhood under a microscope, then re-zone to fit the new vision. University Park president Marie Stirling, who owns the Bayboro Inn and Hunt Room Bed and Breakfast at 357 Third St. S, said the association was inspired by the improved landscaping and influx of commercial businesses to downtown. Association members hope to complete the plan within six months, before the city launches extensive re-visioning workshops of its own.