Tampa city council approves Franklin Street corridor revitalization plan

New plan to revitalize Tampa's Franklin Street

FOX 13's Aaron Memser reports on the Tampa's million dollar plan to revitalize Franklin St. over the next few years.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa City Council approved a plan to revitalize the Franklin Street corridor on Thursday and turn it back into downtown's "Main Street."

During the Downtown Community Revitalization Area meeting, council members agreed to move forward with a $6 million revitalization for the Franklin Street area.

"By the investments we made in the arts and cultural programs and then with this, I think we'll add the activity that downtown is missing," said Tampa City Councilman Bill Carlson. "When people from other cities come, they say we have pretty buildings, but we need more activity and that this is going to help with it."

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New renderings lay out the plan to re-establish the neighborhood, which includes the historic Tampa Theatre, to its glory days.

The project is expected to take three years and include a more pedestrian-friendly mix of retail, residential and commercial space. Improvements would include better lighting, more shade and safer walkways.

"When people come to the theater, the show actually starts on the sidewalk, right as they approach," said Tampa Theatre CEO John Bell. "Improving Franklin Street, making it not only prettier, but more functional and efficient and safe, is a real priority. It'll improve people's experiences throughout downtown, up and down Franklin Street, but specifically on our block, transforming it into the Tampa Theater arrival plaza."

According to Tampa Bay historian Rodney Kite-Powell of the Tampa Bay History Center, Franklin Street was one of the 12 streets on Tampa's first ever map in 1847.

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"The first bank in Tampa, it was on Franklin Street. The first hotel was on Franklin Street, first department store, first brick building, so many important events happened on Franklin Street and in Tampa," Kite-Powell told council members.

The city attempted several other Franklin Street revitalization projects during the last few decades, but the upgrades didn't last. Council members are confident that won't be the case this time.

"This is a different Tampa. It's a different place and you guys are creating a different type of environment, recognizing the failures of the past and moving," Councilman Alan Clendenin told project planners.

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