TAMPA, Fla. — Members of Congregation Rodeph Shalom said they are struggling to stay at their home on Bayshore Boulevard.
They've been here since the early 1960s.
Membership for the Temple dropped off in recent decades, and their aging building needs repairs.
“We have had to make a lot of adjustments with our staffing, our clergy. And really had to sacrifice somewhat, really scrape what he had to do to make this place stand,” said temple treasurer Jim Baker.
That’s why they want to sell off part of their land to a Miami developer with plans for a 16-story condo tower.
“This is the way for the foreseeable future that we will be able to remain in our current location,” Baker said.
While several other condo towers have gone up along Bayshore Boulevard in recent years, some in the Bayshore Gardens neighborhood and leadership at The Tampa Garden Club said this project just doesn’t fit.
“You keep approving these outside the box the realm of what the comprehensive plan allows and the zoning allows. Then these developers are coming from Miami, and all over the place are going you let them do it. You let them do it. You let them do it,” said Garden Club President Paula Meckley.
This group said they are not against development but just want to keep it to low-rise buildings.
“If they want to stay within the current zoning where they could build an 8-story building. Or they could build town homes, absolutely no problem. Go ahead. Knock yourself out. You can start construction tomorrow as far as we are concerned,” said Tim Everitt, who lives next to the temple.
The developer, Related Group, has failed in its previous attempts to get approval for the project with the Tampa City Council.
But they said they’ve made concessions, including dropping it down ten stories, building fewer units, and adding more green space.
“Interesting there are about seven towers that are around this project. And the project is right around the medium height of all of those. Five of the towers have actually been approved since 2020 and constructed. So we are seeing a rapid transformation of this neighborhood specifically,” said attorney Nicole MacInnes.
“At some point, somebody has to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough,” said Meckley.
The Tampa City Council is set to vote on rezoning again on Tuesday.
If it’s not approved, this issue will likely end up in court.
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