It's been some time since dozens of developers and others met at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in October 2004 to talk about the exciting possibilities for reusing that facility with the Florida National Guard moving to newer digs.
And then the redevelopment process went on hiatus.
Finally on Monday, the city of Tampa released its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in West Tampa. The re-use of the armory could help continue to spur the rebirth of West Tampa, and proposals for everything from a major film studio complex, to a skating rink to a mixed-use condo site have floated in the ether for the past year and a half since the city announced it would take proposals. West Tampa advocates see the large parcel of land and historic armory building as another great arts opportunity for that urban neighborhood.
Deadline for proposals is noon, May 26.
(Disclosure: The Weekly Planet offices are across the street from the Armory.)
UPDATE: The RFP is finally online here in Word format.
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 4, 2006.
