South Shore

By Stephanie Wang, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Friday, October 14, 2011

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/funding-clears-way-for-new-south-county-ymca/1196453

RIVERVIEW — After securing $2 million in county funding, the YMCA is forging ahead with plans to open a new facility in south Hillsborough.

In partnership with Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation, the YMCA will expand recreational offerings in a growing region, said Cindy Sofarelli, senior group vice president of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA.

“It maximizes the efforts for the community,” she said about the public-private partnership. “It’s a win-win.”

The project is still in the initial planning stages. The partnership aims to build a YMCA facility on a 33-acre county-owned parcel next to Vance Vogel Park. The South Shore complex will contribute to the economic development of a burgeoning area located off the intersection of Interstate 75 and Big Bend Road, Sofarelli said.

The project has been in the works for nearly three years. In April 2010, the YMCA conducted an initial market study for community feedback and found residents showed interest in a full family facility, similar to the nearby Campo Family YMCA in Valrico, Sofarelli said. Their wish list included a gymnasium, sports fields and aquatics, which likely will be added to the South Shore complex in phases.

The new facility will provide a home base for existing YMCA programs run at places such as the South Shore United Methodist Church or South Bay Hospital, while also complementing the county park.

Because the project remains in its infancy, Sofarelli did not give any time frame for the start or completion of construction.

“It’s still a footprint right now,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it’s set in stone.”

The approval of the county budget in September cemented a key piece of financial backing: County Commissioner Sandy Murman set aside an annual allocation of $500,000 for four years for the project. The money will be given in reimbursements to the YMCA from sales tax funds.

Sofarelli estimates the YMCA will need to raise an additional $4 million to $6 million for the facility.

But the public-private partnership cushions the costs for both parties.

“In this day and time,” Murman said, “it’s the best recipe for putting something in and having some public benefit.”

Murman praised the YMCA’s past cooperation with the county in providing services and constructing new facilities, such as the Campo pool, using public grants.

“They did it by the book,” she said. “And it was really almost an example of how a project should be done.”

Still, Murman said the organization will be subject to any new rules and policies that may be implemented for groups receiving county funding following recent criticism of public dollars spent to build the Regent in Riverview.

The YMCA is expected to present a business plan Nov. 2 to the County Commission, Murman said.

Stephanie Wang can be reached at swang@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2443.

By Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Friday, August 26, 2011

St. Pete Times

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/former-ruskin-firehouse-is-one-yes-away-from-becoming-cultural-center/1187790

RUSKIN — A former fire station could become a community arts center by January, thanks to $100,000 allocated by commissioners in next year’s tentative Hillsborough County budget.

The opening of the Ruskin Firehouse Cultural Center hangs on the approval of the county’s fiscal 2012 budget, which will be voted on in September. If approved, the money would go toward improvements at the fire station on First Avenue, which was vacated by the county for a new one this year, said Sandy Council, president of the Ruskin Community Development Foundation, which is handling the project.

Construction would start as soon as the money was approved.

“A lot hinges on the final vote of the budget,” Council said. “We’re moving ahead as if that’s going to happen.”

As the first of its kind in the South Shore area, the cultural center would provide access to a wide selection of arts, Council said.

“It’s not just going to be visual art,” she said. “There will be theater, music, the whole spectrum.”

Meeting rooms would be available for rent, and the building would accommodate classes, workshops and visiting artists.

The fire station, which is owned by the county, would be leased to the foundation, which submitted a business plan and is awaiting final approval from the county, Council said.

Renovations planned for the building include bringing the facility up to code and making it handicap accessible. Council estimates that will cost at least $70,000.

In addition to the county’s money, the foundation is set to receive $60,000 from the Foundation of Greater Sun City Center once it gains possession of the center, Council said. Keller Williams and the South Shore Arts Council have donated an additional $6,000 toward the project.

It’s something the community has been seeking for a while, said Commissioner Sandy Murman, who helped secure the money for the center, which is in her district.

“Ruskin has often been overlooked,” she said. “This is going to be a good addition to south Hillsborough County.”

Though the center’s money is not part of the $2.5 million set aside by commissioners for the restoration of historical properties, the discussion that led to that fund also benefitted the center, Murman said.

Public outcry over the amount of money spent at the Regent, she said, brought attention to the need for community centers in other areas.

People in the arts community are excited, said Nina Tatlock, co-director of Big Draw Studios, an art studio in Ruskin.

“For the community, it will be a place where things can happen,” said Tatlock, who also serves on the foundation’s committee. “It’s where people from the community can come to participate in the arts, which we feel is an enrichment to the community.”

Besides drawing more attention to the arts in South Shore, supporters hope the center will create more interest in the area.

“The Ruskin area has great potential for economic development,” Murman said. “This could be the focus, the hub of where it starts.”

Shelley Rossetter can be reached at srossetter@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2442.

Sandy Murman

Former Ruskin firehouse is one ‘yes’ away from becoming cultural center