TAMPA, Fla. — Robles Park Village is a community that’s seen better days. It’s also one that single dad Tavaris Mitchell was reluctant to live in when he moved there with two small children four years ago.
“It has a lot of violent tendencies, and I witnessed a lot of shootings and murders in the past,” he said.
However, within just a few years, the public housing community might look and feel totally different.
The Tampa Housing Authority and its partners are moving forward with a plan to demolish Robles Park Village and replace it with a brand new community complete with a community hub. This hub will connect people with job help and other resources and maybe four times the housing there now.
“Rezoning will allow us to achieve over 1,800 units, of which over 1,200 will be affordable,” said David Iloanya, the director of real estate development for the Tampa Housing Authority.
David said the exact numbers are still being worked out, but the affordable units will be priced at low, very low, and extremely low-income levels.
He also said that people displaced by the redevelopment will be able to move back once it’s done.
“They will have the first right of refusal to come,” he said. “We give them a choice to return.”
Still, people like Betty Stewart are skeptical that all of those promises will come to pass.
“Who is the price going to be for? Point blank. Who is it for?” she said Wednesday.
Mitchell, however, isn’t as skeptical and credits Tampa Housing Authority and his time at Robles Park Village with his newfound success and brand-new car detailing business.
“It provided me with the opportunity to, you know, really be successful,” he said.
He hopes redevelopment will mean better housing and opportunities for others.
“To destroy something and rebuild it will make it better,” he said. “That’s the only way you can do something like this.”
For the plan to move forward, this site will require rezoning, and that issue will be in front of the Tampa City Council on July 25.
If all goes as planned, the remaining 85 families at the current Robles Park Village should be relocated by the end of the year. Demolition should start next year.
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