OLDSMAR, Fla. — As the solar climbed over a shoreline of mangroves, Ben Bramlett labored his lure by means of the murky water.
“It’s been a pretty good day,” he mentioned between casts from the fishing pier at R.E. Olds Park. “Can’t beat it.”
Bramlett has fished Oldsmar’s nook of Old Tampa Bay virtually his entire life.
“This dock isn’t always the best, but like some of the beaches around here are pretty good,” he mentioned.
Just just a few blocks away, there’s one other fishing spot: Oldsmar City Hall.
There, Mayor Dan Saracki is attempting to reel in one thing huge. He’s fishing for a transformative imaginative and prescient for downtown Oldsmar.
“I can see the vision right now,” he mentioned. “I’ll be real honest. I would love to see a Dunedin Brewery here for our citizens. That is just a fun thing to do for everyone. Plus, a coffee shop. An ice cream shop.”
Saracki and town are attempting to redevelop Oldsmar’s downtown, which lacks a few of the facilities present in neighboring cities of its measurement, they usually hope a seven-acre web site adjoining to metropolis corridor would be the catalyst.
Now by means of October 14, town is asking developers for “letters of interest,” or in different phrases, developers’ tentative ideas and proposals for the location.
“The floodgates are open,” Saracki mentioned. “Any developer — anybody who’s interested in this property — city-owned — come on out. We want to hear from you.”
Saracki and town will most likely additionally hear from folks involved about what growing downtown may imply.
People like Bramlett say though development is inevitable, it might trigger extra visitors and environmental points and alter Oldsmar’s distinctive small-town id.
“It’s pretty. It’s a nice place to walk in the morning and stuff. Definitely good for like retirees and stuff — people who want to move down here and have a nice little place to stay,” Bramlett mentioned. “It’s kind of quiet, and I think it should stay that way.”
Saracki is conscious of the issues.
Despite opposition from Saracki and others, in April, town handed an ordinance that will permit a possible developer to construct extra residence items on the location if the venture additionally features a mixture of retailers, eating places, a parking storage, and public areas.
“When I went door to door to meet the citizens of the City of Oldsmar — not one — not one of them said they wanted 317 apartments built in our downtown area,” Saracki mentioned on the time. “All I can say is that this vote will change our metropolis endlessly.”
Months later, Saracki said a number of neighbors are still worried about overdevelopment and what developers might propose for the sprawling site.
“But we must open up and have ideas because we must be able to really figure out what we want to do here,” Saracki said.
“The solution is not a lot of apartments but maybe some with a mix-use of condos or maybe townhomes,” he added.
Once the city receives letters of interest from potential developers, Saracki said city leaders would present the best ideas for public comment and input before moving forward. The public’s voice, he said, will be a critical part of the process.
“The community will absolutely have an opportunity to voice their opinions on what we’re going to build here,” he said.
Read more about the city’s request for letters of interest at this link.