It had been tweaked and re-tweaked. Concessions, incentives and a $1-million gift had been proffered. Finally, the trustees of the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts–including the influential likes of Frank Morsani–responded with a vote of confidence and gave their blessing to the proposed construction of the 36-story apartment tower on an acre next to the Straz. The Center’s president, Judy Lisi, called it a “significant mandate in favor of the project.”
While city council still has to weigh in–and they surely don’t want to be seen as a rubber stamp–the Straz vote was critical. No one is more impacted. That’s why the city’s salesman-in-chief, Mayor Bob Buckhorn, personally played the role of Straz closer.
I asked him how frequently he attended such gatherings. “Not often, to be sure,” he chuckled. “But to me, it was that important for me to be there. I’m paying respect to the Straz and members of the board. We’ve gone down this road with them. We have a significant investment in that building. … And they needed to hear from me directly on the larger vision.”
After reiterating what the developers had done in addressing traffic concerns and restoring the elevated pedestrian bridge, Buckhorn played to his redevelopment passion.
“Downtowns,” he explained, “are all about density and the experience at the pedestrian level. We want to make downtown function 18 hours a day. We want to attract the best and brightest. This is a key piece of that. And I will be just as passionate about Riverfront Park. These are all key pieces–and it doesn’t happen if I stay at City Hall and do nothing.”