By LINDA CHION KENNEY
High marks were given to a meeting this week with landowner representatives of a 900-acre tract earmarked for major residential development in Wimauma.
Giving that assessment is Gil Martinez, director of economic development and planning for the Wimauma Community Development Corporation (CDC), who said he met May 25 with members of the Wimauma Community Plan Activation Task Force and the Eisenhower Group.
At issue is a development that calls for 1,800 homes, including 180 homes set aside for affordable housing. It’s the first major development that tests the strengths and limits of the Wimauma Neighborhood Village Plan, the passage of which in October 2022 lifted the moratorium on development in the area. Development had been put on hold to allow for the plan’s finalization.
Enroute to receiving final approval from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, developers under the neighborhood village plan must meet with community interests to address such things as community benefits, the subject of the May 25 meeting and prior meetings with the community at large.
“The development plan lives up to the spirit, intent and function of the Wimauma Village Neighborhood Plan by way of the community benefits proposed,” Martinez said. “But it doesn’t, and it’s incapable of addressing, roadway capacity issues on the scale that the community at large in south Hillsborough County needs, which requires an investment in infrastructure, primarily water, sewer and roads.”
Martinez called it a “double-pronged dynamic,” in reference to what developers can step up to provide and what is in the purview of county and state officials.
“The developer has lived up to what it is expected to do, in accordance with the neighborhood village plan, and have gone even above that,” Martinez said. “It’s incumbent upon the county to take the appropriate measures to safeguard that we don’t find ourselves in the same position that other communities have found themselves in the past. They need to align investment in infrastructure with the timing of plans for breaking ground, which is ideal if you’re going to expect balanced growth.”
In the meantime, Martinez is heralding the community benefits advanced for the proposed 900-acre development.
In addition to putting aside 180 homes to be sold at affordable housing rates, Martinez said there is a provision to allow the Wimauma CDC to facilitate the brokerage and sale of those homes, “so that we could address housing displacement, which is an issue that happens with this type of growth.” According to Martinez, the matter would concern affordable housing for “everything from school teachers, firefighters and hospital staff to, most importantly, the community that currently exists in Wimauma, which has an average median income of $39,000 a year.”
A ”super big” community benefit involves roughly 14 acres, which would be granted to the Hillsborough County School District to build a school, Martinez said.“That’s awesome,” he added,“and it sure beats a bus stop [as a community benefit].”
Additional benefits include a multi-use walking/biking trail with amenities involving roadway improvements from County Road 579, at the southern tip of the property, to State Road 674, “which is a big plus,” Martinez said. “Because if you fast forward 10 years into the future, and you have a Wimauma downtown district, you have walkability to your downtown, where you have restaurants, civic events, cultural events, artisanal shops and neighborhood parks.”
In short, Martinez added, “what at first sight is a suburban community becomes a development that continues the vision of the Wimauma Neighborhood Village Plan in an impactful manner in respect to downtown revitalization.”
Also introduced is a park, 10 acres or more, open to the public and not just to development residents; a site for civic uses, such as a daycare center; and expectations exceeded for required green space, “which is a plus,” Martinez said. “If they want to get the density they’re looking for, two units per acre, the developer needs to go above and beyond what the county requires for green space and environmental areas, and the developer has provided a significant proportion beyond what is required.”
As for the proposed community park, basketball, tennis and pickleball courts would be included. Another positive is a 10-acre area set aside for an agricultural seed-to-table community garden initiative, through which crops can be harvested and sold.
Gil Martinez
The Wimauma Neighborhood Village Plan breaks Wimauma into three key areas, including one for subdivisions, such as Vista Palms, Sereno, Southshore Bay and Valencia Lakes, and one for farmlands, which reach out to Fort Lonesome, County Road 39 and Manatee County. Also in the mix is “original Wimauma,” now known as the Wimauma Downtown Overlay District, which includes the intersection of West Lake Drive and State Road 674.
Martinez said it is important to recognize the continued commitment of Enterprising Latinas and the Wimauma Together Collaborative, “which have been integral in the continued implementation of the Wimauma Neighborhood Village Plan in a manner that is consistent with its intent and community desires.”
The next step for the 900-acred development is a zoning hearing master meeting, set for Tuesday, June 20. For more information, call Gil Martinez at 813-634-6243.