Planners Named To Redevelop Projects Built On Black Cemetery

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Housing Authority has awarded a contract to Property Markets Group and Baker Barrios Architects Inc. to develop a master plan for Robles Park Village in Tampa.

PMG and BBA will provide the redevelopment plans for the existing Robles Park Village public housing neighborhood, one of the first low-income housing projects in Tampa.

“Our vision is to plan the redevelopment of Robles Park Village into a modern neighborhood that respectfully pays tribute to the site’s heritage and culture,” said Dan Coakely, principal of PMG Affordable. “We wish to rebuild by actively engaging the existing community, and sincerely listen to and understanding the hopes and needs of the residents to create a soulful community that interweaves with the surrounding neighborhoods and celebrates its rich history and bright future.”

Developed in the 1950s, the original Robles Park Village public housing project consisted of 450 apartments in 67 buildings at 3814 N. Central Ave. on the west side of Interstate 275 in East Tampa.

The Tampa City Council and Tampa Housing Authority long planned to raze and redevelop Robles Park Village but fast-tracked the project when historians discovered that five of the buildings were constructed on top of about 300 coffins in the Zion Cemetery, one of the first cemeteries in Tampa for Black residents founded in the early 1900s.

A ground radar scan confirmed the presence of graves beneath the project last year, prompting the Tampa Housing Authority to immediately relocate 97 residents living in the buildings directly over the graves.

PMG and BBA will now produce a master plan for the entire 35-acre site with nearly 1,000 new affordable homes.

Additionally, Leroy Moore, chief operating officer of the Tampa Housing Authority, said the development will create a significant number of new jobs, improve the community's financial well-being and preserve the area's history by turning the historical Zion Cemetery site into a park.

“THA is excited about the start of this much-awaited master-planning event and encourages residents, community stakeholders and interested parties to participate at every opportunity and help us create a better community for all,” Moore said.

Moore said the relocation of other Robles Park Village residents could begin before the end of the year, putting the revitalization project a year ahead of schedule.

Tim Baker, CEO and founding principal of BBA said the master planners are committed to working closely with the existing Robles Park Village residents and others members of the community and incorporating their feedback in the master plan. He said they've also recruited Tampa historian and community leader Fred Hearns to serve on the master-planning team.

To keep the community updated on the project and collect residents' suggestions, a staffed project office opened in one of the homes at Robles Park Village on Thursday.

“We are incredibly humbled to have been selected among a pool of some of the best master-planning development teams in the state of Florida,” Baker said. “We are honored to be working alongside PMG to redevelop Robles Park Village and provide vibrant housing and amenities to contribute to the Tampa Housing Authority’s initiatives for the citizens of Tampa. Respecting the significance of the African American history and culture will be a defining element of the project."

Launched in 2019 and led by Coakely, PMG Affordable is a division of PMG concentrating on new affordable housing and revitalizing existing affordable housing and Section 8 properties nationwide.

Baker Barrios Architects Inc. is one of the leading master planning and urban design firms in Florida. It recently collaborated with the Tampa Housing Authority on the historic Encore development, a 40-acre mixed-use redevelopment district in Downtown Tampa intended to unite Ybor City's central business district with Tampa Heights and other downtown neighborhoods.