TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa city council members shut down a proposed plan to build a new high-rise off Bayshore Boulevard.
The Congregation Rodeph Sholom was looking to sell half of its property and share the space with a 50-unit residential building built by a Miami-based company.
The president of the congregation says the funds from the sale could have helped to keep the congregation around in the future. He says they don’t have as many members as they did years ago.
“Our income stream is not what it used to be and the money from the endowment would allow us to take care of those capital needs without putting the congregation in debt or our worst scenario would be that we have to sell the property,” Lloyd Stern said.
On the other hand, a group located next door called the Tampa Garden Club was strongly against the plans.
“We felt it was going to have a negative impact on our business but it was really more about our neighbors,” Paula Meckley said.
The president of the congregation says moving forward, they want to talk with the community and neighboring businesses to try and find a compromise. Stern says they hope to bring a new plan to the city council in the future.