Fla. College’s New Building Loses a Floor to Zoning Restrictions

An agreement between preservation supporters and Hillsborough Community College, in Tampa, Fla., will let the college proceed with construction of a controversial new student-services building that was stopped at the third-floor level after college officials realized that the height of the planned building would exceed the site’s zoning limits.

According to The Tampa Tribune, neighbors had opposed the building because its contemporary exterior ignored design guidelines for the Ybor City national historic district. Officials of the community college maintained that state law exempts the college from the design guidelines.

The college is not exempt from the height limit, however. The building was designed as a four-story, 63.5-foot-high structure — about 15 feet taller than permitted under zoning for the site. College officials said the architecture firm working on the project, HuntonBrady, of Orlando, was responsible for the error.

Under the agreement, the college changed the design so that the building will be only three stories high and will have a facade more in keeping with the historic district. In return, preservationists will not oppose the college’s request for a two-foot height variance that new design will still require.