TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

City Has New Go-To Person

Tribune photo by JANIS FROELICH

Robert McDonaugh has been hired by Mayor Pam Iorio to head the effort to spend tax money within the communities of downtown and the Channel District.

ADVERTISEMENT

By JANIS D. FROELICH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 7, 2008

DOWNTOWN - Sipping coffee at one of downtown's newest retailers, Indigo Coffee, Robert McDonaugh looks relaxed talking about his new job.

He oversees the Downtown and Channel District Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, programs, which plow tax dollars back into the community for improvements.

McDonaugh's first day on the job was April 21. Hired by Mayor Pam Iorio, he will draw a yearly salary of $105,000 paid from the programs' budgets.

He knows the turf from a 20-year real estate career. From 1994-95, he worked for the Tampa Port Authority, helping land the Channelside entertainment and restaurant complex and planning the nuts-and-bolts for construction of the authority's modernistic headquarters on Channelside Drive.

McDonaugh, 53, said market forces such as insurance costs, mortgage concerns and rising property taxes will be out of his hands. But much else involving workers and residents in these urban areas will be under his umbrella.

For now, he's marching around the territory, trying to meet people and set up gatherings in the condominium complexes.

"I bring a different set of eyes," said McDonaugh (pronounced McDunna), adding that his direction will come from downtown and Channel District stakeholders.

"I think it's pretty cool he's walking around," said Brenda Dohring of the Dohring Group, which developed the building that houses Indigo, 514 N. Franklin St.

Dohring serves on the Downtown Community Redevelopment Area Advisory Committee, which recommends how TIF funds should be spent. Her daughter, Abbey, is president of the Uptown Council, a downtown residents' organization.

"What we've needed forever is a go-to person," Brenda Dohring said. "Bob will be good at getting us an answer quickly whether we want to hear it or not.

"Bob will get a good welcome based on his experience alone," she said. "But he also has an outgoing personality."

The Downtown TIF program was established in 2003; its 2008 draft budget is $17.4 million, largely earmarked for Tampa Convention Center projects. The Channel District TIF program was created two years ago, and its 2008 budget is $1.45 million.

McDonaugh's first impression is that downtown is a lot nicer than it was 10 years ago.

The native Long Islander came to Florida to attend the University of Tampa in 1972 and stayed. He said people predicted 10 years ago that downtown would blossom when there were more hotels, museums, restaurants, art venues and residents. If that's still the perception, he said, it's not totally accurate.

"We have all this going into a great downtown," McDonaugh said, sweeping his arms to indicate the trendy Indigo decor. "I really believe we're on the cusp.

"These buildings the condo towers are built, and people will live in them."

McDonaugh said he will focus on the details, such as the potholes and parking crunches that aggravate residents and visitors.

Colliers Arnold investment specialist Camille Renshaw said she hears parking concerns across the board.

"So if what happened in Ybor City, where parking meters were taken away, could happen downtown, that would be phenomenal," she said.

"I don't know if that could happen, but at least now we have someone to listen to us," said Renshaw, who along with a partner bought the Hub bar building, 719 N. Franklin St.

McDonaugh himself could be a candidate for downtown living, with two children away at college. Except he likes to fish from his Sunset Park property too much, he said.

To reach McDonaugh, call (813) 274-8245.

Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT