SEMINOLE HEIGHTS — This Old House magazine has named Seminole Heights the "Best Place for Southern Living," Florida's "best old-house" neighborhood and one of the nation's best communities with homes to fix up.
"That's an incredible honor," said South Seminole Heights Civic Association president Gary Ellsworth. "I think that Seminole Heights has always been one of the jewels of Tampa and most recently there has been such a focus on buying the old bungalows and restoring them.
"The best thing about them is they're not cookie cutter. There's something different on every street."
That's just part of the reason the magazine, named after one of the pioneering and well-known do-it-yourself television shows, chose the neighborhood for its second annual "Best Old-House Neighborhoods" list.
The list found a neighborhood in every state, as well as in Ontario, to spotlight.
The distinction appears in the July/August edition and at thisoldhouse.com.
Seminole Heights was chosen from about five contenders in Florida. It came out ahead after magazine editors found that the "old-fashioned and affordable Florida oasis," as they called it, was stocked with an abundance of parks and a school — Hillsborough High — that Newsweek recently ranked as one of the nation's best.
"Seminole Heights has the Spanish mission style but they also have a lot of intact Craftsman type bungalows, which are very popular with our readers," said Deborah Snoonian, senior editor. "People seemed to really enjoy their neighborhood and their homes in a way that's almost on par with our readers."
With the help of real estate agents, preservation societies and neighborhood groups, This Old House also saw strong community involvement and interaction within the neighborhood that won editors over, Snoonian said.
Suzanne Prieur highlighted Seminole Heights' community activism and involvement when she submitted the neighborhood to the magazine for the contest. She is quoted in the upcoming edition.
"I have a passion for anything old," said Prieur, a six-year resident who is a member of the Historic Preservation Committee for the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association. "What makes it stand out is the fact that it's retained so many of the qualities that were present in its early days. The caring. The camaraderie.
"The neighborhood itself is an entity."
Justin George can be reached at (813) 226-3368 or jgeorge@sptimes.com.
In the July/August edition of This Old House
THE NEIGHBORHOOD: "In a state known for blinding sunlight and shoddy high-rise condo construction, Seminole Heights offers shady streets, with solid homes fronted by gardens both wild and manicured. The neighborhood's many parks offer ample opportunity to commune with nature, and families looking for strong public schools will be thrilled by Hillsborough High, recently named one of the best schools in the country by Newsweek magazine. One thing's for sure: The community fabric here is strong. 'We're all about porch parties and pot lucks,' says resident Suzanne Prieur. 'We want to make sure our old-fashioned way of life here is preserved.'"
THE HOUSES: "This is Florida, so you'll find plenty of Spanish Mission and Art Moderne-style homes here.
"But Seminole Heights is best known for its single-story Craftsman-style bungalows, built in the 1920s to accommodate the thousands of families who relocated to Tampa after railroad lines were established.
"These houses feature full-length porches with stone or brick supports, and plenty of built-ins. Most homes sell for between $150,000 and $300,000."
WHY BUY NOW? "Florida home prices have plummeted in recent months, and Seminole Heights is no exception. Several neighborhood associations do an amazing job of protecting the area from the over-development of condos and out-of-scale commercial buildings."
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