Advertisement

West Tampa chamber tabs native to help boost development

 
The West Tampa historic district with its old cigar factories can help stimulate a prosperous new era for the region, its boosters say.
The West Tampa historic district with its old cigar factories can help stimulate a prosperous new era for the region, its boosters say.
Published March 24, 2017

WEST TAMPA — Jeanette LaRussa Fenton retired in January after 41 years of public service with Hillsborough County and most recently, the city of Tampa.

Fenton, however, remains engaged with helping the community where she was born and raised: West Tampa. This week, the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce hired Fenton to serve as an economic development consultant and help bring greater value to chamber members and the overall area.

It's a perfect fit given Fenton's experience as the city's community redevelopment manager for West Tampa and Drew Park, not to mention she was born and raised in West Tampa.

"The chamber has been going through a lot of transition and looking for what is in the best interest for their future," Fenton said. "They have wanted to take a more active role in economic development in addition to community improvement, networking and all the things chambers are usually involved in."

For decades, West Tampa — roughly the community bordered by Hillsborough Avenue to the north, Dale Mabry Highway to the west, Kennedy Avenue to the south and Hillsborough River to the east — has held tremendous promise. But expectations have never equaled its potential.

Fenton, however, believes now more than ever West Tampa can take advantage of its ample assets and favorable location.

"I think the potential for West Tampa is unbounded," Fenton said.

Geographically, it's at the center of several areas enjoying renewed interest — Tampa Heights, Seminole Heights, downtown Tampa and the Westshore District.

It also should reap benefits from the renovation of North Boulevard Homes and the city's West River project. Add in its destination as a historic district; the growing medical complex anchored by St. Joseph's Hospital; and its collection of diverse, independent restaurants; and Fenton says West Tampa offers a mix that can appeal to longtime residents and millennials.

"They don't want cookie cutter," Fenton said. "They want areas with character, with that neighborhood feel, with that hole in the wall that they go to for their coffee or their beer.

"I think West Tampa is a hidden secret among young people as a place to live."

Dawn Hudson, the chamber president and a career agent at Sagicor Life Insurance, said her organization hopes to build on the area's assets.

She envisions streetscape improvements and other enhancements that can boost West Tampa's status as a gateway to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Yankees games — a theme underscored by Tampa city councilman Guido Maniscalco at the chamber's monthly luncheon March 21.

Hudson said Fenton will help with that broader vision by upgrading the chamber's economic development plan while working to build partnerships that can enhance the group's mission.

"It's like a football game," Hudson said. "We have a game plan, we have some people in the stadium cheering us on and we have a team.

"Jeanette is a an important member of that team. She's a wealth of knowledge."

Contact Ernest Hooper at ehooper@tampabay.com. Follow him @hoop4you.