UPDATE: The Tampa City Council gave unanimous final approval on April 18 to demolish WestShore Plaza.
ORIGINAL STORY:
WestShore Plaza would be no more under a redevelopment plan that got initial approval from Tampa City Council last week.
The mall was built in the 1960s, and even Truett Gardner — attorney for mall owner Washington Prime Group — has fond memories.
"I bought my first cassette tapes at the WestShore mall, including Van Halen, '1984,' " Gardner said during the council meeting.
Washington Prime Group had a plan approved in 2020 that would have redeveloped only the east side of the mall, located at Kennedy and West Shore boulevards.
Now it wants approval to redevelop the entire site into a mixed-use area with shopping, residential and business.
Neighbors are concerned about traffic generated by a revitalized site. So is council Chair Guido Maniscalco.
If successful, Maniscalco said, the redevelopment could put even more pressure on traffic in West Shore area.
"It would go back to possibly number closer to when that mall was at its peak with the amount of people coming in," Maniscalco said.
Council members unanimously approved the plan in a first reading.
Maniscalco said his approval was a reluctant one.
"You know, this mall's going to be torn down, and it was a part of my childhood and a lot of people's," Maniscalco said. "And, I think the only thing left is going to be the Macy's, but everything else is going to be gone.
"You know, you hate to see change, but Tampa's growing; it's a beautiful project."
It's hoped the new West Shore Interchange with will help relieve future traffic pressure.
The second reading of the proposal is set for April 18.
