TAMPA - The road has all but disappeared, hidden between the blighted buildings of Central Park Village and the underused Perry Harvey Sr. Park, no longer open to traffic.

The nearby juke joints and beer gardens where some of the greatest blues, jazz and soul entertainers performed in the early 20th century are closed.

But that legacy is not forgotten and, as part of an agreement unanimously approved Tuesday, the Tampa Housing Authority plans to breathe new life into the city's former epicenter of black culture.

Officials said they will reconstruct a section of Central Avenue from Cass Street to north of Scott Street as part of their agreement with Bank of America to redevelop the 28-acre public housing site.

They will host three public meetings in October to hear public comment on possible uses and improvements for the public park. The meetings, being held jointly with the Tampa Parks and Recreation Department, will be held Oct. 5, 14 and 23 at Central Park Auditorium, 1000 India St., on the public housing property.

Roxanne Amoroso, Bank of America's vice president of community development banking, said one suggestion received was to build an amphitheater at the park.

"Could that be a potential use [of the park]? Anything could be a potential use," she said, citing the area's "incredible music history that should not be forgotten."

Housing authority board member Gerald White agreed, saying the authority and the bank needed to take advantage of input.

"We should not miss this opportunity to get it right the first time," he said.

The housing authority on Tuesday took its next step to remaking the dilapidated public housing site into a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood, agreeing to a 50-50 partnership with Bank of America and creating a corporation to oversee the site's redevelopment.

The new company, Central Park Development Group L.L.C., will buy the land once everyone has moved out and the buildings have been razed. The relocation, which began in July, involves more than 1,300 residents and is expected to take a year.

The new community will replace one of the city's oldest and largest public housing sites. The plan calls for 2,030 new housing units, mixing low-income apartments and market-rate housing in nine buildings with space dedicated for office use and retail shopping.

The plan also calls for a black history museum to be built inside the former St. James Episcopal Church, which also will be restored to include office space.

The housing authority, according to the agreement, will be paid $26.2 million for the land in two installments: $16.2 million in December 2007, with the remaining $10 million due in 2009.

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915 or jallman@tampatrib.com.