V.M. YBOR - Along a mostly residential stretch of Columbus Drive, restored bungalows define the historical character of one of Tampa's oldest neighborhoods.

A century ago its streets also were lined with shops selling the produce, baked goods and café con leches that were part of daily life in V.M. Ybor and the nearby cigar factories of Ybor City.

Last week Home Encounter, a real estate management company, held an open house for its new company headquarters in a restored 1908 grocery store that once sold produce and dry goods from its original location on 14th Avenue.

For Home Encounter it is a relocation from a former address near the University of South Florida. For V.M. Ybor it is a link to its shop-keeping past.

The two-story structure with a wrap-around, second-story balcony was moved more than a year ago to 1001 E. Columbus Drive as part of a state highway program to preserve historical structures in the path of an expansion of Interstate 4.

It was among more than 20 structures relocated and given to the city during the interstate's construction. Home Encounter partners Chase Clark and Peter Murphy paid $92,200 for the grocery store and a 1938 warehouse that also was moved.

Clark, Murphy and partner Brad Van Rooyen worked with city Historic Preservation Commission staffers to develop design plans that preserve as much as possible of the building's original look as well as its material.

"You work to get the feel of the neighborhood," said Van Rooyen. "We like the urban feel. We like being in the mix."

Pavers along the outside walkway reflect the European-style streetscape style of Ybor City's Seventh Avenue. The grocery's original double doors open into a waiting area. Large windows let in natural light.

"We installed new bead board to bring back the original shine and original feel to the building," Van Rooyen said.

Original hardwood dry-good shelves were salvaged, washed and used as a dividing wall between front offices and work spaces to the rear of the building. The shelves hold photographs of the grocery store before its restoration.

On the first floor there also is a meeting area and a small informal café. A second-floor apartment that once was occupied by the store owner's family has been remodeled for administrative offices. The balcony railing has been restored to period style along with replicas of historical outside light fixtures.

Behind the offices is the 1938 brick warehouse that was moved with the grocery store. The brick has been cleaned and an accessible sidewalk for disabled people added. The building will be used for community meetings and also as a training facility for Home Encounter employees.

In restoring the upstairs apartment, owners found portions of the old floor had a slight slant after decades of wear. The narrow stairs leading to the second floor are original.

"Part of what we enjoy is its [the building's] character," Van Rooyen said. "It isn't cookie cutter. The building told us how it was to be done."

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