TAMPA - The nearly 500 families of Central Park Village are gone. The public housing apartments they lived in have been demolished.

Could the grand development that was planned for the site be on shaky ground?

Talk was bleak at Tuesday's special meeting of the Tampa Housing Authority. The board unanimously agreed to shoulder some costs that Bank of America - its redevelopment partner - originally agreed to pay. One is a $1.825 million payment to reimburse the bank's pre-development costs if it pulls out of the deal with the housing authority.

The bank says it is still committed. But a pending Florida Supreme Court decision that calls into question the project's ability to easily tap bond money has the partners skittish.

"As a result of the uncertainty with the Supreme Court decision, Bank of America approached the housing authority and said they had concerns about putting more money into the property," vice-chairman Robert Shimberg told fellow board members.

Roxanne Amoroso, senior vice president of Banc of America Community Development Corp., said, "There's commitment to go forward by both parties."

But Amoroso acknowledged in an interview that the pending Supreme Court decision could change that commitment.

"There's always going to be the potential for that when there are unknowns," she said. "And the Strand case is very impactful on this development."

In Strand v. Escambia County, Florida's high court ruled that local governments have to seek voters' blessing before issuing bonds backed by taxpayer money - and specifically, tax-increment financing. Typically, cities designate a blighted district for tax-increment financing, which means any increase in assessments over a base amount are plowed back into the area for redevelopment.

Harmony And Heritage

The housing authority intended to tap the financing tool to redevelop Central Park Village. Retail and residential would coexist in a neighborhood where poor and not-so-poor could live side by side. Many of the families who were relocated from the site to other public housing or subsidized apartments would get first dibs on the lower-income units.

The design for the new neighborhood intended to pay homage to the old neighborhood's roots as a predominantly black enclave rich in culture. The first two buildings, originally expected to open in 2009, already had names: the Ella (for Ella Fitzgerald) and the Tempo. The plan also calls for a black history museum, possibly a grocery and hotel, and street names such as Ray Charles Boulevard.

Tax-increment financing would back bonds to pay for at least $25 million in streets, stormwater and sewer systems, a park and other infrastructure for the new Central Park Village. But that part of the plan is in limbo.

The justices held a rehearing on the case Oct. 9 and have not yet issued a final ruling.

But the clock is ticking for the housing authority and Bank of America to close on the property by the end of the year. The preconditions to that include having the infrastructure funding in place and a development accord with the city. Both depend on the outcome of the Supreme Court decision.

So the bank partners approached the housing authority several weeks ago.

Bank officials planned on buying three more pieces of property - including the Meacham Elementary School land - to add to the 28-acre site now owned by the housing authority. But they decided to wait, given the uncertainty.

The bank had spent more than $1.8 million on architects, engineers, permits and fees to rezone the larger property.

"And with the current climate, putting another $2 million out without being able to close on our land parcel - which would give them security for their investment - they were skittish," authority Chief Operating Officer Leroy Moore said.

So they began negotiating.

The result: The housing authority board agreed to buy the properties itself, taking $2.65 million from the North Tampa Housing Development Corp. That nonprofit entity of the housing authority gets its money from warehouses and commercial properties it rents in Tampa and from managing 40,000 federally subsidized housing units across Florida.

And the board agreed to reimburse Bank of America for the $1.825 million it invested into predevelopment costs - if the partnership doesn't close on the Central Park Village deal by year's end.

Andrew Libby, the housing authority's chief financial officer, said the agency would likely tap into the New Tampa Housing Development Corp. money to pay that bill, too.

30 Prime Acres - Regardless

Jerome Ryans, president and chief executive officer of the housing authority, told the board members that buying the parcels was a good decision whether the bank stays as a partner or not.

"Regardless of what happens, we're going to be sitting on 30 acres of land in a prime location," Ryans said. "While I think the bank is committed, I think we need to look at protecting ourselves. Our biggest concern is to see the housing authority is taken care of. We have no reason to believe the bank is going to walk away."

Two housing authority board members - Rubin Padgett and Sophia Sorolis - voiced concerns about paying $1.8 million more to the bank if the partnership dissolves.

"We're responsible for half and the bank for the other half? Why should we take the whole financing burden?" Padgett asked.

Amoroso told them that the bank paid the money to conduct the designs and change the zoning for a more lucrative redevelopment purpose.

"If, God forbid, we parted ways, you stand with value-added property," Amoroso said.

Reporter Karen Branch-Brioso can be reached at (813) 259-7815 or kbranch-brioso@tampatrib.com.