BEACH PARK - This neighborhood's longstanding effort to restore its historical gateway is being delayed over who controls parts of the structures.

The distinctive pink gateway arches and curving wing walls with built-in benches are at the Swann Avenue entrance to Beach Park, off Lois Avenue.

Dennis Fernandez, the city's historic preservation manager, said the structures were built in 1926 to promote the new neighborhood, then outside city limits.

"It is truly the last functioning gateway in the city," Fernandez said.

The center portion is on city right of way, but portions of the north and south wing walls are on private property.

The property owners at 4201 W. Swann Ave., on the north side, want the city or the Beach Park Homeowners Association to buy the land occupied by the wall based on a percentage of the market value.

"This could be done in the form of tax credits ... so the city does not have to appropriate funds," John S. Gallagher, a son of owner Mary Gallagher, who lives in Louisiana, wrote in an e-mail to the city.

The family also wants written guarantees that a new house could be built on the lot with "workable variances" to account for trees and the new property line, Gallagher wrote.

The unoccupied house was built in 1952, and the almost 1/2 -acre lot accounts for about 90 percent of the $528,000 market value, property records show. The property has been on and off the market several times.

"We are trying to protect my mother's nest egg," Gallagher said in a telephone interview from Virginia. "It's not that we are not civic-minded. We want to do what's best for everybody."

The house at 4200 W. Swann Ave., on the south side, was built in 1951 on a slightly smaller lot. The property is appraised at $407,000, with about 75 percent of the value in the land, records show.

"I want to make it clear that I am going to give my approval for the repair, but I don't want to give away the property," said owner Concepcion Iglesias, who has lived in the house for decades.

The city is having trouble maintaining the sections it owns.

"We are not willing to accept by gift, or by purchase the private sections because we do not have the money," said Cynthia Miller, growth management and development services director.

Emmy Purcell Reynolds, president of the homeowners association, said she agrees with the property owners, but her organization is prohibited from owning property.

"We hope they can come to some kind of agreement" with the city, she said. "I never anticipated it would be this difficult."

Since launching the restoration effort nearly four years ago, the association has collected almost $4,000 in donations and $2,250 in public grants.

The city has budgeted $37,000 for the work, which includes pressure washing, caulking, painting and replacing decorative tile on all three structures. In addition, small cuts need to be made in each of the wing walls to install expansion joints to prevent tree roots from buckling the walls.

Fernandez said the structures are not in danger of collapse.

Gallagher said his family will not grant access to the wing wall until ownership and liability issues are resolved.

The city's Historic Preservation Commission recommended the gateway for historical status a year ago, but the protective designation requires city council approval. That won't happen until ownership issues are resolved and the city gets bids for the work, which Fernandez said could take 10 months.

"We are trying to figure out what the next steps are," Miller said.

Reporter Mark Holan can be reached at (813) 835-2102 or mholan@tampatrib.com.