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Sneaking A Peek At The Commons

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By ANGELA DELGADO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Exclamations of "wow" resounded from the freshly painted walls as a group of local residents toured the Town 'N Country Commons construction site.

The group, members of the Town 'N Country Garden Circle, is one of a few that has gotten to walk through the halls and rooms of the $11 million project. When completed, it will hold the new Town 'N Country Regional Library, the Town 'N Country Senior Center and a Head Start facility.

Construction began in late spring, and a soft opening is set for November. A grand opening is tentatively planned for Dec. 1, project manager Israel Grajales said.

The Commons is taking the place of the old West Gate Regional Library at 7606 Paula Drive. The library was torn down in May 2007. While the Commons and new library are being built, the Town 'N Country Regional Library is temporarily at 5455 W. Waters Ave., Suite 208, at the Thompson Center Waters.

The complex will include a coffee shop, senior center, Head Start facility and Friends of the Library bookstore on the first floor.

"The colors are wonderful," Donna Vetrano said as she walked inside the senior center rooms. "They're very vibrant and happy."

"This is amazing," member Marsha Craig added.

The exclamations increased once the group climbed to the second floor to see the shell that will soon become the Town 'N Country Regional Library.

"Oh, this is awesome!" said Fran Gamester, president of the garden club.

The library, which has a separate children's wing, will have 32,887 square feet of space, Grajales said. It includes a teen room designed by the Town 'N Country Youth Council, as well as a computer room and four small conference rooms that people can use for tutoring, he said.

"The children's area is amazing because we need children to grow up with the concept of reading," Craig said.
Grajales also gave the garden club a once-over of the future Shimberg Gardens park, adjacent to the Commons. The park will take up half of the 8-acre property and will have 95 trees, 114 shrubs, 126 ground covers and sod. Firebush, which attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, will be planted along the southern border of the park, club member Rob Gamester said.

"Every tree, shrub and plant is native except the crape myrtle," Rob Gamester said.

The park is scheduled to open in April 2010, and it will also feature a gazebo and butterfly garden, Grajales said.

Club members will help with park planting. After the tour, they chatted about the new facility. "I think it's a place you're going to get lost in the first few times you're going to be here," Vetrano said. "It's so big compared to what we were used to."

The Commons will contain about 48,250 square feet of floor space, whereas the old library was 14,000 square feet.

The additional space will be a plus for Michelle Doleski, who said only one person used to fit at a time in the tiny aisles of the old library.

"Now it's going to be even better," she said. It is one of the many things she likes about the facility.

Marsha Craig seconded that notion.

"It's a revitalization of the community," she said. "I'm just real impressed with what they're going to offer seniors. There's something to offer all age groups in the community."

Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

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