The road to economic prosperity

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The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Monday.

Workers at the Italian Pavilion Café on Franklin Street in downtown Tampa are preparing for a busy lunch hour, but owner Shirley Gonzalez awaits the day when she'll have a big dinner crowd too.

"I think a lot of restaurants down here are looking toward opening more at night now that this is coming about," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is referring to Monday's ribbon-cutting ceremony that marked the reopening of Franklin Street after years of being closed off to traffic between downtown and Tampa Heights. She hopes the completion of the Franklin Street connection will spur growth and new business.

"I'm hoping it will be good for everyone," said Gonzalez.

Mayor Pam Iorio says closing the street may have also closed opportunities for economic development.

"You can't undo the planning of the past and the decisions that were made," said Iorio. "What you have to do is find a way to work around them."

Activity in the area is already apparent. A high-rise condo is under construction and workers are renovating an old office building.

However, there are also neglected, rundown properties on the street. City leaders hope opening it to traffic will encourage developers to take action in those areas.

The project cost about $1 million.

Tampa Heights residents like Lena Young-Green hope the newly opened connection to downtown will help accelerate redevelopment in their community too.

"We don't want to be pulled into downtown," said Young-Green. "We want to remain our own entity. But we still want the benefits that connect us together."

Construction on the new Franklin Street connection started in June. The project cost almost $1 million to complete.

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