The end of Newks?

One of the mainstays of the Lightning's tenure in downtown Tampa is Newks' Cafe directly across from the St. Pete Times Forum. It's served as a rallying point for both Lightning fans and their rivals over the years, and just a great spot to crash and get a drink before or after an event at the Forum.

Well, if the owners have their way, that will be just another memory and relic of the past.

The Tampa Tribune reports that the Newkirk brothers, the owners of Newks', are trying to get a zoning change for their land and want to build a tower that stands 125+ feet on the property.

I'm no NIMBY, I'm greatly excited about things going on down in Channelside and in the city of Tampa -- projects like Trump Tower Tampa in the downtown core, the 02 Condos and the Pinacle Tower, The Towers at Channelside and other projects that surround the St. Pete Times Forum (AKA Ice Palace) and are planned for the Channel district.

Yet sometimes you just need to know when to say when... You need to know when to hold things in check and have some restrictions on growth for one reason or another. To preserve one aspect of an area or another to keep focus on what the attitude and what the feel of the area is supposed to be... Keeping a feel for the heritage as well as the ambiance.

Until the real estate bubble bursts -- and it will burst, unfortunately -- construction growth is going to continue to be substantial and sprawling in some places. It's not exactly impossible to build what Newks wants to build elsewhere in Tampa... With all the developement going on, isn't it about time we saved something instead of bulldozed it just to give the rich-folks another high rise?