Temple Terrace paves the way for resumption of work at Enigma Plaza

TEMPLE TERRACE – Let’s try again.

The Enigma Plaza project appears ready to resume construction.

The Temple Terrace City Council unanimously approved a resolution Oct. 15 amending the final site plan, clearing the way for developers to resume work on the 34,000-square-foot building, which is one day expected to house a number of retail stores and restaurants.

While the outer shell of the project, located on 56th Street south of Winn-Dixie Plaza, appears largely complete, developers submitted a new final site plan on Sept. 12 to address concerns the city has had with ongoing construction.

The initial site plan was approved in 2021.

However, since this approval, progress on the square has fallen significantly short of expectations.

Enigma Plaza was once expected to revitalize the downtown and community redevelopment area, but work was recently put on hold due to deviations from the originally approved site plan.

Planner Malek Hall said the Development Review Committee supported the approval with “a few simple conditions”.

Some of the changes in the new site plan include sidewalk widening, landscaping, buffering, parking signage, drainage, water lines and minor building height changes.

Councilwoman Alison Fernandez asked if the height changes were significant from what had already been approved, but Gray Poly Community Development Director assured her that was not the case.

“If I put them side by side on the screen, I would challenge most people to at least spot the differences,” he said.

However, the project’s implementation schedule remains uncertain.

During the months that construction was suspended, all existing building permits expired, Pauley said.

Now that new final site plans have been approved, developers Bhavandeep and Dolly Singh, who purchased the 30-year-old building on the 2.44-acre site for $1.5 million in May 2019, can clarify the stop work orders and resubmit their application for the construction of a new building. permissions.

“It is certainly in the best interest of every developer to expedite the completion of the project,” Pauley said.

Although the shell of the main building on the square is complete, the parking area, building perimeter and interior are still far from complete.

Pauly told the council that he had instructed Bhawandeep Singh and his engineer Sam Aref that he would “do everything in my power to assist them through my community development team to get this project off the ground again.”

That would please council members Fernandez and Gil Schiesler, who said they have received various complaints and concerns from residents about the project.

Shisler was harsher, calling it an “eyesore.”

“We would really, really like to see this done,” Shisler said. “I know your body type fits, but it’s on the inside. This is your problem. I don’t mean to be rude, but we need to clean up the parking lot. We need to tear down the fence. We need lightweight structures and landscaping.”

Shisler said he voted for the project in hopes that developers were willing to get serious about finishing it.

“I get calls about it two or three times a week, even during the hurricane I got calls about it,” Shisler said. “One way or another, I’m going to vote for this so you guys have the opportunity to do it. But it’s important. This is important for the region.”