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Historic Armory
The Weekly Planet has more than a passing interest in the fate of the Armory. First, we are neighbors. Our offices are on Lemon Street, across the road from the northern boundary of the Armory property. We love our West Tampa home, having moved here two years ago from Ybor City. We don't want to be looking at the ass end of a strip mall in two years.
Second, the partnership that principally owns the Planet and parent company Creative Loafing also owns the land where our offices are located, which would undoubtedly be worth more money if the Armory property across the street is successfully redeveloped.
Eason Second Generation Holdings LLC bought our property (which includes the Planet building, a former flower warehouse, and another separate building fronting on Howard Avenue) for $900,000 in January 2004 with the intention of providing a permanent home for the newspaper, before the Armory redevelopment process was initiated by the city.
And while we're in full disclosure mode, we must tell you that the newspaper has a marketing and sponsorship agreement with one of the Armory bidders, Tampa Digital Studios. They have produced videos and podcasts for our newspaper; our reporters and editors regularly appear on Tampa Digital's weekly Media Talk radio show and webcast. We'll tell you what we told the Tampa Digital folks: That meant absolutely dick when it came to us reviewing these proposals.
