Politics & Government

Tonight's Meeting to Answer Questions About The Regent

The Brandon Community Advantage Center board will discuss the controversial venue with residents.

Residents will have a chance to get all their questions answered about The Regent tonight.

From its cost to its purpose and operation, The Regent will be the topic of a public meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.at The Regent, 6437 Watson Road, Riverview.

According to Mary Boor, secretary of the Brandon Community Advantage Center, which oversees renting the banquet facility and downstairs meeting room, this will be the first of quarterly meetings the BCAC board plans to host to answer questions and concerns about the facility.

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In addition to serving as a for-fee banquet hall and meeting facility, The Regent houses Hillsborough Community College classes and doubles as a special-needs hurricane shelter.

It was constructed with $7 million in federal, state and county funds.

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Over the past several months, the facility has come under fire. Critics claim the venue is too focused on hosting private weddings and parties and doesn't cater to the community events for which it was constructed.

The venue also has been blasted for its embellishments including marble and hardwood flooring, columns and chandeliers.

At the meeting, Boor said the board will answers questions about the costs of the facility, its operation and efforts to reach out to the nonprofit groups and arts community.

The board also will discuss misconceptions about the building's purpose.

According to BCAC attorney Marsh Rainey, the facility was constructed to provide a venue for large community gatherings so organizations did not have to travel to Tampa to host their events.

The facility was never intended to serve as a civic center for the Brandon area, he said.

But Lithia artist and president of the Greater Brandon Arts Council, Anne Drewry, said she and others who attended planning meetings for The Regent were under the impression that The Regent going to be a venue for the fine and performing arts in the community, a facility similar to the Carrollwood Cultural Center.

Located in two renovated churches in Carrollwood Village, the Carrollwood Cultural Center was constructed with $7.9 million in county funds.

It includes a 26,000-square-foot main building equipped with a stage, dressing rooms, art studios, computer lab and conference rooms, In addition, the center features a 4,400-square-foot at sister building, The Studio, with vaulted ceilings, an open lobby and a caterer’s kitchen to be used for events, parties and wedding receptions.

In addition to funding the construction of the Carrollwood Cultural Center, the county is providing $380,000 a year to subsidize its operational costs.

The county pitched in $2.5 million in Community Investment Tax funds to build The Regent and pays none of its operating costs.

The purpose of tonight's meeting, said Boor, is to clear the air.

"We'll be discussing the process from the beginning through the completion of the project, from the construction to the day-to-day operation," she said.

She added that there will be an opportunity for residents to ask questions.


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