Tampa city council denies plans for new high-rise on synagogue's property along Bayshore Boulevard

Tampa Councilors rejected a plan by Congregation Rodeph Sholom to sell part of their land, in hopes of using the funds to pay for renovations for its aging building.

The 120-year-old congregation is in a bind. With its 50-year-old building in need of renovations – from its roof and air conditioning system – the hope was to sell over half of its 2.5 acres to a developer, The Related Group.

The developer wants to build a 29-story condo tower, which would stand in tandem with the synagogue.

"My concern is if the plan is denied, in time the synagogue will be forced to sell," said one speaker at city council, who was wearing a shirt that said, "Honoring the Past, Preserving the Future."

But Thursday night, councilors were universally opposed, after a host of speakers warned the project sacrificed too many trees and said the plan for the front of the building wouldn't fit in with the nearby garden club, which hosts weddings.

"The building as it is proposed today is inappropriate and does not fit with the neighborhood," said one speaker who was opposed to the project.

On Friday, the synagogue told FOX 13 they might be down, but not out.

"Being a good neighbor is a very important thing," said temple president Lloys Stern. "We have always had a wonderful relationship with the whole neighborhood."

They're planning to work with the developer to redraw some of the project renderings, including the building's footprint to save two large oak trees, craft a new frontage along Bayshore Boulevard, and potentially change the number of units.

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The congregation is the spiritual home of 300 families, down from 500 just a few years ago. Keeping a house of warship going these days is about creativity.

"Things are changing," said Stern. "People are using organizations in a different way. They had to find a way to generate those funds."

Councilors do say they are willing to listen to a new pitch from the synagogue, as long as it comes back in a different form.

It is unclear when they will be ready to go back before the council.