Historic Tampa home’s heart-shaped drive is erased. It’s a ‘royal mess.’

TAMPA — George Guida Sr. compared building his dream home to preparing an ice cream cone, his son said.

The two-story, 4,500-square-foot house that was once at the center of West Tampa’s social circle was the ice cream and cone. Its unique elements, such as the Florida basement, an outdoor dining area and a heart-shaped driveway, were toppings that made the treat sweeter.

“He was going to add what he liked,” George Guida Jr. said.

It’s been 30 years since the city of Tampa purchased the home, now a local historic landmark, and later promised it would be preserved and used.

So far, the only use the city has found for the 2 ½-acre property at 1516 N. Renfrew Ave. inside MacFarlane Park is as a staging area for an ongoing neighborhood wastewater project. The house is fenced off from the public, the yard is covered with equipment and supplies, and that heart-shaped driveway, one of the home’s defining characteristics, is missing.

“They destroyed it,” Guida Jr. said.

But Dennis Fernandez, the city of Tampa’s historic preservation officer, said the driveway is still there, buried under fill added as protection against the vibrations of heavy equipment running over it. When the project is done, the construction crew will unbury the driveway, repair damage and restore it to the original look.

Guida Jr. is skeptical.

“If they cared, [the house] wouldn’t be unused and boarded up for so long,” said the 83-year-old, who grew up there.

He said that for years before it became a construction staging area, the city allowed the driveway to begin to crumble and become partially covered by grass.

Around a decade ago, he said, a family member was so distraught by the home being vacant that they asked to buy it back, but the city refused.

Guida Jr. called the city’s treatment of the house “a double standard” because they would not allow a private property owner to treat a historic home in the same manner.

“The city of Tampa has violated its own preservation rules relative to historic designation,” Guida Jr. said. “What’s going on there is demeaning to the house and its history.”

The home, an example of the Art Moderne architectural style defined by curved walls that give buildings a sleek look, was built in 1951 by Guida Sr., a wealthy contractor and bank founder who also owned a home improvement shop.

Guida Sr. lived there with his family, but the house doubled as an advertisement for what could be done with supplies from his store.

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It was showcased to plenty of guests.

“The George Guida, Sr. House was known for its owner’s hospitality and the large west patio area was built to accommodate outside entertainment,” says its page on the National Registry of Historic Places website. “A rather extravagant corner grill of rubble pattern scored concrete is flanked by large concrete counters with sinks covered with colored tiles.”

Guida Sr. opened his home to political campaign gatherings, weddings and nonprofit fundraisers, generosity that garnered him the nickname of “Mr. West Tampa.”

The driveway, Guida Jr. said, further accentuated his father’s warmth and love of West Tampa.

Guida Sr. died in 1986. Eight years later, the city purchased the home and acreage for $433,000, according to the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s website.

Nonprofit Tampa Preservation Inc. later paid for the work needed to prevent moisture from seeping in and damaging the original wallpaper, tiles and terrazzo floors. The city has continued to protect the house as needed, including tenting it for termites three years ago.

The city has sought to lease the home with the only caveat being that it needs to remain accessible to the public. Over the years, some have suggested that it become a wedding venue, restaurant or museum.

Fernandez said the city has yet to accept a pitched project because they either called for drastic alterations to the interior or would not mesh with the neighborhood park setting. “My focus has been on not only finding a use but, keeping the building properly mothballed so it’s still there when the right use comes along.”

But Guida Jr. wondered why it has it been more than a dozen years since the city issued a request for proposals.

“I don’t think it was a decision of not keeping the public engaged,” said Abbye Feeley, the city’s deputy administrator of Development & Growth Management. “There’s been several administrations as well as economic changes ... I think that for different administrations, sometimes there’s different priorities … But there have been ongoing discussions that have ebbed and flowed in relation to what is the appropriate use.”

Fernandez said the city is always open to listening to ideas.

The property will remain a construction staging area for another year, maybe longer, Feeley said, but the city will relocate to a new site if they find a suitable tenant for the Guida house before the wastewater project is finished.

But Guida Jr. said that, after all these years, he no longer takes the city at its word and doubts the heart-shaped driveway will be properly restored. “It’s a royal mess.”