He has also represented civil rights groups and done pro bono work on behalf of Connie Burton, the president of the Robles Park tenants association who has repeatedly clashed with the Tampa Housing Authority.īurns did not return calls for comment. Last year, the state hired him to help lead the legal fight against Alliance Capital Management, a Wall Street firm that cost Florida's pension fund $300-million after investing in Enron. Neighbors say he stays there infrequently. No plans have been submitted to alter the Leiman House itself.Ĭounty records show Burns bought the property for $1.125-million. No protected trees would be cut down, but a large camphor would be trimmed. A variance is also needed for a proposed garage. 'It's a matter of scale and proportion,' Meyer said.īurns wants permission to build the new house six feet closer to the sidewalk than current rules allow.

Unlike many houses in the neighborhood, the Leiman House is wider than it is deep and warrants the extra room, said Geoffrey Meyer, an architect and president of Hyde Park Preservation Inc., which represents the neighborhood. The third serves as an expanded side yard. Historically, the Leiman House has occupied three lots. 'This is like buying a Model T Ford and selling it for parts,' said Russell, who lives next door. Fernandez has an option to buy part of the property if the ARC blesses her plans for a two-story house. Neighbors argue that relationship would be ruined if the Leiman House lot, now dotted with large oaks and camphor trees, were further developed. The style emphasizes the relationship between a building and the land around it. Historians consider the two-story building Tampa's leading example of 'prairie architecture,' an early 20th-century style developed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Leiman House was built in 1916 for cigar box maker Henry Leiman and is on the National Register of Historic Places. But the 'historical integrity (of the Leiman House) will not be altered.' 'Is it better to keep the site intact? Yes,' Acosta said.

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