Dozens of stories followed, documenting coffins<\/a> buried under part of Robles Park Village<\/a>, a former public housing complex owned by the Tampa Housing Authority. In 2020, archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar detected more than 100 caskets<\/a> on Gonzmart\u2019s land.<\/p>\n Graves were also found on parts of a sixth-of-an-acre tow lot owned by Dennis Creech. That land was not part of the swap approved by the Council on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe wheels of government slowly turn, but we have been in conversation with that individual,\u201d Castor said at the news conference. \u201cBut we will be moving forward with the memorial. This isn\u2019t going to slow us down.\u201d<\/p>\n Gonzmart will convey his property at 3721 N. Florida Avenue directly to the Zion Cemetery Preservation and Maintenance Society, or to another nonprofit jointly designated by the city and the cemetery society, according to a March 31 memo from Deputy City Attorney Morris Massey.<\/p>\n In exchange, Gonzmart will received a city-owned property on North Highland Avenue and West Seventh Avenue. At the news conference, he also pledged to spend $100,000 on a memorial for the cemetery.<\/p>\n \u201cOur family is committed to developing it, whatever it takes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSome may wonder why this is such a milestone and why we care so deeply about righting this wrong,\u201d said council member Naya Young.<\/p>\n \u201cFor starters, residents living here today could very likely have family members buried there and they just don\u2019t know it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a matter of paying our respects to those who endured the pain and cruelty of slavery. Restoring their sacred burial ground and sharing its history is really the least that we could do.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a434776d4f1718f10c5e32d17401e66f.jpeg\"\/)
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