Tampa City Council approves land exchange with Ulele restaurant tied to Zion Cemetery restoration

The Tampa City Council has approved a land exchange that will return a portion of the long-forgotten Zion Cemetery to preservation efforts, advancing a yearslong push to restore one of the city’s most significant erased Black burial grounds.

The deal trades city-owned land in Tampa Heights for property along Florida Avenue that once formed part of Zion Cemetery — widely considered Tampa’s first African American burial ground.

Under the agreement a private entity affiliated with the owners of Ulele, a well-known Tampa Heights restaurant and brewery along the Riverwalk, will convey that cemetery land at 3721 Florida Avenue to the city or a designated nonprofit to be preserved and memorialized.

In exchange, the city will transfer its interest in the former cable office building site and adjacent land to Ulele, with additional parcels redistributed among private parties to resolve overlapping property claims.

The agreement marks the latest step in a yearslong effort sparked by the 2019 rediscovery of Zion Cemetery, where historical records indicate hundreds — and possibly more than 800 — Black residents were buried before the site was built over during segregation-era development.

That discovery, first brought to light through a Tampa Bay Times investigation, revealed how African American cemeteries were routinely neglected, erased from records and redeveloped without regard for those buried there — a pattern later identified across Florida.

Mayor Jane Castor praised the effort during a press conference Thursday following the Council’s approval.

“It has been a long-awaited day for many who began this journey way back in 2020 to restore, protect and respect Zion Cemetery,” Castor said.

“It’s been a lesson of patience and perseverance for many of us as we have tried to untangle a series of troubling and disappointing decisions that were made by individuals that were in positions of power in the City of Tampa. As much as we want to focus on the successes of our city, we have to be realistic and accept those mistakes that were made through history.”

The Tampa burial ground effectively disappeared for decades, with portions of the cemetery lying beneath housing and commercial properties near Robles Park Village, which was demolished last year according to WUSF reporting.

The 2019 rediscovery prompted legislative action from local lawmakers who pushed for a statewide task force to identify unmarked graves and help locate descendants of those buried at Zion. That effort ultimately led to the creation of the Florida Task Force on Abandoned African American Cemeteries and, later, statewide programs aimed at identifying, preserving and memorializing lost burial grounds.

Tampa’s land exchange represents a step forward on efforts to identify and reclaim land tied to a rediscovered cemetery. Under the terms of the agreement, the cemetery parcel will be placed under strict preservation requirements, ensuring it is maintained as a memorial site.

The deal also includes a safeguard for additional nearby land: If ground-penetrating radar or archaeological studies show evidence of additional graves, or if the parcel cannot be independently developed, that land must also be transferred for preservation. The agreement now heads toward closing, where final property transfers and preservation conditions will take effect.

“This process of bringing justice to those who are buried in Zion Cemetery, and recognizing the hardship and value to our community, is long overdue,” Castor said.