Jeff and Penny Vinik commit $1M to restore derelict Jackson Rooming House in downtown Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 18, 2019

Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and his wife, Penny, have committed $1 million to restore the Jackson Rooming House, a historic crumbling structure in downtown Tampa.

The city announced the Viniks' donation Monday. The Jackson House was built in 1901 by Moses and Sarah Jackson and operated as a boarding house for African Americans during racial segregation. It closed in 1989 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole were hosted at the Jackson House as they passed through Central Avenue, which was a thriving black business district leading up to the 1960s. Martin Luther King Jr. visited the Jackson House in 1961.

The Jacksons' grandson, Willie Robinson Jr., created the nonprofit Jackson House Foundation and advocated for the restoration until his death earlier this year. The foundation owns the house.

The restoration project will continue to be led by Dr. Carolyn Hepburn Collins, a past NAACP president who has been spearheading the Jackson House efforts since 2013.

"On behalf of the Jackson House Foundation Board of Directors, we are eternally grateful for the generous time and resources that have made saving the Jackson House a reality,” Collins, chairwoman of the board, said in a statement. "From the support of Mayor [Jane] Castor and the city council, to the infusion of critical support from Mr. and Mrs. Vinik, we are thankful and we encourage everyone to join this effort to preserve our history.”

Vinik is a partner in Water Street Tampa, a $3 billion mixed-use development under construction several blocks south of the Jackson House in downtown Tampa.

"As Tampa continues to grow and change, it is critical that we invest in preserving the unique and valuable history of those who laid the foundation for our progress," Jeff Vinik said in a statement. "Tampa's diversity is our most valuable asset.”

It isn't the first donation the Viniks have made toward saving the property: In 2017, through a Tampa Bay Lightning Community Hero award, the Jackson House Foundation worked with local engineers to stabilize the house, but the condition of the structure has since worsened.

The Community Hero award gives $50,000 to a local nonprofit at every home Lightning game.

"It's impossible to put a dollar amount on the preservation of Tampa's rich history," Castor said in a statement. "Throughout the city we are extremely excited by new development that is activating our once blighted areas but we must celebrate and respect the pioneers that built our great city.”