Citytimes: A family's imminent fight

When you live in the cross hairs of commuter progress, why not just
settle on a price and move on? Because it's not always nearly that
simple.

PALMETTO BEACH - Justo Garcia built his house with his own hands.

An Ybor City cigarmaker, he bought 12 concrete blocks a week and spent weekends working on the project. It took him four years, but in 1949 he finished the family's Spanish-style house.

The house outlasted Garcia, who died of skin cancer in 1971. It is now the center of a compound that is home to four generations of Garcias, including his sister.

But soon, with a few swings of a wrecking ball, the houses will be wiped out. They stand in the path of a planned road to connect Interstate 4 with the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.