When officials at Camden Property Trust learned Friday that a fire had destroyed nearly all of The Park at Ybor City, their luxury apartment complex under construction along Palm Avenue, they immediately flew to Tampa to assess the damage.

They toured the rubble. They sat down with their insurers. They inspected concrete foundations and metal beams - the only things to survive the fire.

But it turns out there was never a question Camden would rebuild. "The thought of not resuming construction never occurred to us," said Jerry Hasara, Camden's regional vice president, on Monday.

Camden's announcement was welcomed by city leaders, who see the $32.8 million, 450-unit apartment complex as a cornerstone in the rebirth of Ybor City.

The once vibrant community, decimated by urban renewal 40 years ago, is being redeveloped with a entertainment and retail center, a hotel and a bevy of other projects.

The Camden apartment complex, the only major housing project planned for the area, is the only redevelopment project that would have brought many residents back to Ybor City. Those residents are expected to support local retailers and restaurants and help Ybor grow from a weekend playground for young adults into a thriving community.

Mayor Dick Greco said the fire was a "setback" for Ybor's development but that it wouldn't stop its progress.

Workers have already begun to clear the fire site, a process that should last only a week, Hasara said. The building foundations will have to be replaced. Steel supports for the buildings' parking decks are being inspected, and they will be torn down if they're not considered safe to use again.

"We have to start from scratch," he said.

The apartment complex was about one- third completed, he said.

Greco praised Camden for its commitment to Ybor City.

"I want to tell all of you that it's not easy to make a decision to start all over again," he said. After the fire, "we were waiting eagerly to see what Camden's response was. "

The rebuilt Park at Ybor City should be ready for tenants in late fall or winter next year, about eight to 12 months behind schedule. The one part of the complex that wasn't decimated, the building on Palm Avenue between 20th and 21st streets, is expected to open on time by the end of 2000.

Camden hadn't signed leases with tenants before the fire hit, although it was taking names of people interested in living there.

Finance rates, which have risen since the first The Park at Ybor City was started, weren't a deterrent to rebuilding, Hasara said.

The second apartment complex will be built exactly like the first one - as a wood- frame structure with fire-resistant drywall serving as firewalls.

That type of construction let Friday's fire spread rapidly, especially because none of the fire walls had been installed.

Contractors often complete the wooden frame for a building before installing fire walls. That method is much quicker and less expensive than framing a building and putting up fire walls at the same time.

Hasara said construction methods weren't to blame for the disaster, and that his company was a victim of bad timing.

The apartment complex was "probably in the most vulnerable stage of construction it would have been," when the fire hit, he said.

Camden's announcement came at a program recognizing the efforts of firefighters and other emergency response personnel who responded to the fire.

Hasara said that Camden would donate $25,000 to the Tampa Firefighters Museum.

"I can't say enough about the efforts of the firefighters," he said.