Thank You for Visiting our Office in the Park
Thank you to everyone who stopped by and shared your Downtown Tampa experiences. We truly enjoyed being able to speak with you all and enjoy the beautiful weather we had last week. A special thank you to our partners at KI Furniture for providing us with all the furniture – we wouldn’t have been able to make the installation happen without your support. We also want to thank Frontier Communications, Industrious Tampa, the City of Tampa Government, Lykes Family Foundation, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and FroYo Fresh for coming out and helping to make the installation a success.
Save the Date, Riverfront Park Debriefing
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 22 from 7:30am until 9am for our final Downtown Debriefing Series being held at the Boat House in Julian B. Lane Waterfront Park. Attendees will hear about the activation of the waterfront and the importance the Hillsborough River plays in downtown development and the region. The Downtown Debriefing Series features eight breakfast events annually, focusing on important development issues that impact Downtown including topics such as the Downtown Residential Experience, the importance of smart planning, sustainability, arts and culture, transportation Initiatives, City of Tampa updates and other important issues. Stay tuned for a registration link!
Riverfront Rock!
Be a part of the excitement as the City of Tampa opens Julian B Lane Riverfront Park! #RiverfrontRock volunteers are needed to help make this free community celebration featuring live music, great food, park activations, fireworks, fitness classes & more a great success. Sign up at https://bit.ly/2HCCmaz. This grand opening celebration is FREE and will feature exciting events and activities throughout the weekend. Food trucks will be on site as well as beer provided by Pepin and Titos Vodka all available for purchase. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates as we countdown to the grand opening of Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park!
You’re Invited to an Art Unveiling
In celebration of Armed Forces Day, the Straz Center invites you to the opening of the visual exhibition POWER TO THE PEOPLE: The Bill of Rights, an exhibit of local veteran artists interpreting the first 10 articles in the Bill of Rights on May 19 from 10am until noon. Funded in part by Tampa Downtown Partnership and the DeBartolo Family Foundation, POWER TO THE PEOPLE contains ten pieces by Tampa Bay area veterans who were each assigned one article of the Bill of Rights to inspire an original work of art. You will see deeply personal artistic meditations by women and men who serve in the armed forces to protect these rights. Produced in conjunction with James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Hospital, POWER TO THE PEOPLE is presented as part of Straz Salutes, a program offering opportunities for veterans and their families to connect with the arts. Opening remarks will be followed by a performance from the Amputee Color Guard. Presentation and refreshments will take place under the Riverwalk tent. Learn more about the event.
Mayor’s Food Truck Fiesta
Wednesday, May 2, 11am to 2pm Lykes Gaslight Square Looking for a larger selection of lunch options? Step outside for a meal in the park! Choose from a wide variety of local food trucks serving up all sorts of delicious culinary creations. You’ll have your pick of dishes from plenty of delectable kitchens on wheels! For more information, go to Mayor’s Food Truck Fiesta.
Rock the Park
Thursday, May 3, 6:30pm to 9pm Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Listen to some great musical talent in a beautiful, relaxing setting. This month’s show features Ashley Smith & The Random Occurrence, Jon Ditty, and The Easy Button. With food and drinks on the premises and an always exciting vibe, this free concert is guaranteed not to disappoint. For more information, go to Rock the Park.
2018 Clean Air Fair
Thursday, May 3, 11:30am to 1:30pm Poe Plaza Esplanade Join the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County for the 17th Annual Clean Air Fair. There will be live music, exhibitors, and complimentary refreshments. Clean Air Fair.
Tampa Riverfest 2018
Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5 Tampa Riverwalk Presented by Friends of the Riverwalk in conjunction with the City of Tampa, the fourth annual edition of this free event will span the entire length of the Riverwalk and feature family-friendly activities and events showcasing Tampa’s cultural institutions, local music, and restaurants. Music fans can enjoy more than 8 bands on the main stage in Curtis Hixon Park. This year’s event features a special new treat: Friday’s Taste of the Riverwalk will feature samples from local restaurants and bars that are located on or near the Riverwalk. Enjoy everything our beautiful Riverwalk has to offer at this wonderful celebration! For more information, go to Tampa Riverfest 2018.
Taking the Stage at the Straz Center
The Florida Orchestra – Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 – Friday, May 4, begins 8pm Next Generation Ballet’s Cinderella – Saturday, May 5 to Sunday, May 6
On the Marquee at Tampa Theatre
Final Portrait (2018) – Through Wednesday, May 2 Lean On Pete (2018) – Friday, May 4 to Thursday, May 10 Spaceballs (1987) – Friday, May 4, 10:30pm to Midnight Sing-Along The Little Mermaid – Sunday, May 6, 3pm to 4:30pm
On Stage at Jobsite Theater
1984 – Through Sunday, May 20
Tampa City Center is For Sale
Don’t be surprised if Tampa City Center becomes the next high-profile downtown Tampa skyscraper to trade hands. Owner Alliance Partners HSP LLC, which acquired the 39-story tower for $128.1 million in October 2014, has retained commercial real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Team to market the building. Cushman & Wakefield, which negotiated the sale of the 750,000-square-foot building to Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based Alliance Partners HSP, is preparing to evaluate bids for the property. The former GTE Center, completed in 1981 and once the tallest building in Florida, is today occupied by PNC Bank, Cushman & Wakefield, the University Club of Tampa, architectural firm HOK, real estate developer Ryan Cos. USA Inc., accounting firm Deloitte, Iberia Bank, investment firm Merrill Lynch and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, among others. “Alliance Capital HSP Selling Skyscraper After More Than Three Years Of Ownership” – Business Observer
Marketplace News
Portico Café now features online ordering! Place your order, submit payment and skip the line.
The Florida Aquarium is offering FREE admissions to Moms on May 12 and 13 (Saturday and Sunday) with the purchase of any full paid admission. For more information, call 813-273-4000 or visit flaquarium.org.
Vale Food Co. received 4 out of 5 stars from Creative Loafing. Read the review!
Downtown to Host International Transit Experts
On May 6-9, 2018, the Tampa Bay region will host public transportation industry experts from across the world at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Bus & Paratransit Conference, taking place at the Tampa Marriott Waterside. The APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference provides a unique opportunity for transit leaders across the country to come together to share best practices, find solutions, and improve services throughout communities in the US. In addition to all the conference sessions and activities, HART will be hosting a series of technical tours the media is invited to attend designed to educate conference attendees about HART’s facilities and learn about the organization’s latest, innovative HyperLINK service. Learn more about the conference.
City Market Eats Opens Today
The ownership group behind Yeoman’s Cask & Lion is opening a new concept in downtown Tampa that caters to time-starved office workers and convention-goers with four main food groups: coffee, hot dogs, ice cream and grab-and-go. City Market Eats will open April 30 at 206 N. Morgan St., on the same block as Yeoman’s. It will feature a hot dog bar with 20-plus toppings — chili and cheese, onions and relish and more. Scoops of Tampa’s Revolution Ice Cream Co. are a key component of the concept, as is a custom coffee blend, 813 Go Joe. About a quarter of the space is dedicated to retail — sundry convenience items and Tampa-branded hats and T-shirts. There are 50 seats in the space, but the emphasis is on speed and convenience. “Go Inside City Market Eats, Opening Soon In Downtown Tampa (Photos)” – Tampa Bay Business Journal
Water Street Road Construction, Phase 2
Water Street Tampa’s next phase of road construction has begun, permanently closing a portion of one street and switching a one-way stretch of Channelside Drive into a two-lane street. Brorein Street between Channelside Drive and South Nebraska Avenue closed at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, along with the northernmost, westbound lane on Channelside Drive between South Meridian Avenue and Old Water Street. The Brorein closure is permanent. In the new grid, Old Water Street will be extended to the north by about three blocks, becoming the district’s signature, tree-lined boulevard. Between South Nebraska Avenue and Old Water Street, Channelside Drive is now a two-way street. It was previously a one-way, eastbound street. South Nebraska Avenue, between Channelside Drive and East Brorein, will become a one-way northbound street. “Water Street’s next phase of road construction begins (Video)” – Tampa Bay Business Journal
ICYMI: City and USF Sign MOU for Smart Transportation
Central Florida will explore smart transportation projects through a new agreement with the University of South Florida. Tampa Bay officials signed a memorandum of understanding with the Center for Urban Transportation Research at USF as a first step toward working together on “smart city solutions,” said Vik Bhide, chief traffic management engineer and manager of the Smart Cities Program in Tampa Bay. The MOU comes after more than two years of work on the part of the city and university to form an agreement to investigate smart cities technologies. The partnership offers the city a mechanism for elevating conversations around smart transportation projects it’s already involved with “to the national level,” said Bhide. “Tampa and University of South Florida to Study Smart Transportation” – GovTech.com
Downtown Gets Two More Developments
The facelift continues for Tampa’s downtown waterfront district, as two new development projects are announced this week — Riverwalk Place and a Marriott Edition hotel, both within walking distance of the Tampa Convention Center. The projects help give shape to the district’s continued redevelopment and cement the layout of tomorrow’s downtown. Rising more than 50 stories, Riverwalk Place may become the tallest tower on Florida’s west coast, with offices, restaurants, and luxury condominiums offered for between $600,000 and more than $2 million. The project, which is estimated to cost $350 million and employ over 50 workers during its construction phase, is spearheaded by Feldman Equities of Tampa and Two Roads Development of West Palm Beach. The Edition will take a prominent position in a 26-story building across the street from Amalie Arena, at the northwest corner of Channelside Drive and Water Street. Upon its scheduled completion in 2021, it will join other hotels in the Water Street Tampa, including a 519-room JW Marriott, which is slated for completion the year prior, and the existing 727-room Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, which has planned renovations by SPP. “Downtown Tampa Gets Two More Eye-Catching Developments” – 83 Degrees
JW Marriott Hotel is Just the Beginning
On Tuesday, developers and dignitaries broke ground on the new JW Marriott Hotel, a keystone in Tampa’s Water Street project. The hotel will have 26 floors, 519 rooms, and is expected to be finished in 2020, just in time for the Tampa to host Super Bowl LV. The project, part of an ambitious high-rise blitz, is transforming Tampa’s skyline. Jeff Vinik’s Strategic Property Partners has plans for 22 buildings, 10 of which will begin rising soon. The buildings will include the JW Marriott, which they broke ground on Tuesday, and there’s also another Marriott property announced last week called the Edition. In about two months, a pair of apartment towers will also start to rise, complete with a new supermarket. Three more residential buildings are also coming to Water Street, and an office tower in Channelside. In all, 1,000,000 square feet of office space and 1,500 residences. “Total development that will add up to 9,000,000 square feet. Three billion dollars of new development on 55 acres of land, and perhaps growing at some point,” said Vinik. “Tampa’s Skyline About To Undergo Transformation” – 10 News
Hill Ward Henderson Attorney Appointed to Committee
Hill Ward Henderson proudly announces that attorney Matthew F. Hall was recently appointed Chair of the Florida Bar’s Federal Court Practice Committee, effective July 1, 2018. He was appointed to serve as Chair for the 2018-2019 year by The Florida Bar President-Elect, Michelle R. Suskauer. Prior to his appointment as Chair, Mr. Hall served as Vice Chair of the Florida Bar’s Federal Court Practice Committee for the 2017-2018 term. The Federal Court Practice Committee serves as the Bar’s liaison to the federal courts, federal bar organizations in Florida, the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference, and others interested in federal practice. For additional information, please visit the firm’s website at www.hwhlaw.com.
Plant Museum Receives Diversity Award
The Henry B. Plant Museum is proud to announce that it has received a 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Award from The Division of Cultural Affairs and Citizens for Florida Arts, Inc. The Museum was recognized at a special awards ceremony in Tallahassee in January. The award will be used to offer sign language interpretation at several performances of Upstairs/Downstairs live theater in April and May. According to the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, the award program “recognizes innovative and exceptional efforts that promote diversity in arts and cultural programming.” The Museum engages in many efforts to make its programs and exhibits accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities. The Museum is using the award funds to provide a series of guided tours The Henry B. Plant Museum is proud to announce that it has received a 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Award from The Division of Cultural Affairs and Citizens for Florida Arts, Inc. The Museum was recognized at a special awards ceremony in Tallahassee in January. The award will be used to offer sign language interpretation at several performances of Upstairs/Downstairs live theater in April and May. These tours and performances are open to the public and included with Museum admission. Interpretation is offered by AQI Services, which specializes in interpreting in a theater environment. For questions or to reserve space, please contact Heather Trubee Brown, htrubee@ut.edu, 813.258.7304.
The Westshore Alliance is Hiring
The Westshore Alliance is hiring! They are currently seeking qualified candidates to fill two positions – Director of Membership and Director of Transportation. The Westshore Alliance is a business-based, membership-driven organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the nearly 94,000 employees that call Tampa’s Westshore District their working home. Responding to the needs defined by our 350 member companies, the Alliance focuses on transportation, beautification, public safety, district marketing and business relationship building.
EDC Welcomes New Marketing and Communications Director
On May 1, the EDC will welcome Laura Fontanills as our new Marketing and Communications Director. Fontanills brings more than 10 years of experience in local and national media relations and marketing to the organization. In her new role, she will be responsible for generating content, managing events, and engaging with local, national and international business media to gain positive coverage for Tampa and Hillsborough County and the economic development initiatives of the EDC. Read more.
Tindale Oliver Welcomes Senior Associate
Tindale Oliver announced that Jill Quigley, AICP, has joined the firm as a Senior Associate in our Fort Lauderdale office. Jill has more than 23 years of project management experience in a variety of transportation and land use projects, including master plans, transit alternatives analyses, local government comprehensive plans, NEPA environmental analyses, and public outreach. She worked for 17 years in project management for private consulting firms and for 6 years in the public sector at the municipal and county levels in South Florida, for which she wrote and revised zoning codes, reviewed development applications, and developed comprehensive plans in compliance with State requirements.
Incentives Could Benefit Trop Site
A new federal economic development incentive could help draw investors who want to redevelop the Tropicana Field site in St. Petersburg. The Trop site and the surrounding areas are included in Gov. Rick Scott’s recommendations for Low Tax Opportunity Zones, a program designed to encourage long-term investment and job creation in low-income urban areas and rural communities. Parts of downtown Clearwater and downtown Largo also are included in the proposed opportunity zones in Pinellas County, as is St. Petersburg’s Edge District and the existing police headquarters that will be demolished once construction on a new facility is complete. “New Federal Tax Law Could Help Attract Interest in Redeveloping the Trop Site” – Tampa Bay Business Journal
USF Offering ‘Design by Making’ Summer Program
The USF School of Architecture & Community Design is offering a Design by Making Summer Program for high school students running June 18 through July 6. The program enables students entering grades 9 to 12 in Fall 2018 to explore architecture from a designer’s viewpoint. The 3-week program introduces participants to different design methods within a studio environment. This program is not for college credit, but work produced in this program can be utilized by students in their university application process. Click here for more information.
$800M in Road Projects Up for Grabs
Hillsborough County has a lot of road work to do, and it wants small businesses and minority- and women-owned businesses to help get the job done. Hillsborough County’s “Road to Success II’’ event on Wednesday, May 9, is aimed at small businesses and businesses owned by minorities and women who want to apply for road construction and maintenance contracts or other road-related work like landscaping or installing traffic signals. The event is from 1-3 p.m. on June 9 at the Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Public Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Ave. in Tampa. Hillsborough County plans to spend $800 million on road projects in the next decade, including the widening of Bell Shoals Road in Valrico and extending Citrus Park Drive. Additional information about these projects is available on HCFLGov.net/countyprojects.
Clearwater Speeds up Redevelopment
Voters backed a referendum in November that essentially greenlighted the $55 million redevelopment plan Imagine Clearwater, pitched as the city’s most ambitious effort to revive downtown through a transformation of the waterfront. But with the plan now stuck in the design stage, residents won’t see construction crews any time soon. To show evidence of progress in the meantime, the City Council has directed staff to scope out temporary office space for the 45 City Hall employees so the outdated building can be demolished and the property can be marketed to developers sooner than planned. “Clearwater Looks to Move Out of City Hall to Speed Up Imagine Clearwater Waterfront Redevelopment” – Tampa Bay Times
Hillsborough Hotels Performance Climbs
Hillsborough County has seen the collection of its tourist development tax or bed tax soar in the first three months of this year. In the second quarter ended March 31 of fiscal year 2018, the county collected more than $9.27 million, or 8.67 percent more than the $8.53 million collected over the same period one year ago. That is a nearly 16 percent increase from the same period in FY 2016 when the amount collected was just over $8 million. In March alone, which reflect collections in February, a record $3.43 million was collected compared to $3.399 million for March 2017. Revenue for hotels in Hillsborough County rose 4.5 percent in the second quarter of FY 2018 (Jan. 1 through March 31) to more than $231 million, despite occupancy dropping slightly. In the month of March, hotel revenue was nearly $89.3 million, a 10 percent rise over March 2017. “Hotel Performance In Hillsborough Climbs For First Three Months Of 2018” – Tampa Bay Business Journal
Monday Morning Memo –Monday Morning Memo is a weekly update of “insider downtown information” regarding developments, transportation, special opportunities and other useful information to help you make the most of downtown. Subscribe to receive this weekly newsletter.
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