Mr. Keith G. Greminger is a registered architect and the Practice Builder and design lead for Urban Design and Community Planning services for the Tampa office of Kimley-Horn, a nationally recognized multi-disciplinary design and engineering firm serving the Tampa Bay area since 1978.
Prior to joining Kimley-Horn, Mr. Greminger served as: the Urban Design, Planning and Mixed Use Practice Leader for the Tampa office of Gensler; as the head of Commercial Development and Planning for URS Corporation in Tampa, and prior to that had his own architecture and consulting practice Greminger Design Services. Mr. Greminger began his career with a twenty-year tenure at Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK). His project background includes community and urban design, master planning, commercial development, hospitality, retail, residential design, corporate headquarters and public facility projects.
Mr. Greminger graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University with an emphasis on place-making through planning and urban design. He continues to guest lecture and jury student work at the University of South Florida, School of Architecture and Community Design, and University of Florida, College of Architecture and Community Design.
Mr. Greminger’s personal commitment to the community extends to local, national and international organizations. He is the Past President of the Tampa Section of the American Institute of Architects, Past Chairman of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, serves on the Management Committee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Board Member of the American Victory Ship, Friends of the Riverwalk and is the Co-Founder of the Tampa Bay International Dragon Boat Institute (TBIDBI). His commitment to family and youth development is recognized through 20 years as a Coach and Board member of the Bayshore Little League on Davis lslands, overseeing the park’s growth and recreational facility development. Keith has been married to his wife Vivian for 33 years and has four grown children.
Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Park presented by the Tampa Bay Lightning is Downtown Tampa’s only outdoor (REAL!) ice rink. During its seven week installation running November 16 through January 5, Winter Village will feature 10 boutiques from local craftspeople and purveyors as well as specialty drinks and treats to complement the 5,000 square feet of real ice.
New this season, the Tampa Downtown Partnership is introducing a 360-degree choreographed light display that pairs with your favorite holiday sounds creating a holiday experience like no other. The Partnership is also bringing a bit of the beach to Downtown Tampa with a holiday sand sculpture crafted by local artists Sandtastic, who are featured in the Clearwater Beach Sugar Sand Festival.
Tampa Downtown Partnership is also bringing back two experiences introduced last season through strategic partnerships with Tampa Theatre and TECO Line Streetcar.
Shown in the Great Lawn of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Tampa Theatre will present “Home Alone” on Winter Village’s opening night, Friday, November 16, and “The Santa Clause” after Tampa’s Tree Lighting Ceremony presented by Friends of Tampa Recreation on Friday, November 30. The support of the F.E. Lykes Foundation makes the screenings possible.
The TECO Line Streetcar has renewed the partnership with Tampa Downtown Partnership to offer a holiday experience aboard a themed Streetcar with the Winter Village Express. Riders can board the Winter Village Express at the Centro Ybor or Whiting Station on Sundays beginning November 18 through December 23 between 3pm and 8pm to enjoy treats, music and activities during the non-stop ride.
For tickets and more information, visit WinterVillageTampa.com. #WinterVillageTampa
Join us on November 29th at Armature Works as we celebrate businesses, organizations, individuals, events, and projects that have made significant contributions toward creating a unique, vibrant, and diverse downtown environment – and have made a lasting, positive impact on Downtown Tampa. Kari Goetz, Vice President of External Relations for the Florida Aquarium, returns at Emcee for this fun and honorable event. Each year an awards jury representing a cross-section of Downtown constituencies selects award winners honoring the leadership, innovation, hard work, talent and community spirit. The evening’s program includes networking, dinner, and an awards ceremony where winners will be announced.
Register to join the celebration today!
MEET THE FINALISTS
Activating Spaces:
Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority Pocket Parks Phase 1 Street Car Live by GMF Downtown Crawlers
Arts & Culture:
Tampa Museum’s Love is Calling Exhibit The History Center’s New Pirate Ship Exhibit Pep Rally Inc.
Collaboration:
Street Car by HART 2018 Commuter Challenge Week Madame Fortune Taylor Bridge Historical Marker Ceremony and Unveiling
Experience:
Two Wheel Bike Valet Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Franklin Street Block Party 2018 Riverfest
Landmark:
Tampa Theatre Armature Works The Hall
Marketplace:
Don Me Now Duckweed Maven Market Channel District
Private Sector:
Wilson Company Collective – Gin Joint SHUFFLE – The Heights Shuffleboard Society Tampa Bay Fiber
Public Sector:
Julian B Lane Riverfront Park Florida Department of Transportation- District Seven Jackson Street Rampello K-8 Downtown Partnership School
Person of The Year:
Leo Rodgers Abbey Dohring John Bell
Think of Embarc Collective, the planned innovation hub backed by Jeff Vinik, as a hothouse for young tech companies.
But the collective, which opened its application process and plans to open its doors next March, is not a co-working space or startup accelerator or incubator looking to turn a profit by betting on startups.
Instead, it’s applying for non-profit status and won’t be taking equity in the startups it selects. Rather, it will charge member startups a fee to move in to its new offices inside the old District 3 warehouse north of Amalie Arena.
There, they will get office space, but also help focused on five areas: coaching for company founders and their teams, an on-site recruiting strategist, introductions to potential customers and prospective investors, help with marketing, and support developing new products. The long-range goal is to expand the local economy by strengthening its tech and innovation sector, says Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and a major force in downtown Tampa’s redevelopment.
“Jeff Vinik’s Embarc Collective, a hothouse for tech innovation, seeks startups” – Tampa Bay Times
In Downtown Tampa’s Channel District, construction crews and residents walking dogs are common sights these days.
They may at first seem like two unrelated observations. But their presence shows the ongoing transformation of this former warehouse district between downtown and Port Tampa Bay into a vibrant, mixed-use urban hub.
In the upcoming months, construction will finish on multiple developments that will continue the area’s metamorphosis and, more broadly, the redevelopment boom in downtown Tampa.
On Meridian Avenue and Madison Street, the 22-story Channel Club welcomed its first residents in mid-October and is slated for full completion by year’s end. Developer Ken Stoltenberg, the director of Tampa-based Mercury Advisors, says the 324-unit apartment complex is drawing significant interest from prospective residents.
“Urban investors, construction crews reshape downtown Tampa near waterfront” – 83 Degrees Media
Skyhouse Channelside, a 23-story apartment tower near the University of South Florida’s new downtown medical school, has been sold.
The buyer, an entity led by Willner Realty & Development Co., is a “long-term investor” who plans make improvements to the property, Cushman & Wakefield Inc. said Friday.
Cushman announced the sale but did not disclose a purchase price. A deed for the transaction has not yet been filed in Hillsborough County. The seller, New York-based AVR Realty Co., paid $88 million or $272,445 per unit when it bought the tower in November 2016.
Cushman senior directors Luis Elorza and Brad Capas and vice chairman Robert Given represented AVR Realty in the transaction.
Willner owns several other multifamily properties in the Tampa Bay area, but Skyhouse is its first acquisition in the urban core.
Skyhouse was one of the first post-recession high-rise buildings to break ground in downtown Tampa. Atlanta-based Novare Group was the developer, and the tower was completed in mid-2015. It has a 567-space parking garage and 6,482 square feet of ground-floor retail. District Tavern, the UPS Store and Great Expressions Dental Center are among the commercial tenants in Skyhouse.
It has 323 units, which range from studios to three-bedrooms and average 794 square feet. Rents start at just over $1,300 per month.
“Two years after selling for $88 million, Channel district apartment tower Skyhouse has new owners again” – Tampa Bay Business Journal (subscription required)
Seven years after Stephen Schrutt first wanted to open a restaurant in downtown Tampa’s Channel district, he’s finally found the perfect spot.
Schrutt’s Park & Rec, a downtown St. Petersburg bar and restaurant that combines food and cocktails with retro arcade games and giant lawn games, has signed a lease for the two-story, 9,900-square-foot AJA Channelside space along Meridian Avenue.
Scott Dobbins and Sheila Suhar of Hybridge Commercial Real Estate represented Park & Rec in the lease transaction. Buildout costs will total less than $1 million, Schrutt said, as the space has “good bones” and the kitchen is intact.
“I’m excited for that whole entertainment scene. Between Water Street, Amalie Arena and Sparkman Wharf — I want to be part of it,” Schrutt said. “I think we bring an exciting concept to that area. The residents, the visitors they’re going to enjoy what Park and Rec has to offer.”
Schrutt grew up in Tampa and was living in The Place at Channelside in 2011. He originally wanted to open The Avenue in the Channel district, but found a location in St. Pete and has since opened several other concepts there.
“It’s kind of ironic for me,” he said. “It’s come full circle.”
Park & Rec falls into a category known in the hospitality industry as “eatertainment,” a hybrid concept that blends restaurants and entertainment. While thousands of apartments have been built in the Channel district in the last five years, restaurants and retail are only beginning to fill the storefronts on the street level of those new developments.
Besides games, Park & Rec will also offer game-day viewing parties and Sunday brunch. There will be around 200 seats, and because AJA was a nightclub, Schrutt said he may incorporate some nightlife elements into the Tampa location of Park & Rec — like bottle service for bachelor or birthday parties and VIP seating.
It won’t be an exact replica of Park & Rec in St. Pete, Schrutt said; it will incorporate some new design aesthetics, some of which may find their way back to the St. Pete location.
“There’ll be more gaming on the arcade side and I think we’ll have an opportunity to do more lunch business than we do in downtown St. Pete,” he said.
“St. Pete favorite Park & Rec will replace nightclub AJA in downtown Tampa’s Channel district” – Tampa Bay Business Journal (subscription required)
Tampa is one of the best cities in the world, according to a new report.
Resonance Consultancy, a global advisor on tourism, released its annual ranking of the best cities in the world. While the Big Guava couldn’t beat out cities like London, Paris and New York, Tampa did end up as No. 98 out of the top 100 cities across the globe.
Data from online channels such as TripAdvisor and Instagram were used to measure the experiential quality and performance of a city and were combined with core statistics about each city.
Resonance’s research partner, Ipsos, surveyed more than 1,000 people across the U.S. in 2018 to monitor and identify 24 factors that influence the perception of cities today, which include:
“Tampa ranked by Resonance as one of the top 100 cities in the world” – Tampa Bay Business Journal (subscription required)
HART and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) are providing free bus, trolley and streetcar rides to passengers of the newly relaunched Cross-Bay Ferry! Riders simply need to show their ferry ticket to the operator and enjoy the ride.
In Hillsborough County, passengers can board any HART fixed-route bus or van service (HARTPLUS excluded), or the TECO Line Streetcar System for free. Ferry riders can pick up the TECO Line Streetcar at Cumberland Avenue Streetcar Station, just steps from the Florida Aquarium.
Streetcar service operates every 15 minutes, from 7 AM – 7 PM and every 20 minutes, from 7 PM – 11 PM, Monday through Thursday, with extended hours on Friday until 2 AM. In addition, Saturday service operates every 20 minutes, from 8:30 AM – 2 AM and Sunday 8:30 AM – 11 PM.
Ferry riders can also connect to HART’s robust transit network to enjoy the sights and sounds of Busch Gardens, the shopping of International Plaza, and more. The HART Route 8 is just a short walk from the Cross-Bay Ferry dock. HART’s central transit hub, Marion Transit Center, is located in downtown and provides connection to almost 15 HART routes. Riders can use the HART Trip Planner to map out their trip!
“It’s a great time for transportation in the Tampa Bay area, this partnership is just another example of how citizens can get around in our scenic Bay area,” said HART Interim CEO Jeff Seward. “Visitors, residents, businesses, employees, and commuters in the Tampa Bay area are excited to once again take advantage of this transit option, connecting the Tampa and St. Petersburg downtown cores.”
In Pinellas, PSTA’s Downtown Looper picks up at the Ferry dock (501 2nd Ave NE St. Petersburg) every 15 minutes, seven days a week. The Looper connects to the rest of PSTA’s bus and trolley system, so riders can enjoy the rich culture, shopping, and dining of downtown St. Petersburg or travel out to the award-winning beaches, or elsewhere throughout the county.
To enjoy the free ride, passengers are required to present a same-day Ferry ticket to the bus, trolley or streetcar operator upon boarding. The Cross-Bay Ferry runs from November 2, 2018, through April 30, 2019. The Ferry will operate seven days a week, except for holidays. Please check the schedule on the Cross-Bay Ferry’s website for the latest information.
Your Downtown Calendar
The following is just a sample of upcoming events in Downtown Tampa. Visit the Downtown Tampa Events Calendar for a more comprehensive list.
Goody Goody Turkey Gobble
Thursday, November 22, begins 7am Begins at Amalie Arena This family-friendly event will kick off your turkey day with a little activity before the big meal! As title sponsor, Goody Goody™ restaurant is providing free breakfast to all participants after the race. All participants will also receive a chip-timed numbered bib for 8K and 5K participants, a dri-fit t-shirt and finisher medal. For more info, go to Goody Goody Turkey Gobble.
Thanksgiving Dinner at Bizou
Thursday, November 22, begins 4pm Bizou Brasserie Fill your holiday with friends, family and fantastic food this Thanksgiving. Bizou is serving up three delicious specials so that you can feast without any of the usual prep, cleanup, or house guests that Thanksgiving brings. Bizou will also offer a limited menu of delicious house favorites on Thanksgiving, so you can still enjoy their signature charcuterie, salads, burgers, unforgettable pork shank, cedar-grilled salmon, and more. For more information, go to Thanksgiving Dinner at Bizou.
Fourth Friday
Friday, November 23, 4pm to 10pm Downtown Tampa and Ybor City When the sun goes down, the streets of Tampa and Ybor will light up with music, laughter, art, friends and FREE fun. This evening of special offerings and programs by cultural venues, restaurants, and more takes place on the fourth Friday of every month! For more info, go to Fourth Friday.
Taking the Stage at the Straz Center
Open Rehearsal – Die Fledermaus – Monday, November 19, begins 6:30pm Don Flemons – Monday, November 19, begins 7:30pm Benji Brown – Friday, November 24, begins 8pm Live & Local – Jariah Higgins – Friday, November 24, begins 6pm
On the Marquee at Tampa Theatre
Boy Erased (2018) – Through Tuesday, November 27 Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – Thursday, November 23, 10:30pm to Midnight Miracle on 34th Street (1947) – Saturday, November 25, 3pm to 4:45pm
This Week at Amalie Arena
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers – Tuesday, November 21, begins 7:30pm Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Chicago Blackhawks – Thursday, November 23, begins 7:30pm
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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