Tampa Rising: Water Street Tampa Reimagines the City's Downtown
Tampa Rising: Water Street Tampa Reimagines the City's Downtown
It's impossible to talk about Florida right now without mentioning Tampa. Once a sleepy backwater of a city, it's boomed of late into a hot spot for millennials and Generation Z, tech startups, and people of all ages and ilk who've moved here from around the country and world for an enviable quality of life served up with plenty of sunshine (not to mention water, water, everywhere).
At the heart of downtown's renaissance sits the landmark $3.5 billion Water Street Tampa project, financially backed by Bill Gates and Jeffrey Vinik (owner of the city's professional hockey team, the Tampa Bay Lightning). The 55-acre mixed-use development project at the heart of the city's downtown corridor recently received designation as North America's first WELL Certified Community, thanks to its sustainability and livability standards. And Water Street Tampa plays a key role in redefining what was once a languishing downtown that now booms with restaurants, retail, urban parks and food halls that take advantage of the city's prime waterfront setting.
Josh Taub, CEO, Strategic Property Partners, Water Street Tampa's developer, called 2023 a "monumental year" for the project.
"Many of our retailers opened this year, from beautifully designed sit-down restaurants to creative grab-and-go lunch spots to rooftop cocktail bars and more," he said. "We also hosted even more community events and programming, including our incredibly successful monthly local vendors and farmers markets and our Arts in Motion pop-up event, which brought two world-renowned art installations to Florida for the first time."
Visitors of the leisure and meeting and conventions variety flock to new hotels in the district such as The Tampa EDITION — the city's first true 5-star property, designed by Ian Schrager — and linger over meals at diverse restaurants like French brasserie Boulon; The Pearl (a fabulous import from Ohio's Cameron Mitchell Restaurants); and Lona by Chef Richard Sandoval, known for its authentic Oaxacan flair.