Opinion: Tampa's water feature

One of the biggest urban design mistakes the city of Tampa made was to allow a string of multistory office buildings to conceal the downtown riverfront. It is easy to enter and leave without ever knowing that downtown Tampa has a beautiful, working waterway. As it redevelops the nearby channel district, Tampa's Port Authority and city officials should avoid making the same mistake.

The port is considering several proposals for a major residential project, to be built on 3.5 acres of waterfront land adjacent to the Channelside entertainment complex. A luxury housing development could add tens of millions of dollars to the tax rolls, and build on the popularity of high-income housing that has spread from Bayshore to Harbour Island. The proposals vary but several would complement the channel district. A hotel would be convenient for cruise ship passengers, while condominiums, apartments, offices, a grocery and small-scale retail stores would make the urban neighborhood more livable.

The port faces a big responsibility, for the development proposal it selects will shape the feel of the entire district. Channelside - with its shops, restaurants, movie theaters and crowds from the ships and aquarium - is the draw of this community, and the character there will be affected by what the port allows next door. Port authority members need to consider not only what price they can get for their land, but how well each proposal adds to the attraction of urban living in Tampa.

Downtown Tampa's greatest attribute is its waterfront border, an image burnished a century ago in romantic, promotional photographs. The city is now committing tens of millions of dollars to reverse the mistakes from decades ago and open up the riverfront. The port has the luxury of starting from scratch, by sketching, through its developer selection, a vision of how the waterfront will be the centerpiece of urban redevelopment. Whether by requiring setbacks or certain building designs, the port should ensure the waterfront is preserved, adequate green space is set aside, the development is open visually to the extent possible and that the public has access to a waterfront pedestrian corridor.

Port officials say they are committed to maintaining a linear greenspace along the main roadway throughout the district, for the waterfront - with its cruise ship passenger terminals - remains off-limits in areas because of national security restrictions. This is good planning given the limits on what local authorities may do. But a greenspace along the road is a minimum amenity for any tourist district. The port - and the city, which soon will field proposals for developing other areas of the channel district - need to focus on the water. They should bargain with developers from a position of strength. The channel district is hot in no small part because of the millions of dollars in tourist attractions, parking, trolley trains and other destination goodies taxpayers have invested there. Let's preserve that appeal for a wider audience.

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