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Downtown Tampa is not a neighborhood yet but the pieces are coming together. New high-rise condominiums are planned for the waterfront. North downtown is being primed for new homes, shops and offices. The city is improving its parks and public spaces, the amount of artistic space is being expanded and there is talk about how Tampa can attract creative, high-paying jobs. The focus has clearly shifted, from the focus on commercial towers to residential development. Downtown has become attractive to professionals and empty-nesters, who want the convenience of living near work or the experience of urban living. The city should keep the momentum going by strengthening those qualities that make downtown unique.
The residential boom is primarily taking place throughout the channel district, but it extends the whole southern length of downtown from the shipping terminals to Bayshore. Once a grocery, drugstore and other amenities are built, the channel district will have the foundation to thrive as a community. On downtown's northern end, Stetson's new law school campus will act as an architectural anchor to the redevelopment of Tampa Heights and the downtown riverfront. Having thousands of full-time residents in these areas will make these parts of downtown safer, and help connect downtown to existing historic neighborhoods.
These developments are changing the look and feel of downtown, which has never had a history of residential living. Already there is more activity at night and on weekends. City officials are looking for ways to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly, and are exploring how they could attract more students and artists downtown. The goal now is not to make downtown a 24/7 destination - 12/6 would do - but to provide the retail and social environment that every community needs.
The growing popularity of urban living should make it easier than it has been for Tampa to bring gas stations, dry cleaners and other essential businesses downtown. Indeed the last few years have shown that downtown Tampa is a dynamic market. But before this growth gets too far ahead, the city needs a master vision for how these neighborhoods should look and feel. At the top of the list should be a strategy for making the Hillsborough River a part of the downtown experience. The river is an irreplaceable part of the landscape that most cities would love to recreate, yet Tampa conceals and ignores the waterway.
The collapse of the Civitas development plan was a setback, but it showed the potential Tampa has to reshape older, high-crime areas downtown. Regardless where Civitas goes, the land is still there, so is the river and a strong market for downtown residences. The city needs a plan to connect these isolated pockets, and it should be mindful of the small things that make downtown living a novelty.