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Water Street

Tampa, FL, USA

Water Street, Tampa transforms 53 acres of principally surface parking into a $3 billion extension of downtown.

Client

Jeff Vinik, Tampa Bay Lightning Owner

Collaborators

Stantec Urban Places

Timeline

2015

Category

Urban & Suburban Infill

Budget

$6 billion

Scale

43 acres

Status

Half completed

Reference

James Nozar, Water Street CEO, jnozar@spprealestate.com

“It really is incredible to see the change, to go from 55 acres of flat parking to the amazing community here. . . a world class walkable neighborhood.”

— Mayor Jane Castor

After being inspired by the book Walkable City, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik hired Speck Dempsey (then Speck & Associates) to lead the creation of a master plan for the underutilized “parking crater” surrounding the team’s popular venue. Containing an arena, history museum, and struggling “festival marketplace,” and surrounded by the city’s convention center and aquarium, the site completely lacked the mixed-use fabric necessary for community life. Jeff Speck teamed up with Stantec Urban Places to create a living blueprint for a redevelopment that includes 3,500 apartments, two hotels, two million square feet of offices, and a million square feet of retail and cultural space.


The plan reshaped the neighborhood’s block structure and street network, replacing swooping one-way streets with a proper urban two-way grid. It located parking in hidden midblock decks, to be shared efficiently around the clock. It organized 18 large buildings to shape a welcoming public realm centered around the pedestrian.


With Phase 1 now complete, Water Street is one of the world’s greenest neighborhoods and one of the first true “smart districts.” Rooftops are free of HVAC equipment, thanks to a centralized chiller plant. It is also the world’s first neighborhood to be certified as meeting the WELL standards of design, which focus on “air and water quality, access to natural light, and the creation of spaces that encourage interaction.”

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