Construction for phase two of Downtown Tampa's Water Street neighborhood is officially underway.
Just 10 years ago, Water Street was nothing but a thought. But today, it's a 56-acre mixed-use development in the heart of downtown.
WATCH: Phase 2 of Water Street begins to bring more shopping, green space to downtown
“We started construction in, like, 2019. From the mid-90s until that point in time, there was just vacant land around the arena that was really just used as surface parking lots," said Brad Cooke, VP of Development for Strategic Property Partners.
The area surrounding Amalie Arena and Channelside is now booming.
“You know there’s not very many projects at this scale that have actually been built," explained Cooke.
Phase one of Water Street includes three apartment buildings, three hotels, workspaces, bars and restaurants.
“We wanted a great urban experience, and that meant having an active streetscape. So we’ve got great local and national retailers, and that really gives the neighborhood energy and vibrancy around the clock," said Cooke.
Phase two will extend Water Street to the North, building six new blocks.
"The one thing that people will notice will be different is that in the first phase, we built 10 buildings at once, two million square feet at once. We’re not going to do that much again at one time because we needed to do that to create a sense of place," Cooke said.
Phase two will look like two projects at a time, until the neighborhood is built out.
“The next two projects that we’re looking at doing are a lot more retail, parking, and more residential uses," said Cooke.
And good news for residents and visitors:
“Some of the lessons learned from the first phase, you know, we did a lot of things right. Then you learn from things that you could do differently. We need more parking," said Cooke.
Phase two is also expected to include more shopping and green space.
“Additionally, we just hired a landscape architect to help us create a new central, square park that will anchor the next phase of development," Cooke said.
Don't expect this project to be finished anytime soon, Cooke said it should be complete in the next 10 years.
