DOWNTOWN TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Developers, local leaders, and business owners are just some of the people who packed the Marriott Water Street in Downtown Tampa Tuesday morning.
Everyone came together for the Tampa Downtown Partnership's “2025 State of Tampa's Downtown Forum".
"You have to have affordability. You have to have housing where everyone can live and thrive in downtown. And you have to have connectivity, right? You have to be able people have to be able to walk to downtown. It has to be walkable. It has you have to be able to access it in many different ways, whether you're biking, whether you're driving, whether you're walking.," said Kenyatta Hairston-Bridges, the President and CEO of Tampa Downtown Partnership.
The forum focused on upgrades coming to the area to improve road safety no matter what your preferred mode of transportation is.
Then there's all of the development that recently finished and so many more on the horizon. In 2024, 17 projects were completed; adding more than 1,600 residential units (including dorms) and 167 hotel keys. More than 1,400 residential units are under construction currently, with another 800 units expected to launch this year. There are 4,100 more being proposed in the final staging plans.
Hairston-Bridges recently joined the Tampa Downtown Partnership. She says she's proud to see the work that's happened and be a part of the future.
"I came into a really experienced group, a really talented group, a really great organization that has been around for over 40 years. So I didn't have to bring much. But what I did bring is that I want us to really look at, how do we become the leader in the downtown space? How do we become that go to organization for others to come to us when they whether they need help with information, whether they need us to jump in and help on a project?" she said.
Billye Lyons says she loves living downtown.
“I love being able to walk across the street to go to CVS or Publix for my everyday needs. I go to Pilates right down the street; everything I need is nearby.”
However, Lyons expressed concern over rising rent costs.
“My apartment that I'm in right now, we're actually moving out in like a week to another one in downtown, but just one that's more affordable because they’ve raised the rent the past three years," she said.
One speaker at the event was Bemetra Simmons, President and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership, emphasized the critical need to provide housing options for all residents, not just the wealthy.
“We’re in a crisis right now,” she stated, pointing out that the average wage in the area is just above $63,000, while housing costs continue to escalate.
Her organization found that many residents are spending over 57% of their take-home pay on housing and transportation, leaving them financially strapped.
“We need to be creative with our policies,” Simmons urged, proposing innovative solutions such as accessory dwelling units, tiny homes, and repurposing old shopping centers into residential spaces.
Community engagement is key to these efforts, as Hairston Bridges believes that the input of residents is vital for effective planning. She mentioned ongoing initiatives to connect with local residents, encouraging them to express their needs and desires for their neighborhoods.
“We want to ensure that all voices are heard,” she said.
That includes a new series called "What's Pop-In?"
"That's where we're going into our neighborhoods, our seven neighborhoods across downtown, to find out what are some of the things that the residents want to see happen. What would they like us to be working on? And just get an understanding of how the residents feel about how Tampa is growing as a city," she explained.
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