Urban Land Institute coming to Tampa

[Jasonhouse]

Seriously!

[Lakelander]

Originally Posted by FlaNatv

Why doesn't Tampa have an arcade(not a video arcade, although not a bad idea, lol) like many downtowns. You walk inside off the street go to a coffee shop then buy a magazine at a newstand sit down at a table and relax inside in the AC. Sorta like a mini mall. Even Lakeland has an arcade. This would be a nice option to have.

Marble Arcade - Lakeland


Old Towne Square: inside the former post office arcade in downtown Winter Haven.


Inside another arcade in downtown Winter Haven.

Lakeland's arcades are historically preserved buildings. Even Winter Haven has a couple. I'm sure at one time Tampa did have more than one. Most likely the city demolished the buildings that had them. Don't worry. Tampa isn't alone. Jacksonville ripped down all it's historic arcades too. All we have left is modern office towers with malls at ground level. Unfortunately, unless you work in those towers, you'd never know retail was in them.

[smiley]

Probably because they tore the sister building to the one in Lakeland down years ago

[gstolze]

Not only that. There used to be nice, historic highrises on the land where the 70's progress energy building is and where Lykes Gaslight Park is.

Plus Maas Brothers, the old courthouse and several other hotels and business buildings....what a beautiful ensemble of historic buildings with shopping arcades, restaurants and other amenities downtown could be.

[koopalicious]

Do we know that any of those had arcades?

[TampaMike]

Hotel Tampa Terrace should had never been demolished. Is the person that made the decision still alive to slap them in the face for such an idiotic move?

[gstolze]

I guess the buildings I have mentioned did not have arcades, but they probably could have been converted if they were around these days.

[I-275westcoastfl]

I'm willing to be those guys even went on this site to get suggestions. jk lol But seriously we all have been saying that for years, the leaders and planners of this area are so stupid.

[Jasonhouse]

Surprised that no one posted this yet...

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/edit...cle1197102.ece


Urban redesign could give new life to Tampa neighborhoods


Editorial
St Petersburg Times
In Print: Monday, October 17, 2011


Despite a sluggish economy, an unwieldy bureaucracy at City Hall and the voters' rejection of rail, Tampa has a chance to remake the older neighborhoods in and around downtown. That was the message Friday to nearly 200 city officials, developers and business leaders who gathered at the Tampa Convention Center to hear representatives from the Urban Land Institute outline the city's strengths and weaknesses. The session marked the launch of a long-range development plan the institute is crafting for a sweeping area surrounding downtown, from West Tampa and Tampa Heights to Ybor City and the Channel District.

This urban redesign effort is different from previous plans in two major ways. First, it is the most ambitious in city history. Planners are looking to remake a half-dozen neighborhoods more than a mile from downtown in any direction. They include some of Tampa's oldest, such as West Tampa, and newer neighborhoods, such as the condo-heavy Channel District. And the city has never reached out to professionals like the Urban Land Institute's staff for a fresh, outside perspective on Tampa's potential. That's what makes this process more than an academic exercise. There already is confidence in a planning effort that could shape Tampa's growth for decades.

Consultants for the institute spent last week in Tampa talking with civic leaders, and Friday's meeting was a chance for them to share their first impressions. While a redevelopment plan is months away, the feedback already has helped underscore how much the city can bring to the table. Much of the land in the redevelopment areas is vacant or publicly owned. That gives the city a fairly blank canvas to redesign entire neighborhoods. The close proximity of the neighborhoods and their straight layouts make it easy and affordable to connect them with circulator bus service. And the meandering northward stretch of the Hillsborough River provides the backdrop to attract new residents, restaurants and shops.

The goal here is to make these neighborhoods more exciting and economically vibrant, to draw more people into the urban center and to expand Tampa's appeal as a place to live, work and play. The city has a lot of work to do. But the session showed that redevelopment is not all pie in the sky. Mayor Bob Buckhorn can do several things to get the ball rolling. Why not introduce Tampa Heights by hosting Saturday markets along its riverfront? What about looking at city codes for ways to make urban developments more practical and affordable? There will be plenty of additional details to address. But as the institute made clear Friday, the secret here is follow-through. Buckhorn should look at deputizing a point person to oversee this project full time. That would free him for the larger job of selling the city — and the City Hall bureaucracy — on a common vision for the urban core. He has no more important an agenda in his first term.

[TampaMike]

I think the best thing to come out of the ULI study won't really be the additional ideas and push to get things done in Tampa, but getting more people to talk about improving our city and hopefully getting more residents to contact the city with support and encouragement.

Btw, here's the study in it's entirety.
http://www.tampagov.net/dept_land_de...mendations.pdf


And hey St. Petersburg! If you want to get input on what to do with the city to improve it and increase economic growth, hit us up before paying $500,000+ for a study.

[FlaNatv]

Originally Posted by Lakelander

Marble Arcade - Lakeland

I was in Lakeland this past weekend for the Lake Mirror Classic. Downtown looks great!!

[jamesk]

I heard about Winter Park's Park Ave on this thread, and I went there in person today around lunchtime.

It really is special. I felt like I was in a different part of the country/world. It was very pedestrian friendly with wide sidewalks and slow traffic that was cut down to two lanes (plus lots of on street parking). No green arrows for left turns made it easy to cross as well. We ate lunch outside and it was great.

I wish some place in Tampa could emulate this. Maybe Franklin St in downtown could become like that one day.

sigh

[HARTride 2012]

Originally Posted by gstolze

Not only that. There used to be nice, historic highrises on the land where the 70's progress energy building is and where Lykes Gaslight Park is.

Plus Maas Brothers, the old courthouse and several other hotels and business buildings....what a beautiful ensemble of historic buildings with shopping arcades, restaurants and other amenities downtown could be.

I was driving through DT St Pete today and noticed their old Kress building.....nicely preserved & occupied. Not like Tampa's rundown, "I sit here while my owner DOES NOTHING" lot.

[FlaNatv]

Originally Posted by jamesk

I heard about Winter Park's Park Ave on this thread, and I went there in person today around lunchtime.

It really is special. I felt like I was in a different part of the country/world. It was very pedestrian friendly with wide sidewalks and slow traffic that was cut down to two lanes (plus lots of on street parking). No green arrows for left turns made it easy to cross as well. We ate lunch outside and it was great.

I wish some place in Tampa could emulate this. Maybe Franklin St in downtown could become like that one day.

sigh

That's what I'm talking about!! I'm glad you saw Park Ave. I wish everyone could see it, especially every city leader in Tampa.

[TampaMike]

Here's the article today of the city paying a L.A. firm to develop a Downtown master plan for Tampa. Because we all know when you want to develop a master plan for your city or a part of your city, the best thing is bring a firm from outside of your city. Lets hope some public input is allowed and doesn't fall on deaf ears.

Tampa Hires Firm to Help Create Master Plan for Downtown

[jonknee]

Originally Posted by TampaMike

Here's the article today of the city paying a L.A. firm to develop a Downtown master plan for Tampa. Because we all know when you want to develop a master plan for your city or a part of your city, the best thing is bring a firm from outside of your city. Lets hope some public input is allowed and doesn't fall on deaf ears.

Considering the home team hasn't exactly knocked it out of the park, I don't see a problem with bringing in experts.

[jamesk]

I hope our city leaders will listen to whatever bright ideas they have.

One dollar bet that what the L.A. firm comes up with has been said here before for free.

[smiley]

I like this diagnosis: http://tampasphere.wordpress.com/201...dup-12-2-2011/

[TampaMike]

Panel suggests better planning will help downtown Tampa
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012, 6:26am EST

A panel of real estate and land planning experts found that downtown Tampa needs carefully designed processes for planning and development review in order to reach the full potential of the city's urban core. This would give developers a more "predictable structure within which to make investments," according to the group's report.

The Urban Land Institute recently released the ULI Advisory Services Panel's recommendations for developing a vision for Tampa's downtown urban core.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn requested an ULI Panel to assist in developing a vision and master plan for the city's urban core, and ULI conducted the Advisory Services Panel in Tampa from Oct. 9 to 14.

"This report gives me a working blueprint on how to best jumpstart community investment and stimulate new development in downtown. To truly be a city of the future, we must re-energize our urban core," Buckhorn said in a statement. "I appreciate the ULI panel for assembling this report and look forward to implementing the best ideas we discussed for Tampa."

The report outlines Tampa's opportunities and challenges, as well as development strategies and best practices for implementation of the recommendations.

The ULI Advisory panel was composed of economic development, land use, real estate development and government operations experts from around the world who volunteer their time to help communities solve difficult development or related public policy problems.

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/...na=e_tbay_rdup

I kind of want to say "No........ duh!" but then I wake up and remember we're talking about Tampa here and hope that this changes things up.

[Jasonhouse]

So long as elected politicians have final say over what gets built and where, any plan is functionally irrelevant.