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Redevelopment's Alive & Well in Tampa |
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The City of Tampa continues to move ahead with several redevelopment projects that showcase Tampa's many attributes and offer great promise for increased economic prosperity. A recently established Economic Competitiveness Committee will focus on making the City's development process more user-friendly. An Economic Development Ad Valorum Tax Exemption Program was adopted in May, offering incentives to new businesses relocating to the City. Businesses already in the City can be eligible based on improvements like establishment of new jobs or increased tangible property. The greatest incentives will be granted to those located in an Enterprise Zone, Brownfield Area, or a Community Redevelopment Area.
Redevelopment projects already in progress show how smart planning can reinvigorate Tampa like the one taking top honors for Outstanding Contribution to the Community at our 29th Annual Community Design Awards in April. ENCORE is the product of a unique public - private partnership between the Tampa Housing Authority (THA) and the Bank of America Community Development Corporation. The former site of Central Park Village - 484 THA apartments in 55 buildings built in the 1950s, ENCORE's 28-acre site located between downtown Tampa and Ybor City is being completely transformed as a LEED-ND Certified, mixed-use, transit oriented community. At full build-out, the $450 million project will provide workforce housing, senior and market-rate residential units, 200 hotel rooms, a grocery store, office and retail space, a public middle school, an African-American history museum, public parks and gathering spaces. The long-anticipated ENCORE development under construction thanks to a $38 million grant made available through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program will certainly be a catalyst in the renaissance of the Central Park Community Redevelopment Area.
Another exciting redevelopment project is the $30 million Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS). Expected to reach completion this year on the site of a former City-owned Downtown parking lot, CAMLS will be a world-class, state-of-the-art, approximately 90,000 square foot, three story medical conference venue including 35 simulation operating rooms dedicated to research, innovation and the training of surgical skills. Healthcare professionals will be lead by top Universit y of South Florida (USF) faculty surgeons bringing the best and brightest from around the world to train in the heart of Downtown Tampa.
Tampa has successfully embarked on its Form Based Code Program with the completion of several community-based plans including for the Greater Seminole Heights and 40th Street Corridor Areas. With Comprehensive Plan Objectives and Policies in place, the City has crafted and adopted new zoning standards for Seminole Heights, with 40th Street zoning standards currently in the works. The goal of the Form Based Code Program is ultimately to create a code to direct and shape unique communities while facilitating sustainable growth and development and improving the quality of life for the citizens of Tampa.
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