The Tampa Downtown Partnership’s Urban Excellence Awards, an annual celebration of the people, businesses, and events that make downtown vibrant and unique, is coming up on November 6 at the Tampa Museum of Art.
The annual awards honor achievement in nine categories: Public Sector Project Award, Private Sector Award, Downtown Collaboration Award, Landmark Development Project Award, Downtown Experience Award, Activating Spaces Award, Marketplace Award, Arts & Culture Award, People’s Choice Award, and the Christine M. Burdick Leadership Award.
“We are really highlighting fine grain elements of downtown that other awards would not be covering,” says Tampa Downtown Partnership Director of Marketing and Design Ashly Anderson. “Categories such as the Activating Spaces Award are something that we uniquely can shed light upon and give praise to compared to another awards program because downtown is our job.”
Anderson says the leadership award named for former Downtown Partnership President and CEO Christine Burdick “embodies the spirit of the awards” more than any other honor.
“We really pride ourselves on that award always being an unsung hero for downtown,” she says. “It’s not always going to be a big developer or an elected official. It can be someone who affects your daily life by working in a store or owning a business downtown, anyone who makes the downtown experience fun, richer, more delightful, more entrepreneurial.”
This year, the three finalists for the Christine M. Burdick Leadership Award are downtown developer and business owner Carolyn Wilson, business owner and restauranteur Dave Burton and Gloria Jean Royster, a downtown resident and activist who brought renewed attention to the accomplishments of Fortune Taylor, a freed slave who became a prominent land and business owner.
Nominations are a public process. A jury of urban enthusiasts, including business-people, past winners, and Downtown Partnership board members, then selects three finalists in each category.
This year’s full group of finalists include:
Activating Spaces
Arts & Culture
Collaboration
Experience
Landmark Development
Marketplace
Private Sector
Public Sector
There is also a People’s Choice Award. All 50 nominees, including the finalists are eligible. Voting is done online at the Tampa Downtown Partnership website. Tickets to the awards ceremony are also available for purchase through the website.
Tampa’s Modulo Design Studio designed and manufactured the awards, which depict the downtown skyline.
For more information follow these links:
“Meet the finalists for Tampa’s Urban Excellence Awards” –83 Degrees
A company that builds apartments where tenants can rent their own bedroom and bath within a larger furnished unit proposes to build a 29-story tower in downtown Tampa.
The 325-foot-tall X Tampa project would be at the northeastern corner of N Florida Avenue and E Zack Street, just north of the Le Méridien boutique hotel. It would rise next to the historic First Presbyterian Church and would preserve and incorporate the church’s Mission-style building into the project.
The tower would include one floor of retail space, topped by six decks of parking, then 18 floors of apartments and three floors of amenities and club space, according to a design application filed with City Hall last week. The project is being proposed by The X Company, based in Chicago.
A separate company, Property Markets Group, developed the first two X Social Communities projects in Miami and Chicago. Now The X Company will develop future X projects in Tampa, Denver and other markets.
On Tuesday, X Miami offered private bedrooms with personal bathrooms within a larger, multi-room apartments starting at $1,321 a month. Studios started at $1,551 a month, one bedrooms started at $1,687 and two-bedroom, two-bath units started at $2,598 a month.
Developers say X Social Communities’ rental options eliminate the bother of finding roommates, while providing living spaces that lack only a tenant’s clothes and toothbrushes to become home. The communities tout their urban locations, pool decks and fitness centers, lobbies with coffee shops, co-working spaces and an abundance of programmed social events as ready-made live-work-play environments.
The rent-by-the-bedroom arrangement is seen as suitable for younger renters and also college students, a market that’s driving the growth of privately financed multi-family projects for student housing. A few blocks away, at N Ashley Drive and E Tyler Street, another developer, Development Ventures Group of New York City, has started construction on a $70 million, 23-story apartment tower that’s within walking distance of the University of Tampa.
“It’s a business that has grown substantially over the past five to 10 years with the rest of the economy,” said Danny Rice, Colliers International’s managing director and market leader for central and west Florida. “There’s been a lot of very large, institutional product trading hands.”
“The uniqueness is, with a typical multi-family project you’ve got rolling rents happening at all these different times,” Rice said in a recent interview. “Someone moves in on Oct. 1. Another moves in the next month. In student housing it’s all about the enrollment year. So right now, everybody just moved into their apartment.”
Meanwhile, First Presbyterian Church is considering where it will move when it vacates the premises, something anticipated to take place next spring. The church voted to sell its property in May and signed a contract with an unidentified potential buyer in July, according to a recent video update posted to Facebook by First Presbyterian Rev. Fitz Conner.
The church has 13 teams of people, about 70 in all, looking at questions like where its interim and permanent homes will be and how the church’s finances need to be arranged to handle a move.
“29-story apartment tower proposed on N Florida Avenue in Downtown Tampa” –Tampa Bay Times (subscription required)
The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce plans to change its name to the Tampa Bay Chamber, a move that has some worried that it will cause confusion.
The new name will better reflect the organization’s regional scope, said president and CEO Bob Rohrlack. The chamber has more than 1,160 members from around the Tampa Bay area, though most are in Hillsborough County. Many of them already call it the Tampa Bay Chamber, and have for years, he said.
The organization supports and promotes a lot of resources that benefit everyone who lives and works in the area, including Tampa International Airport and Port Tampa Bay, he said. When the chamber works on issues like transportation and higher education, it doesn’t focus solely on how they affect Hillsborough County, he said.
“Those are regional assets,” he said. “We are not a small, isolated area. We need to be thinking regionally.”
The Tampa Bay Times found a copy of the name change documents filed with the state. After the Times called for comment, the chamber decided to announce the change to its members on Thursday morning. The official switch, including a new logo, will come in December.
Rohrlack didn’t see much else changing. He expects to maintain what he described as good relationships with other nearby chambers of commerce. He didn’t want other organizations to think the Tampa Bay Chamber was trying to elbow into their territory. He said businesses join the chamber — or chambers — that make sense to them.
“There’s not a competitive relationship going on with the chambers. We share a lot of members,” he said. “This was just a natural, evolutionary move for us.”
Bill Kent, chairman of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that the two organizations have had a “long and positive relationship” on issues that affect the region. He was not aware of the name change until recently.
“The St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce has concerns that the proposed name, Tampa Bay Chamber, may create confusion with other organizations outside and inside our Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area,” he said.
Kent looks forward to learning more about the reasons behind the name change from the Tampa Bay Chamber. He said his board will discuss the issue at its next meeting.
Several other agencies and organizations based in Hillsborough have recently changed their name to use “Tampa Bay,” including Film Tampa Bay and Visit Tampa Bay, which promotes tourism.
The Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation is also changing its name. It will become the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council.
The Clearwater Regional Chamber and the Clearwater Beach Chamber recently merged to become Amplify Clearwater. President and CEO Amanda Payne said in a statement that her organization understands the “need for a refresh.” She added that “collaboration of our organizations is the most effective way to drive change regionally.”
Amplify Clearwater shares “the same concerns of many others in the Tampa Bay footprint that the name change is misleading and will create confusion,” she said. “We … look forward to learning additional details from the Tampa Chamber leadership.”
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement that she thought the area needs to brand itself as a region.
“When St. Pete wins, we all win. When Clearwater wins, we all win, and when Tampa wins, we all win,” she said. “So when the chamber and the (economic development corporation) decided to rebrand Tampa Bay, I was all for it.”
“Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce to change its name to the Tampa Bay Chamber” –Tampa Bay Times (subscription required)
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and CREW Tampa Bay are partnering with Tampa Bay Mobile Mammography to bring the Mammogram bus to Tampa’s Downtown on October 22nd at Bank of America Plaza (101 E Kennedy Blvd.). This effort is a part of CREW Tampa Bay’s CITY IN PINK initiative.
Appointments between 8:30am-3:30pm. Select the date and Company name to make an appointment. Anyone can sign up! Learn more at www.TampaBayMobileMammography.com
The IdentoGo TSA Pre✓® Mobile RV will be coming to Tampa City Center from Monday, November 11th through Friday, November 15th, 2019. The Mobile Enrollment Center will be located on E Jackson Street in front of Tampa City Center.
TSA Pre✓® is an expedited screening program that enables identified low-risk air travelers to enjoy a smart and efficient screening experience. For TSA Pre✓® travelers, there is no need to remove shoes, 3-1-1 liquids, laptops, light outerwear or belts. Today, TSA Pre✓® has more than 450 lanes at 200+ U.S. airports.
The TSA Pre✓® application program allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to directly apply for TSA Pre✓®. Once approved, travelers will receive a “Known Traveler Number” (which can be added to a travelers airline profile and reservations) and will have the opportunity to utilize TSA Pre✓® lanes at select security checkpoints when flying on over 50 carriers that currently participate in TSA Pre✓® .
To participate in this local enrollment event, follow these steps to pre-enroll
NOTE: Appointments are limited and are available on a first come, first serve basis so register as soon as possible.
IMPORTANT! To complete the application process, you will need to bring documentation proving identity and citizenship status! If you have a valid U.S. passport, that is all you need for ID! You will finish the process onsite by providing your fingerprints for a background check.
The application fee is $85 and can be paid by credit card, money order, company check, or certified/cashier’s check. Cash and personal checks are not accepted.
Sponsored by Tampa City Center.
Your Downtown Calendar
The following is just a sample of upcoming events in Downtown Tampa. Visit the Downtown Tampa Events Calendar for a more comprehensive list!
3rd Thursdays
Thursday, October 17, begins 6pm
Grand Central at Kennedy
Enjoy some gourmet food truck fun paired with independent short flicks and live music! Pour House and City Dog Cantina provide micro brews and tasty cocktails. Over ten gourmet food trucks will be on site, offering everything from burgers to vegetarian bites and much more. This is a spectacular way to spend a Thursday evening in Downtown Tampa! For more information, go to 3rd Thursdays.
Tampa Pig Jig
Saturday, October 19, begins 1pm
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park
The Tampa Pig Jig is an annual fundraiser event hosted on Downtown Tampa’s beautiful waterfront featuring live music, great food, a BBQ competition, drinks and games. The event benefits the NephCure Kidney International. Over the past 8 years, the Tampa Pig Jig has raised over $4,000,000 with all proceeds benefiting NephCure. Jake Owen will be headlining the event, preceded by Lanco, Dr. Dog, The Wild Feathers, Larry Fleet, and Camille Trust. For more information, go to Tampa Pig Jig.
Indie Flea
Sunday, October 20, 11am to 3pm
Armature Works
The Tampa Indie Flea is a curated event meant to showcase the amazing talent within our community. The Flea exists to promote local arts and culture to engage and empower our community towards positive grassroots growth. For more information, go to Indie Flea.
Taking the Stage at the Straz Center
Spymonkey’s Hysteria – Through Sunday, November 3
Patel Conservatory presents Charlotte’s Web – Thursday, October 17 to Sunday, October 20
Heather Land: I Ain’t Doin It Unfiltered Tour – Thursday, October 17, 7:30pm to 9pm
Broadway Ball – Saturday, October 19, begins 6pm
On the Marquee at Tampa Theatre
Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins (2019) – Through Wednesday, October 16 Nate Bargatze’s “Good Problem to Have” Tour – Thursday, October 17, begins 7:30pm Ghosts of Tampa Theatre Tour – Friday, October 18 to Thursday, October 31 Last Podcast on the Left – Friday, October 18, begins 8pm Hocus Pocus (1993) – Saturday, October 19, 2:30pm to 4:15pm The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20
Little Monsters (1989) – Sunday, October 20, 11:30am to 1:15pm
The Mummy’s Tomb (1942) – Sunday, October 20, 3pm to 4pm Young Frankenstein (1974) – Sunday, October 20, 6pm to 7:45pm
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Monday Morning Memo –Monday Morning Memo is a weekly update of “insider downtown information” regarding developments, transportation, special opportunities and other useful information to help you make the most of downtown. Subscribe to receive this weekly newsletter.
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