Port Tampa Bay unveils waterfront plans for Channel District land
By Yvette C. Hammett | Tribune Staff
Tampa Tribune
Published: Aug 13, 2015

TAMPA - Port Tampa Bay today unveiled an elaborate $1.5 billion plan for 45 acres of land in the Channel District - much of it on the waterfront - including hotels, residential towers, a major park and marina.

If the plan is carried out in full - it stretches from the Florida Aquarium, north to the port's banana docks - it would be one of the largest waterfront projects undertaken in the nation, said designer Luis Ajamil.

The Channelside "vision” meshes with Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik's expansive plan for the Channelside District and downtown area, where he plans about $1 billion in development to convert that corridor into a major urban oasis for residents, businesses and tourists. That plan includes a major corporate headquarters and relocation of the University of South Florida's medical school to downtown.

The port's Channelside plan, which could get underway within a year, also is an acknowledgement that the port has no plans to move its cruise ship terminals toward Pinellas County to accommodate new and much larger cruise ships currently hindered by the Skyway.

It could also mean either a move or an exit for much of the port's ship-repair business.

In the works for about a year now, port officials, along with city and county elected representatives, have kept their plans close to the vest, waiting for the big announcement.

While the Channelside Vision is still in its infancy, it would not take much to get construction underway, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said. He said most of the land use changes are fairly minor.

Construction would likely begin in front of the Florida Aquarium, where the port would make a land swap, moving parking for the popular attraction into a nearby parking garage, then converting the existing lot into a hotel with an open-air market, or mercado, underneath.

The project would slowly continue north, with creation of two thin residential towers up to 75 stories, demolition of Cruise Ship Terminal 6, then expansion of Terminal 3, a 7-acre park, roughly the size of Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa, as well as various retail and office spots.

yhammett@tampatrib.com

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