Vinik: Rooftop bars, dog parks could be key features of SPP district in downtown Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 9, 2015

The rooftops in Strategic Property Partners' district in downtown Tampa could be just as key as the streetscape.

Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, who controls SPP with Cascade Investment LLC, said Wednesday that the group is looking at ways to activate the rooftops in the district, which is slated to be nearly 3 million square feet at completion.

Vinik spoke to the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, across Beach Drive from St. Pete's iconic urban waterfront. The location wasn't lost on Vinik, who speaks frequently about creating a similar gathering spot for Tampa.

His presentation, he told the group, was titled "American's Next Great Urban Waterfront District,” because "we're standing in America's current great waterfront district."

One of those gathering spots could be 25 stories high.

The rooftop of the new convention hotel, Vinik said, could be home to the "best bar and restaurant in all of Hillsborough County.”

Because the district will feature a centralized cooling facility, Vinik said, the rooftops are wide open, and his group is "actively dimensioning" potential uses.

"Whether it's the hotel or office buildings or residential towers, there could be a variety of things up top," he said. "Swimming pools, dog parks, restaurants or bars."

The group is also exploring the mix of residential units - the first phase of the district alone is slated to include 1,000 units. While it's too soon to give specifics, Vinik said there will be smaller, more affordable units in the district.

"It's surprising what you can do in 500 to 600 square feet," he said, "and it does make it affordable."

But they won't be microunits - apartments less than 350 square feet and more commonly seen in bigger markets, where land costs are higher and there's more emphasis on density.

"I would not say never, but it doesn't feel right to me," Vinik said. "It feels too small for reality and this market."

SPP is finishing up its master plan, Vinik said, and should move into designing buildings in 2016. The group is also considering partnering with residential and retail developers on those portions of the district.

It has also narrowed candidates for the CEO position down to finalists, which Vinik is interviewing, though he declined to say how many finalists are under consideration.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.