Hillsborough is officially seeking a master developer for the 74-acre MOSI site near USF
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 17, 2020

Hillsborough County has signed off on plans to issue a request for proposals for the redevelopment of the Museum of Science and Industry, which sits on 74 coveted acres near the University of South Florida.

The county is seeking a master developer for the property, which has long been hailed as a linchpin to the redevelopment of the entire Uptown corridor. The area includes several major institutions such as USF, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and AdventHealth.

The scale of the MOSI property, combined with its location in an urban infill location, is the kind of project that could attract some household names in commercial real estate from around Florida and possibly the Southeast.

Commissioner Pat Kemp made a motion to amend the RFP to include language about preserving a CSX Corp. easement to allow for the "possibility of urban rail" within the property and that proposals must prioritize a new home for MOSI.

"We would not want to wake up 10 years from now and find we blew a chance to preserve the CSX right-of-way through the site," Commissioner Mariella Smith said. "That could go down as one of those things where it’s, 'What were they thinking?'"

Commissioners also amended the RFP to specifically call for affordable housing; the previous language had called for attainable housing.

Commissioner Kimberly Overman said the county should prioritize developers who have a track record of "embracing wetlands" as well as those on the cutting-edge of mixed-use projects. The coronavirus pandemic, Overman said, has likely changed the dynamic of office space and home offices forever, and developer should be cognizant of that in their proposals.

"Office space and residential space reimagined is going to look different, possibly, than it has in the past," Overman said.

Here's the official language from the RFP for the county's vision for the property:

"An innovative and inclusive mixed-use development focused on sustainable design, healthy living [that] leverages smart city technology while incorporating private, commercial and retail uses with civic spaces that are thoughtfully designed."

Commissioners also said they will give higher rankings to proposals that incorporate the surrounding area's focus on life sciences, technology and robotics.

Also Wednesday, commissioners unanimously approved the county funding of $100,000 to the Tampa Innovation Alliance to develop a business plan for the Uptown district. That's consistent with the memorandum of understanding the board approved in late 2019 to fund a business plan for the area.