Hillsborough ices RFP to redevelop the 74-acre MOSI site near the University of South Florida
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 1, 2020

Hillsborough County has put plans to redevelop the Museum of Science and Industry on hold, citing uncertainty amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The county recently notified interested bidders in the 74-acre site that it was canceling its request for proposals for the property.

"Given the widespread and sustained impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and numerous other issues related to the same, not the least of which is a recent and rapid increase in cases, there is significant uncertainty about the current and future state of our local economy," reads the email that was sent to interested bidders. "It is absolutely necessary to reconsider this project within the context of current events, the community’s need, and the board’s priorities over the next several years."

County administrator Bonnie Wise's office referred a request for comment to Terry McElroy, the county's director of communications and digital media. McElroy was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

The RFP for the MOSI site has been closely watched in commercial real estate circles. It is a prime infill property, near the University of South Florida, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and AdventHealth. It is also massive within the context of urban infill development: By comparison, Midtown Tampa is 22 acres, and Water Street Tampa is over 50 acres.

The area, recently branded Uptown, is also home to University Mall, where a major redevelopment is in the works.

Mark Sharpe, a longtime champion of the Uptown area and head of the Tampa Innovation Partnership, said the extra time to study how the MOSI property will fit into the surrounding neighborhood isn't a bad thing.

"Covid has obviously created some changes," Sharpe said, "and I think the county wants some more time to figure out how they’re going to move forward."

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on office and retail properties. The MOSI site is a prime candidate for mixed-use redevelopment; in a pre-Covid world, any proposals for the space would have included office and retail space. But the uncertainty of the pandemic makes it difficult to properly assess those proposals.