First phase of Gas Worx, mixed-use development near Ybor City, clears first council vote
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 9, 2021

The first phase of Gas Worx, the mixed-use development proposed between Ybor City and downtown Tampa's Channel district, has received preliminary approval from Tampa City Council.

Council on Thursday voted to approve the rezoning of properties at 1502 Nuccio Parkway, 1015 Lily White Court and 1555 Scott St. to make way for 724 apartments in three buildings. The first phase also includes a 940-space parking garage and 20,000 square feet of retail space.

The rezoning request passed with a 5-2 vote. Council chairman Orlando Gudes and councilman John Dingfelder cast the dissenting votes, citing concerns that the project's number of affordable housing units — 36 apartments or 5 percent of the project — was too small.

Council will hold a second and final hearing vote on the first phase of Gas Worx on Jan. 13.

“I can’t support it on the mere fact that that number is just too low," Gudes said. "If I was to go along with this, that community over there would think I just gave up on it."

Developer Darryl Shaw, the CEO of BluePearl Veterinary Partners who spent years assembling the land that will become Gas Worx, is partnered with Washington, D.C.-based Kettler on the project.

"This is a heartening step forward for the future Gas Worx District," Shaw said in a statement. "This first phase is about bringing in the most important component of any bright and dynamic neighborhood — people. We are building a space where more people can plant their roots in Ybor City, and we are doing all we can to honor and protect the character and history of the surrounding neighborhood.”

The entirety of the Gas Worx assemblage includes Tampa Park apartments, a long-time low-income housing property that residents vacated in late 2020. It also includes 1400 Channelside Drive and a site previously targeted for a Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium, between East Fourth Avenue and Adamo Drive.

Previously, only 1400 Channelside Drive was known as Gas Worx. That site was known as Gas Worx because it was owned by TECO and used as a Peoples Gas operations center.

Shaw, a longtime Ybor advocate who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to relocate Tampa Park residents, told the council that the first phase is a small part of the overall development plans.

"I can assure you we have a very significant commitment to true affordable housing, not just workforce housing,” Shaw told the council, "and we are actively working on that."

In a statement, Mayor Jane Castor called Gas Worx a "transformational project for the city" and said it would reconnect "Ybor City and downtown while creating an extension of the vibrant surrounding neighborhoods."

"In addition, the project will help our critical housing shortage," Castor said, "and I am particularly excited to see the inclusion of critically needed affordable housing.”