Best Real Estate Deals: Water Street Tampa is development of the year
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 17, 2021

Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has been talking about a mixed-use district surrounding his hockey stadium for several years — and for much of Tampa, that vision became reality in 2020 and 2021.

Vinik, who controls developer Strategic Property Partners with Cascade Investment LLC, has long spoken of a transformative development in downtown Tampa — one that could lure talent and corporate headquarters away from Northeastern hubs like Boston and New York City.

As Water Street’s first phase wraps up, the district is coming to life, from street-level activity to high-rise residents, and locals are beginning to fully realize the vision Vinik first took public in 2014.

Key players

Developer: Strategic Property Partners

Architects of record include: Elkus Manfredi, Reed Hildebrand, COOKFOX Architects (Cora, Thousand & One), Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (Heron), Morris Adjmi (The Tampa EDITION, 1050 Water Street), Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates (JW Marriott), ASD | SKY (Sparkman Wharf), Baker Barrios (district cooling facility)

Big numbers

$3.5 billion: The construction cost for the privately funded Water Street Tampa project

1,000,000: The number of square feet of new office space, including the city’s first office towers in over 25 years

Biggest challenge

There are always challenges when working on a project of this scale, SPP said in its submission materials. It is one of the only developments of this magnitude created by a single developer. Its team “has risen to address challenges” including the pandemic, the honoree wrote. Water Street Tampa is driven by several pillars – including wellness. Health-conscious protocols including filtration systems, touchless keypads and more were already part of the design of its buildings.