Clearwater voters support $400M redevelopment of downtown waterfront
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 8, 2022

Clearwater residents are all in on the proposed $400 million redevelopment of two city-owned properties on the downtown waterfront.

Voters have approved a referendum to allow the city to sell the land to Palm Harbor’s The DeNunzio Group and New York-based Gotham Property Acquisitions for $24.7 million. The team will bring a hotel, apartments and retail to the property.

As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, 92% of the precincts have reported, and more than two-thirds of voters support the deal. Gotham and DeNunzio Group will build up to 600 apartments via two residential towers and 40,000 square feet of commercial space on the site of the former city hall. The project will be executed in phases over the course of six years.

The former Harborview Center site will have a 13-story, 158-key hotel with retail and restaurant space, a 1,000-person conference center and a 4,000-square-foot rooftop bar. Plans show a pedestrian bridge that would connect the two sites.

“As someone who grew up in Clearwater, I could not be more excited about the opportunity to lead a project that will transform my city’s downtown from a place people just passed through to a destination where people can live, work and play,” Dustin DeNunzio of The DeNunzio Group said. “This transformative project will bring needed residential units, new dining and shopping opportunities, hotel beds and event space to our pristine downtown.”

The support from voters means Clearwater can finally unlock a critical portion of its downtown. Once complete, the project will bring not only jobs and steady foot traffic but also a wave of residents to downtown. The two properties are next to the $84 million Imagine Clearwater project.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, many business leaders voiced their support of the referendum, championing its anticipated impact on downtown. Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard and the members of the Clearwater City Council also supported the referendum.

“Tonight, the residents of Clearwater voted for progress and sent a clear message that the time is now to move downtown Clearwater forward with a visionary project that will seamlessly blend our Imagine Clearwater plan to the benefit of every resident,” Hibbard said.

The city will provide $25.5 million in incentives for the project — $22 million of which will go toward building two underground parking structures. Approximately $1.5 million will go toward impact fees, and up to $2 million will be set aside for the pedestrian bridge. The city will demolish the former city hall building and will handle any environmental remediations that may arise.

The developers will have until the end of 2024 to get a final site plan and close on the sale.

The project team includes Gotham, DeNunzio Group, Stantec, Coastal Construction, Behar + Peteranecz Architecture and owner’s representative Joe Burdette. Stantec is heavily involved in the Imagine Clearwater project.