Meet Ybor Harbor, Darryl Shaw's vision for downtown Tampa's waterfront
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 19, 2023

Ybor City developer Darryl Shaw is moving forward with plans to revitalize a portion of downtown Tampa’s industrial waterfront — and his vision does not include a professional baseball stadium.

Shaw on Thursday filed a rezoning request to make way for a new district named Ybor Harbor. Ybor Harbor is roughly 33 acres south of Adamo Drive, east of Channelside Drive and west of North 19th Street on the Ybor Channel. The Tampa Bay Business Journal first reported Shaw’s plans to buy the land surrounding the Ybor Channel in August; the transaction will close in phases to allow for the relocation and preservation of maritime jobs.

“Ybor Harbor is a transformative new addition to the fabric stitching together our urban neighborhoods from Ybor City to the Channel district, Water Street, Gas Worx and our downtown core,” Shaw said in a statement. “Our focus is on creating a vibrant neighborhood, enhancing connectivity and bringing the public to our city’s cherished waterfront.”

Ybor Harbor is seeking approvals for a maximum of just over 6 million square feet of commercial development, including residential units, hotel rooms, and office and retail space. Stantec is the engineer on the project; Ricky Peterika of Dark Moss is the arborist. Tyler Hudson, a partner at Gardner Brewer Hudson Law in Tampa, is Shaw’s legal representative.

Here is a breakdown of the proposed uses:

up to 2,586 residential units

up to 140,400 square feet of office space

up to 375 hotel rooms

up to 292,260 square feet of commercial retail spanning 20 blocks

In December, the Business Journal obtained renderings of a Tampa Bay Rays stadium on the Ybor Channel property. Shaw told the Business Journal at the time that his team did not create those renderings but would not comment on assertions made by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan that he was in negotiations with the team.

There is no stadium in the plans Shaw filed Thursday.

Castor supported the rezoning request in a statement.

“We have seen the immense benefits to the community by thoughtfully investing in opening up our city's waterfront over the last decade," the mayor said. "I am excited to see a vision for Ybor Harbor that continues that work and further activates our natural environment."

What Shaw does envision on the site is public access to a portion of the downtown waterfront that has long been restricted. He plans to work with Port Tampa Bay to coordinate piers, boat slips and floating docks that would be open to the public. There will also be a boardwalk lined with restaurants and entertainment concepts.

There will be parks throughout the neighborhood, and Shaw also plans to make improvements to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway greenway that runs along the northern edge of the property.

Shaw, the co-founder and former CEO of BluePearl Veterinary Partners, is one of the largest landowners in Ybor City. He is partnered with Washington, D.C.-based Kettler to develop Gas Worx, a mixed-use development that spans more than 50 acres between Ybor City and the Channel district.