Ybor Harbor, Darryl Shaw's waterfront vision, gets preliminary nod from Tampa City Council
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 11, 2024

Ybor Harbor, Darryl Shaw's vision for downtown Tampa's waterfront, has received its first approval from Tampa City Council.

Council on Thursday approved a comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning request to make way for Ybor Harbor. Ybor Harbor spans roughly 33 acres south of Adamo Drive, east of Channelside Drive and west of North 19th Street on the Ybor Channel. The property was once under consideration as a site for a Tampa Bay Rays stadium. Shaw's plans, filed in early 2023, do not include a baseball stadium.

Shaw is also partnered with Washington, D.C.-based Kettler to develop Gasworx, a mixed-use development under construction just west of Ybor Harbor.

Shaw told council that he "envisions multiple interconnected neighborhoods." He said that as Tampa's population grows, demand for goods through Port Tampa Bay grows — and he believes those dynamics can coexist.

"Ybor Harbor does that in a very thoughtful, material way, and it's not without its nuances and intricacies. It is truly threading the needle," Shaw said. "The maritime community is very significant and active. The population that is moving to Tampa, that exists in Tampa, wants to experience the waterfront. They want to experience walkability and transit-oriented development. They’d like to have the opportunity not to utilize their car.

"We believe that through this development, in a thoughtful way, we can weave a tapestry that connects all of those uses in a mixed-use, transit-oriented community."

The crown jewel of Ybor Harbor will be the waterfront, which Shaw wants to open to the public. Shaw said he will work with Port Tampa Bay to open the waterfront, and his plans include 100,000 square feet of open space — a boardwalk lined with restaurants and retailers, piers, boat slips, floating docks and green space.

Here's a breakdown of the development:

500,000 square feet of office space

800 hotel rooms

Over 150,000 square feet of street-level retail space

4,750 new residential units, 10% of which will be dedicated to affordable housing

The project team includes engineering firm Stantec, transportation consultant Randy Coen of Coen & Co., legal representatives Tyler Hudson and Alex Schaler of Gardner Brewer Hudson PA and arborist Ricky Peterika of Dark Moss.

Two placemaking firms have been hired as consultants on the project: East and Main CEO James Nozar, who was the inaugural CEO of Water Street Tampa developer Strategic Property Partners, as well as Of Place, which also worked on Water Street.

The rezoning request passed unanimously, and the comprehensive plan amendment passed 6-1, with Councilmember Lynn Hurtak voting against it. A second hearing on the project will be held on May 2.

Hurtak and Councilmember Bill Carlson expressed concern that the development was encroaching on maritime land and jobs, but Carlson voted in favor of the amendment and rezoning, citing a 2007 rezoning of 26 of the 33 acres to make way for mixed-use development by Clearwater-based Gibraltar Development Corp. Gibraltar's development plans fell victim to the global financial crisis of 2007-08.

Hurtak called the comprehensive plan amendment “the beginning of the end of the port” and said one of her “favorite things in the city of Tampa is driving by that shipyard” that’s currently on the property.

Councilmember Gwen Henderson, whose district includes the property, called it "another opportunity to create more housing in this area that will serve a diverse population."

"What’s interesting is that no one from the port is coming today to speak against this," Henderson said. "So I think their silence may be an indication that they’re OK with it."

Captain John Timmel, founder and president of American Victory Ship and Starboard Ten Maritime Forensics, told council that the project would "absolutely not impact the navigability of that channel."

"The planned Ybor Harbor development will thoughtfully and respectfully balance the need for mixed-use development in our growing urban core while providing necessary boundaries to protect our vital maritime assets,” Timmel said in a statement issued by Shaw's team.

Timmel also lauded Shaw's efforts to engage the maritime community.

"Darryl is a man of great integrity and will be a trusted partner as both Tampa and its maritime industry grow together," Timmel said. "I look forward to what lies ahead in the continuing history of our city and port."

On the rezoning request, Hurtak said she wants to see room for a fire station in the area of Ybor Harbor and Gasworx. The developments will add more than 9,000 units to the area between the Channel district and Ybor City at full buildout.

“We keep seeing these giant developments, but we don’t have space for the infrastructure this city needs and keeps asking for," Hurtak said. "There’s nothing your development is doing to help us with those needs.”