Tampa Heights YMCA to be reborn as anchor of mixed-use development
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 1, 2023

A prime piece of Tampa Heights real estate will be reborn as a mixed-use development anchored by a new Central City YMCA.

Tampa’s Ellison Development, led by Casey Ellison and co-founded by Sidd Pagidipati, has asked the city to rezone a 6.2-acre assemblage along North Florida Avenue. The rezoning will make way for a 1.25-million-square-foot development that’s essentially a miniature city and a peer project to the nearby Heights district, Water Street Tampa and Midtown Tampa.

Here’s what Ellison and the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA envision on the property:

110,000-square-foot YMCA with a rooftop pool

200-key luxury lifestyle hotel

447 multifamily units, at least 10% of which will be dedicated to affordable housing

184,000 square feet of office space

100,000 square feet of retail space, a portion of which will be dedicated to small, minority-owned businesses

1,444 parking spaces

20,000 square feet of green space

The new YMCA will be built across North Florida Avenue from the current facility. Ellison intends to break ground on the YMCA in summer 2024, with completion slated for 2026. The current YMCA will not close until the new one opens, and the entire redevelopment has a roughly five-year timeline.

The new YMCA is double the size of the existing facility.

A sky bridge over North Florida Avenue will connect the new YMCA to Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA’s corporate offices and parking. The new YMCA is seven stories; the building that will replace the current YMCA will be a 24-story multifamily tower with street-level commercial space.

On the parcels south of East Palm Avenue, a 15-story office building and 23-story tower with hotel rooms and multifamily units are planned. A fifth building, a 24-story tower with street-level storefronts, will rise along North Florida Avenue south of East Oak Avenue.

The Standard Oil building at 110 E. Oak Ave. will be preserved. The YMCA is also providing a 10-foot easement along East Palm Avenue for a potential streetcar expansion.

FleischmanGarciaMaslowski is the architect; Kimley-Horn is the engineer. Gardner Brewer Hudson is the zoning attorney and expects the rezoning request to be heard before Tampa City Council by November.

“This development, with a new, modern YMCA as an anchor, will stand as a testament to our commitment to meeting the evolving needs for future generations,” Matt Mitchell, YMCA president and CEO, said in a statement. “We look forward to robust conversations with the Tampa Heights residents and our neighbors as we explore the many ways this vision can offer value to the community. Local community feedback will be critical as we realize this vision.”

The project is a hometown debut for Ellison Development; principal Casey Ellison is also CEO of Ellison Construction, which counts several of Tampa’s marquee developments among its portfolio: Oxford Exchange, Hotel Haya, Stovall House and Armature Works.

Ellison Development is also a partner in Orange Station in downtown St. Petersburg.

“As a huge supporter of the YMCA and its mission, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to help them expand their footprint in the Tampa Heights community and beyond. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of the team that understands how to honor the neighborhood’s past while ushering it into its next chapter,” Ellison said in a statement.