Tens of millions of dollars in road, drainage and sewer work is expected to start in August on two massive projects at the southern and northern ends of downtown Tampa, Florida.
One, the Jeff Vinik-Cascade Investment project, has been the talk of Tampa for more than two years.
The second is the Heights, just north of Interstate 275, near Ulele and Water Works Park. You haven’t heard as much about it, but that’s changing, and for good reason.
Each project covers 40 or more acres. Each, like a plate on a barbell, could alter the center of gravity within Tampa’s urban core.
Each faces similar potential challenges — a recession, a possible glut of high-end downtown apartments. And each has unique assets to build on.
The Heights is an $820 million project. It comprises 1,520 residences, with 640,000 square feet of office and retail on 1,200 feet of frontage along a pretty bend in the Hillsborough River. Developers Adam Harden and Chas Bruck plan three residential buildings directly on the water.
The Vinik-Cascade is a $2 billion. 400- to 500-room hotel, 650,000-square-foot office tower, 300,000-plus square feet of retail/restaurants, 1,000 apartments (first phase), Channelside Bay Plaza upgrades.