Top Story
University of California Merced, Master Architect 2020 – ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Winner
Learn more about 2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Finalist, University of California Merced, Master Architect 2020.
Location: Tampa, Florida
Developer: Strategic Property Partners
Designers: Master Plan- Elkus Manfredi; Reed Hilderbrand; Design Architects- Kohn Pedersen Fox; COOKFOX; ASD SKY; Nichols; Morris Adjmi; ODP Architects; Baker Barrios; Interiors- Cecconi Simone; Roman & Williams; Morris Adjmi; Champalimaud; Streetsense; Landscape- Reed Hilderbrand; Raymond Jungles; Future Green Studio; Nelson Byrd Woltz; Groundswell
Site Size: 32 Acres
SPP’s vision for a much-needed revitalization of Downtown Tampa has come to reality with Water Street Tampa’s transformation of former surface parking lots into a full-fledged neighborhood that is connecting communities, improving walkability, and introducing a “15-minute city” experience. SPP commenced vertical construction in 2018 and completed its first phase of development in fall 2022 with the opening of The Tampa EDITION. An important part of Water Street Tampa’s history and success is the public-private partnership between developers, local government, and community leaders. SPP partnered with the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County to build the missing infrastructure required to support new downtown development, effectively bringing Water Street Tampa to fruition while also creating better connectivity for the city and priming it for successful future development. The success of that relationship can be measured by the development’s economic and community impact. Water Street Tampa has excelled in these realms by creating new jobs and tax revenue and helping Tampa meet its long-term goal of creating a more seamless city where everyone has an opportunity to live, work and play.
Designed to deepen people’s interactions with the cityscape, the natural environment, and each other, Water Street Tampa embraces well-being and outdoor living. Walkable streets connect homes, offices, retail, and hotels – all along an accessible waterfront. The vision for Water Street Tampa centers on the philosophy that thoughtfully designed buildings are only as good as the spaces between them. Public space and pedestrians are prioritized, with a completely reimagined city street grid, a signature 45-foot wide sidewalk, and comfortably scaled building blocks to promote pedestrian connectivity and create an engaging ground-level experience for the community. The neighborhood’s redesigned street grid connects Tampa’s central business district to its previously underutilized waterfront for the first time, opening downtown to everyone.
Public spaces range from the neighborhood’s namesake, Water Street, a thoroughfare with wide, shaded streets, to Raybon Plaza, an often-programmed landscaped plaza with seating and public art, to Sparkman Wharf, the waterfront park featuring a shipping container dining garden and event lawn, to Meridien Greenway, a revitalized landscaped bike/walk trail connected to the Tampa Riverwalk, a waterfront promenade that begins at Water Street Tampa. Individual buildings within Water Street Tampa were designed by some of the best and most experienced minds in real estate, and their delivery represents a summation of significant research on best practices in successful, large-scale, mixed-use urban redevelopments worldwide. Each building is designed to celebrate its natural surroundings, with architecture that honors the city’s past while also providing better accommodations for present and future residents, visitors, and tenants.
Don’t have an account? Sign up for a ULI guest account.