With new residential complexes like the Place and the Pierhouse, new gathering spots like Washington Square Park and the plaza at Grand Central, BOTB-winning restaurants (Cena, Bamboozle Tea Lounge) and theater (Stageworks), the Channel District finally seems to be living up to its potential of becoming a vital downtown Tampa neighborhood. But its success ultimately depends on the fate of its benighted neighbor, the ghost town that is Channelside. Now that the Tampa Port Authority has struck a deal to purchase the building from the Irish bank that foreclosed on it, hope has sprung that the entertainment complex might finally live up to its potential, too.
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2013.