At 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, the local developer behind Water Street Tampa will break ground on the ambitious neighborhood's first residential building. The dual tower of rental homes at the intersection of Channelside Drive and Old Water Street, called 815 Water Street, is slated to open in late 2020.
815 Water Street's groundbreaking ceremony is the latest announcement from Water Street Tampa, the 50-plus-acre mixed-use project underway downtown. The building will cater to residents and visitors alike with dining, grocery and shopping options, plus an improved eastern gateway to the Riverwalk.
"We are excited to begin construction on the first of many homes in the Water Street Tampa neighborhood, each providing an elevated lifestyle experience and opportunity to live along the waterfront in downtown Tampa," said James Nozar, CEO of Tampa-based Strategic Property Partners, LLC, in a release. "815 Water Street fills an important need in the neighborhood, providing a diverse array of rental homes and neighborhood retail amenities designed to foster residents' sense of wellbeing and connection to nature.
"With building entrances on the Tampa Riverwalk and the tree-lined Water Street, residents will be adjacent to multiple pedestrian-friendly corridors activated by neighborhood shopping, dining and entertainment options, all within steps of their front door."
Designed to maximize natural light, the pair of towers that make up 815 Water Street will rise 21 and 26 stories, offering 420 residences with private terraces above the more than 35,000 square feet of ground-level retail. Each home, of course, plans to showcase views of the city's skyline and Hillsborough Bay.
An outdoor pool, fitness center, community kitchen, bar and club lounge (party on the landscaped rooftop, anyone?) are among the other waterfront amenities.
In addition to the overhauled Riverwalk gateway along Beneficial Drive, a 25,000-square-foot grocery store — which Strategic Property Partners hasn't yet disclosed — will take shape on Channelside Drive.
Previous groundbreakings for Water Street Tampa include the University of South Florida's Morsani College of Medicine and Health Heart Institute. 815 Water Street marks the fourth out of 10 ceremonies that the project will experience over the next year.
Once the neighborhood is complete, Water Street Tampa will house 3,500 newly built residences. Approximately 1,300 rental apartments and 42 for-sale condominiums are part of the first phase of construction, as are 50 retailers and restaurants, two hotels and the first new downtown office towers in almost 25 years.
This article appears in Nov 1-8, 2018.