* Thanks to a $10.6 million donation from USF alumni Arnie and Lauren Bellini, USF has another “transformational” addition: a new career center pragmatically designed to get thousands of students into the world of work sooner and better prepared. The 9,000-square-foot Bellini Talent Development Center’s purpose is to close the gap between academia and real-world employer needs and priorities. To that end, the Bellinis didn’t just write a big check. Arnie Bellini is a co-founder and former CEO of ConnectWise, the IT support firm. He knows USF isn’t short-changed on intellectual capital and values the role of internships and experiential learning as bridges to the business community. It’s called responsible capitalism—and this could become a national model.
* According to the commercial real estate firm JLL, 82 percent of the office space in the Tampa Bay market has been leased.
* Revitalized Channelside is hardly synonymous with greenery. Commercial and residential buildouts dominate. But this just in: Port Tampa Bay officials have agreed to sell land—a half acre for $3.8 million–to Tampa for a park. It sits just east of the $3.5 million Water Street Tampa development. “So much of the Channel District is high rises and concrete. Any time you can put in some softness and green space, that’s a plus,” pointed out Michelle Van Loan, Tampa’s CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) director. The live-work-stay-play market would agree.
* Hillsborough County: Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by approximately 62,000. Pinellas County: Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by approximately 3,000.
* Every time I drive by the construction fencing and signage for the (37-story) Pendry Tower on Ashley Drive by the Riverwalk, I can’t help feeling relieved that the signs aren’t for Trump Tower Tampa. Talk about a dodged bullet for Tampa’s brand.