The ribbon has been scissored. The VIPs have departed. The fanfare has gone. The $9.2 million Kennedy Plaza segment of the Tampa Riverwalk is now officially open.
And welcome to the new normal. There is now a contiguous, pedestrian-friendly, WiFi-ed, 1.8-mile link between Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and the Channel District. It’s as accessible as it is symbolic of downtown revitalization.
And about this time next year we’ll likely be seeing the last city installment, the $4.5 million Doyle Carlton segment, connecting the Straz Center for the Performing Arts with Water Works Park. That will make it 2.2 miles of connectivity. Of locals and tourists taking in waterfront views, renting e-boats, accessing popular landmarks–from the Tampa Bay History Center and Florida Aquarium to the Tampa Museum of Art and Ulele restaurant–or just kicking back in one of the seven waterfront parks.
We’ve come a long way since a Tampa Riverwalk was first conceived by Mayor Bill Poe as a celebratory Bicentennial project. Forty years–and five more mayors later–Tampa has fully taken the post-industrial plunge: using its river for residents and visitors–not just commerce.
It’s about quality of life. It’s about aesthetics. And it’s about economic opportunity.
Sometimes we overlook the economics. And it’s a lot more than dinner boats and pop-up bars. It’s about synergy and signal-sending.
Don’t think for a second that Riverwalk scenarios didn’t resonate with Jeff Vinik or Judy Genshaft. Tangible signs of a proactive city investing in itself are beacons to folks thinking of 10-figure, live-work-play projects and downtown medical schools.
And it obviously encouraged plans for that high-rise residential tower near the Straz Center and prompted the Straz itself to look to the banks of the Hillsborough River for the realization of a visionary master plan.
“We have five theaters that we consider our venues,” notes Straz President Judy Lisi, “but we’re looking at the riverfront as a new venue.”
And let’s not forget that the FINAL segment of the Riverwalk–from Water Works Park to the North Boulevard Bridge–will be completed by The Heights developers. It’s called enlightened self-interest. It will incorporate Tampa Heights and Riverside Heights into the downtown mix. It surely doesn’t happen without the assurance of market connectivity.
And sometimes we overlook something else: the role of government. The refrains are familiar. Its size, as in bloated. Its priorities, as in skewed. Its politics, as in partisan and polarizing.
But let’s not forget this. About 70 per cent of the funding for the Kennedy and Carlton segments comes from a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. It’s a vehicle for the Department of Transportation to invest in road, rail, transit and port/river projects that impact metro areas, regions and the nation. Mayor Bob Buckhorn went to Washington to lobby for it a few years back.
Overall, more than 50 per cent of the funds used to build the Riverwalk will have come from federal and state grants.
This isn’t governmental pork. There is no need for Florida TaxWatch or Grover Norquist or anyone else to look askance at what Tampa is pulling off with the help of government money.
There is always a place for smart government. One that helps by being a catalyst for community self-help and economic synergy. One that differentiates between giving and investing.
Mayor Buckhorn underscored the reality of what has been–and what will be–taking place as a result of the Riverwalk momentum.
“It will be eye-popping for investors and capital,” said Mayor Bob. “As we continue to make the Riverwalk the focus of our downtown, it presents opportunities that have never existed before.”