Adam Myers, senior business development manager for the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, paid a visit to Pasco County a few weeks ago, to share what’s happening on the economic front in Hillsborough County.
Myers outlined some of the major new developments happening in Tampa and Hillsborough County during a membership luncheon meeting of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.
He assured those gathered that economic development is not something that happens in a vacuum.
“While we are Hillsborough County-focused, we work with our partners in Pasco County Economic Development and Pinellas County Economic Development, Polk County, Sarasota, Manatee, all of the way up to Hernando County.
“When something great happens in Pasco County, that’s going to benefit Hillsborough County,” said Myers, senior business development manager for the Tampa/Hillsborough economic development agency.
“When something awesome is happening in Hillsborough County and Pinellas County, that’s benefiting Pasco County, as well.
“It’s important to recognize that economic development is really a team sport,” Myers said.
That being said, his talk focused primarily on some of the big things happening in Tampa and Hillsborough County.
For instance, Water Street Tampa, a $3 billion investment in downtown Tampa, is getting underway, he said.
“Now, the buildings are under construction,” Myers said. “The first building is almost done, with USF’s (University of South Florida’s) new medical school. That is bringing a lot of momentum and excitement, and activity and interest in the downtown area.
“Now, they’re seeing the cranes. Now, they’re seeing the walls going up, the buildings going up, the J.W. Marriott going up, everything that’s happening in Phase One of Water Street. OK, now I can almost touch it. It’s tangible,” he said.
Another major project, Midtown Tampa, is planned near Interstate 275 and North Dale Mabry Highway. That’s a $500 million mixed-use project of retail, residential and office, he said.
Riverwalk Place, a 50-story tower is going up in downtown Tampa. The $350 million project is the tallest building on the West Coast of Florida, Myers said.
It began as a mixed-use project, but the condo sales went so well, it was essentially converted to a residential project with retail at the bottom, he said.
Another project, called Heights Union, includes new office space being built at the southwest corner of Palm Avenue and North Tampa Street. Meanwhile, Highwoods Properties is building a new mixed-use project in Westshore.
Myers also noted that Tampa is being recognized by outside evaluators, as a good place to work and live.
Earlier this year, for instance, Zillow ranked Tampa as the No. 1 market for first-time homebuyers.
It’s also a great place to start a business, Myers said.
“Entrepreneurism in Tampa is at an all-time high, and there are more and more resources that are out there that are starting up to help our entrepreneurism ecosystem grow,” he said.
He also shared some of the economic development agency’s statistics.
“Between Oct. 1, 2016 and July 31, 2018: We worked with over 48 companies to make the decision to choose Hillsborough (County),” Myers said. That created nearly 6,200 jobs.
Those jobs, in turn, created nearly 2,300 indirect jobs and 4,060 induced jobs.
Published November 06, 2019
