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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The developer behind the Gas Worx project, which aims to link Ybor City with downtown Tampa’s Channelside district, is a step closer to breaking ground on another waterfront development.
The Tampa City Council on Thursday signed off on a rezoning request and development agreement for Ybor Harbor, a proposed 33-acre redevelopment of an industrial area located south of the Selmon Expressway near Ybor City.
Garrett Greco says the project comes with the promise of helping the City of Tampa manage growth.
He’s calling for smart planning as more construction projects break ground.
Greco is a fifth generation Tampanian.
His grandfather, Dick Greco, is a former mayor of Tampa who championed Ybor City as a cultural destination with his eye on the future.
“He spearheaded that initial city intention into Ybor City with city funds,” Greco said. “So the city parking garage, Hillsborough Community College, the trolley system which starts in Ybor City. All of that was done over 20 years ago and now you’re starting to see the effects of it.”
The city council resolution identified the developer as Banana Docks, LLC, which is a nod to the port’s history of offloading banana boats decades ago. The project is spearheaded by developer Darryl Shaw.
Developers and city officials have eyed the old ship repair yard on Ybor Channel for years as downtown redevelopment projects closed in on the area. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and former Mayor Bob Buckhorn both supported transforming the port and moving away from its industrial uses.
The port was floated as a potential site for the new Tampa Bay Rays stadium before it was determined it would be rebuilt in its current St. Petersburg location.
According to the development agreement, Ybor Channel would feature 4,750 units of residential, with 10% set aside for affordable housing, 500,000 square feet of office space, 156,000 square feet of commercial retail, and 800 hotel rooms. The developer says it would open up 100,000 square feet of open space, including a boardwalk with dining, retail, piers and boat slips.
“It’s been a long, long road of turning Ybor into what it was originally, which was a place for people to gather,” Greco said. “It was a boom town over 100 years ago and now things are shifting and it’s moving in that direction again.”
Shaw told councilmembers the project would be just one part of his vision for “multiple, interconnected neighborhoods” making up Tampa’s urban core. He described the Ybor Channel development as “threading the needle” between maritime interests and the needs of the broader community.
“The people moving to Tampa want to experience the waterfront,” Shaw said. “They want to experience walkability. They want to experience transit-oriented development. They’d like to have the opportunity to not utilize their cars. And those very people who are looking for that waterfront experience in the urban core are demanding, or needing, goods that come in through the port.”
Shaw said he has met with members of the maritime community while concocting plans for the development.
The Tampa City Council will hold its second hearing on the project on May 2.
