Tampa Considers How to Invest $100 Million in its Downtown

With the bonds from the Tampa Convention Center to be paid off in 2015, Tampa will soon have $100 million to spend in its Downtown Community Reinvestment Area. How should the city invest in its downtown?

1 minute read

February 23, 2014, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Linda Paul-Sena asks the question: how should Tampa spend $100 million “to encourage economic vibrancy in our urban core.”

“Would you select one big project, say a baseball stadium or its parking structure, where this princely sum becomes a dowry to woo the Rays?” asks Paul-Sena.

Or, “Do you choose a series of projects like parks, public art, wider sidewalks, capital needs of city-owned cultural facilities, like the Straz and the Tampa Theatre — all smaller in scale, intended to boost activity throughout the area?”

The article also surveys city council members, local planners, and other local stakeholders for their opinions, and asks for public opinion on the question via the article’s comment board and social media.

Thursday, February 20, 2014 in Tampa Bay CL

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

7 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

July 6 - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine