Tampa Bay is in the midst of a historic transformation that will shape the economic future of the region.
One of the highest profile projects underway in Tampa is the redevelopment of 50 acres along the downtown waterfront. A real estate development joint venture between Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment, LLC and Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is creating a mixed-use development in the heart of the urban core that will be the world’s first WELL Certified™ city district for wellness known as Water Street Tampa.
The district will offer more than 1 million sq ft of new retail, educational, and entertainment spaces. Along with new hotels, residences, and office space, the USF Health Medical School opened in Water Street at the end of 2019. The Connected City is a 7,800-acre mixed-use community that will be the first Smart Gigabit Community in the nation to be built from the ground up with a fiber network providing exclusive ULTRAFi internet technology ranging from 1Gbps to 10Gps. Envisioned by Metro Development Group, the community will also be powered by renewable energy and have over 100 miles of designated autonomous vehicle lanes. The site will include a high-tech education center, a wellness campus with advanced research facilities, an innovation center, a medical hospital with med-spa, as well as a health and performance institute. The two master-planned communities will feature 7-12 acre MetroLagoons by Crystal Lagoons.
