After a drought of development, high-rises are again blooming in Tampa Bay. Nurtured by the richness of flowing capital and investor optimism, more than 10 new residential towers are rising on both sides of the bay, from Tampa’s Channel District to downtown St. Pete.None is likely to grace the cover of Architectural Record, but all will bring vitality to the city centers. Most of the buildings will cater to renters rather than condo owners, and both ends of the demographic scale will be well-represented — from young urbanites in their late 20s to empty-nesters and snowbirds.
Emphasis in these new residences is on interior amenities, such as granite countertops and dramatic views, rather than the aesthetics of the exteriors. Actually, the developers of some of these properties come to Tampa with the buildings already designed, using templates that have little relevance to the region’s subtropical setting.
The context of the structures, their relationship to a body of water or downtown streetscape, do not appreciably alter their designs. Visit Atlanta or Charlotte to see what these developers have created there and you’ll find buildings that are identical. Fine, but nothing to write home about.
Kevin Lynch broke ground with his book The Image of the City, which observes that people prefer places with a distinct visual identity. Beyond beloved icons like the University of Tampa’s minarets and the Vinoy’s front porch, there are some contemporary examples of buildings whose developers invested in creating memorable places: Signature Place in St. Pete, The Garrison at Harbour Island Bridge, along with non-residential projects such as the Oxford Exchange and the Birchwood, come to mind.
Perhaps the challenge in finding exciting new architecture in Tampa Bay is financing — that, and the low expectations of both developers and tenants, who are so eager for decent places to live that they don’t demand great design. Whatever the reasons, we can do better. Hopefully, we will see a paradigm shift with the launch of Jeff Vinik’s new 24-acre venture in downtown Tampa.
Vinik has engaged a hot Pittsburgh-based firm, Urban Design Associates, to work on his plans, which include a hotel, entertainment, and retail. Word is that they are thinking “blank slate,” which means tearing down the awkward Channelside Shoppes and opening vistas to the water. No specifics as yet, but the planners are asking the right questions.
One reason that local high-rise apartments are so mediocre is that governments don’t demand better design. They could insist that what’s built on the street level adds to the liveliness of the city, with shops, windows or art… something beyond grilled parking and dumpsters.
Mickey Jacob, past president of the American Institute of Architects, summed up the challenge in his keynote address to the Tampa Downtown Partnership's annual meeting in June: “Good design doesn’t cost more, it’s just better thought out. If Tampa Bay is going to compete, we need to raise our standards!”