In late January, Developers Intown Group and Crosland plan to ask Tampa City Council to rezone property at Tampa and Tyler streets (see proposed apartment tower map).

The art deco style project would have 404 apartments, 16,000 square feet of shops and a parking garage, and will be similar to New York City’s Chrysler Building and Empire State Building.

BayStar Hotel Group to develop $29 million new-build property slated to open in 2010

InterContinental Hotels Group, the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announces that a Hotel Indigo is coming to downtown Tampa, Fla.  The 168-room new-build property is expected to open in a mixed-use urban community in 2010.

The new Hotel Indigo will be located in Channelside.

Construction is set to begin before the end of 2008.

Downtown Tampa ’s first and only luxury high-rise apartments

For the first time, an urban lifestyle in an elegant, downtown apartment high-rise building will be available to Tampa residents.

Element, downtown Tampa’s high-rise luxury community, announced today that it will open a leasing center on Monday, November 17, with an open house and celebration to take place on Wednesday, November 19. The event, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., will include a live remote broadcast by classic rock’s 102.5 The Bone radio.

Located in the heart of the arts district downtown, Element’s residences feature premium appointments, including floor-to-ceiling windows, 10-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances and upgraded finishes, such as granite in kitchens and baths. The building also features a resort-style pool with spectacular skyline views and lavish amenities typically only available in luxury condominiums…but with the maintenance-free lifestyle of apartment living.

“Element will add to the vibrancy of this part of downtown, where so much is already happening right now, including new restaurants, many new residents living at SkyPoint, and the redevelopment of the park and museum,” said John Akin, senior vice president of Novare Group, a partner with Tampa’s intowngroup in the Element development. “We’ve seen strong demand for this type of product, which has never been offered in downtown Tampa before. We are excited to offer this incredible lifestyle to a whole new group of people: those who may not wish to commit to a purchase right now but who do want to sample the urban lifestyle with no strings attached.”

The size of the residences at Element ranges from 690 square feet to 3,445 square feet. Rental rates will start at $1,100 per month.

The leasing center hours will be Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 507 North Franklin Street in downtown Tampa .

Residents will begin moving into Element in January 2009. Furnished models will open at the time the building is ready for occupancy. For more information, visit www.elementofyou.com.

About Element

Element is a 34-story, 395-unit building at 808 N. Franklin Street featuring one and two bedroom homes and 15,500 square feet of street-level retail space. Element is a joint venture of Novare Group Holdings, LLC and Tampa ’s intowngroup. Novare-intowngroup also developed SkyPoint, a condominium community adjacent to Element that opened in 2006 and is nearly 85% sold.

About the developers

With a focus on creating great urban experiences, Novare Group Holdings, LLC is a leading developer of cutting-edge, mixed-use high-rise communities in U.S. urban markets. Since its founding in 1992, Novare Group has completed more than 6,000 condominium homes and currently has more than 1,300 condominium homes under construction. The company has also developed or acquired more than 1.4 million square feet of office space and 400,000 square feet of retail space and in 2006 launched TWELVE® Hotels & Residences, which pairs boutique hotels with attainably-priced condominium residences. Headquartered in Atlanta , Novare Group has development projects in Atlanta , Austin , Charlotte , Nashville and Tampa . For more information, visit www.novaregroup.com.

Intowngroup is a Tampa-based real estate development team focused on creating sustainable, walkable, urban infill projects in the southeastern United States . Intowngroup is currently involved in several other downtown Tampa urban infill projects. For more information, visit the intowngroup Web site at www.intowngroup.com.

Southwest Properties and Armco Capital Corp. joined forces as Channelside LLC, and plan to rent out condos in the 243 unit building.

Southwest CEO Jim Spatz said that he doesn’t think the units in the downtown Tampa complex will sell in the current U.S. market. Until the market recovers, Channelside will likely rent out the condominiums.

Warren said mediation brought the licensing agreement “to a closure,” effectively sealing the fate of the tower.

“It’s really off the drawing boards right now. That’s the economic reality of what’s happened,” Warren said. “If SimDag wants to use the Trump brand again, they’ll need a new agreement.”

SimDag does not plan to sell the vacant 1.5 acre riverfront lot at 111 S Ashley Drive until the real estate market improves.

Well, it used to be an association.  From the partnership website – tampasdowntown.com

The Tampa Downtown Association grew out of several months of weekly discussion by a steering group of property owners, developers and businessmen, who felt that Tampa’s central business district needed a creative, proactive, private sector organization to represent the downtown community.

The initial work of the Association was to research other successful downtown private sector organizations around the country. The results revealed that private sector leadership groups have been evolving in major downtowns across the country for some 45 years. Research confirmed that public and private sector cooperation yields a greater understanding of each others needs and problems, thereby helping both reach solutions which ensures the core of the city continues to prosper as the economic, cultural and recreational center of the community.

The Association drafted a Statement of Mission and Goals which formed the basis by which the Association began its work.

Organizationally, the Association was structured in a way that assures a broad representation of the business community in Downtown. Research revealed that all successful private sector groups feature diversity in membership with the principal officer or partner of the member firm serving as the representative to the Association. This provides a forum for dialogue among the leaders of the Downtown Community, where each individual feels comfortable in expressing their views in a closed door environment.

On August 7, 1987, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to change the Association’s name to the Tampa Downtown Partnership. The name imparts a genuine desire to work together in a partnership with others to accomplish the community’s desired goals.

And what is it that they are trying to accomplish?  We’ll let them tell you:

VISION

Tampa Downtown Partnership is the leader in fostering a vibrant, diverse 24-hour downtown neighborhood in which to learn, live, work and play.

MISSION

The strategic mission of the Tampa Downtown Partnership is to be the steward of Downtown Tampa, while cultivating effective public/private partnerships to facilitate catalytic physical and economic development.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The tactical efforts of the Tampa Downtown Partnership to implement our mission shall be:

• To improve the collective downtown community
• To be an active conduit of information, resources and intellectual capital between the public and private sectors
• To foster effective partnerships among members, local government and the downtown community
• To create and implement plans for Downtown that support the Partnership’s stated vision
• To promote the vision for Downtown and TDP’s membership in the community

Find out more at tampasdowntown.com

From the Tampa Downtown Partnership:

On Wednesday (6/18) at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina the Partnership will hold its 22nd Annual Meeting & Luncheon. The Partnership is excited to announce that Carol Coletta will be the keynote speaker.  Carol is President and CEO of CEOs for Cities, as well as host and producer of the nationally syndicated public radio show Smart City. She is a passionate advocate for cities, and has devoted her life to answering the question: What makes cities succeed?

• The Museum focuses on children from birth to 10 years and will offer exhibit and programming environments that encourage them to explore the connections between different aspects of the world around them from history, to commerce, to science.
• The setting and atmosphere of the museum will focus on freedom of exploration, comfort and safety.
• Children, parents, caregivers and teachers will have a rich and ever-changing environment for playful learning via exhibits, programs and special events.

Learn more about what they plan to offer at glazermuseum.org

The actual building is expected to open at the current Curtis Hixon Park (map) in November of 2009.

The City of Tampa and Skanska U.S., master contractor for the Curtis Hixon Park/Tampa Museum of Art project, have made a “webcam” available for viewing the dramatic changes happening at the site. If you have not seen what’s happening, now you can view everything from the comfort of your favorite chair in front of your computer.

Go to http://www.oxblue.com/pro/, and enter this information:

• User Name: tampamuseum@webcam.com
• Password: downtown

You can keep a good eye on what’s happening at Curtis Hixon.

You might remember when Donald Trump welcomed everyone to get in on the ground floor of the “largest building on the Gulf Coast.” Now the Donald is looking to Puerto Rico.

As far as the downtown spot, mayor Pam Iorio has had her eyes on the riverfront property since July of last year. Located at Ashley and Brorein on the river, watch for the city to buy the land, and add to the Riverwalk.