Why Vinik's plan for downtown could lift all of Tampa Bay
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 25, 2014

No matter where you live and work in Tampa Bay, even if you never go near downtown Tampa or the Channel district, the magnitude of Jeff Vinik's plans for the area will almost certainly affect you. Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, has formed a partnership for the development of his downtown real estate holdings with Cascade Investment LLC, which is controlled by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

The plans for Vinik's real estate - about 25 acres plus the ground lease on Channelside Bay Plaza - is potentially a "billion dollar" deal, Lightning CEO Tod Leiweke said Thursday.

The potential ripple effects are huge: Leiweke said Vinik and the team he's put together intend to join economic development efforts to attract more corporate headquarters to Tampa, hoping to lure more high wage jobs to the city. The plans to build a live-work-play neighborhood on downtown Tampa's waterfront couldn't come at a better time, as it aligns with a national urbanization trend. The Millennial workforce prefers a walkable, urban environment, and where that exists, companies tend to go, too, hoping to attract the best and brightest talent.

Taken with the endorsement of Gates' investment firm and the leadership of Mayor Bob Buckhorn - known for an unyielding enthusiasm for downtown revitalization - Vinik's plans could mean more than just a cool neighborhood. The alignment of those events could add up to unprecedented growth for downtown Tampa, which would raise the entire region's stature on a national level.

In addition to Cascade, Vinik's team now includes Tampa commercial real estate veteran Bob Abberger. Pittsburgh-based Urban Design Associates, an urban planning consultant firm with national and international projects, is also working on the plans.

If the development comes to fruition and is a success, it will spur other developers to look at Tampa. Leiweke said the project - which is far too large in an unproven market for a traditional developer - is not a philanthropic endeavor for Vinik. The intention is to demonstrate the commercial viability and financial success that draws other developers to an area.

"If this is just benevolence and charity, it will ultimately fail," Leiweke said.

Leiweke said he doesn't anticipate Vinik selling the project after it's built out and fully occupied. Abberger said while it's hard to put a specific timeline on the project, vertical construction could begin in 2016.

"I don't see [Vinik] being a a short seller on this one," Leiweke said. "What makes this all so unique is this is his life. This is what he does now. Talk about live-work-play - he does all of that right here."

As a secondary city, Tampa's commercial real estate market struggles to attract big institutional investors, many of whom fled to gateway cities like New York and San Francisco after the last downturn. And while Gates' endorsement won't result in an immediate flurry of transactions, it's a good story - and that's what investors like to hear, said Mike Davis, executive director of the capital markets group with Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc.

And having names like Vinik and Gates involved gives investors confidence that this project will come to fruition.

"When you have pockets that are this deep and commitment this deep, people are going to say, 'Boy, no matter what market swings may occur, these are the guys that can see this through,'" Davis said.

Gates isn't known as a bellwether of institutional real estate investment and developers, Davis said, but his name has has obvious cachet and will turn heads.

"One of the world's wealthiest men is interested in infusing cash into Tampa, Florida. That's a story," Davis said.

"Obviously he believes in the area, he believes in the market, he believes in the project and he believes in Vinik."

Transportation - a key factor in urban renewal and attracting Millennials - will be a big part of the plans, Leiweke said, and that includes the waterfront. He said the team envisions people walking, biking, using the street car and the water as means to get around the district.

"Live-work-play has never been truer," he said, "and we think all of that's possible."

More on Vinik's plans for both the Lightning and downtown Tampa are in the Sept. 26 edition of the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.