Ybor developer Darryl Shaw envisions a Tampa version of The High Line to connect Gas Worx to other urban neighborhoods
By Henry Queen and Ashley Grubal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 10, 2022

Ybor City developer Darryl Shaw has a bold vision for a Tampa version of New York City's High Line — a pedestrian and cyclist path that would connect Ybor to downtown, the Channel district and Water Street.

Shaw, who has partnered with Washington, D.C., based-Kettler on the developer on the mixed-use Gas Worx on the fringe of Ybor City, says that in his vision, the path would unite with the existing Selmon Greenway that meets up with the Meridian Avenue Trail at the intersection of Meridian Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard.

For now, the path is only an idea, and Shaw's conversations about the project are in very early stages. But if it comes to fruition, it could solve one of downtown Tampa's longstanding problems by giving pedestrians and cyclists a safe way to navigate the urban core. Downtown neighborhoods have thrived in recent years, as residents flock to the area and retailers and restaurants follow. But connectivity, particularly for pedestrians, remains elusive: Despite the influx of development and newfound vibrancy, it's difficult to move between downtown neighborhoods without a car.

From Twiggs Street, Shaw said the path would ideally connect to his planned public park and then extend east along the south side of the railroad tracks to the Interstate 4-Selmon Expressway Connector.

"You’d get this one-mile amenity kind of like the High Line in New York but at grade," Shaw told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "You can have exercise equipment [on the trail]. You’d have an amenity that's so close to wherever you are in Ybor — you're only a few blocks away. That’s part of the connectivity."

To make it happen, Shaw needs the cooperation of several major stakeholders. His plans require a sliver of land near Tampa Union Station that he said currently belongs to the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority.

Sue Chrzan, THEA's director of public affairs, confirmed that the authority has been in contact with Shaw. There is an opportunity to create a spur off of the Selmon Greenway into Gas Worx, she said. THEA also is studying other ways to activate the Greenway, including a potential pickleball court.

"We want to have the comprehensive conversations to see exactly what is needed, both by the developer and also by the community," Chrzan said.

Shaw has also been in touch with Mayor Jane Castor's administration about his proposed path.

“We’ve talked to Darryl about it. It’s a great opportunity, and we look forward to working with all the players involved," Vik Bhide, the city's director of mobility, said in a statement.

THEA's office, at the intersection of East Twiggs Street and North Raymond Avenue, overlooks the piece of land in question. Having seen the rapid pace of development near her office, Chrzan said it's time to look at that piece.

Jackson McQuigg, a board member at the Friends of Tampa Union Station, said he and Shaw have had extensive conversations.

"He's very pro-rail, pro-transportation, pro-Tampa Union Station," McQuigg said.

But there may be one issue.

Access to tracks 4, 5 and 6 would be jeopardized if a piece of the track that led to the Meridian Avenue rail yard isn't preserved, McQuigg said. With the ConAgra flour mill closing to make room for Water Street, the Meridian Avenue rail yard isn't needed anymore "except for one little piece of [of track] that you really need to have."

"As Tampa develops, there are things that sometimes happen that people with the best intentions didn't intend," McQuigg said. "And this is one of those scenarios if people don't know all the parameters. But you know what, a walking trail to the station? Fantastic. I think that's the greatest thing ever."

CSX Transportation didn't respond to a request for comment.

The trail is an integral part of Shaw's plans to revitalize Ybor City. He calculates the Ybor City land area to be around 750 acres, larger than the central business district, Water Street Tampa and Channel district combined.

"We're beginning to think through, 'How do we break that down ... so there's multiple sub-districts within Ybor,' and then thinking of those sub-districts, when we look at things like green space and public spaces — there's a dearth of that in Ybor," Shaw said. "How do we think about public space and bring that in very close proximity to where people live?"