Expressway authority eyes its downtown Tampa real estate
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 8, 2022

The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority plans to hire real estate advisers to help it evaluate its downtown property holdings.

The expressway authority said it is putting together a request for proposals to procure real estate management services after its board voted to do so on March 28. The authority is aiming to release the RFP by early June, it said.

The relocation of the Ardent Mills plant in downtown Tampa is a catalyst for the RFP. In 2018, the expressway authority struck a deal with the city and Strategic Property Partners, the developer of Water Street Tampa, to create a new road grid to connect Water Street, the Channel and central business districts.

As of early 2022, Ardent Mills has vacated its downtown location and moved to a new facility in Port Redwing in Gibsonton. SPP has filed preliminary plans for redeveloping the former flour mill, which is across the street from the first phase of Water Street.

"THEA controls several acres of land adjacent to Meridian Avenue and the original Ardent Mills flour mill. With the exciting redevelopment coming due to the mill relocating, THEA is undertaking a study to determine the best use of its property assets within the downtown core," the authority said in a statement.