With full city council approval, Gas Worx first phase to break ground this fall
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 26, 2022

The first phase of Gas Worx, the mixed-use development planned between historic Ybor City and the Channel district, will begin construction this fall.

Tampa City Council on Thursday unanimously granted full approval to the rezoning request that will make way for Gas Worx. The project received preliminary approval on Aug. 4 at a public hearing in which every council member supported the development.

Darryl Shaw, the founder of BluePearl Veterinary Partners and Ybor City landowner, has partnered with Washington, D.C.-based Kettler to develop Gas Worx. The development will total 5.9 million square feet across 34 acres — generally north of Adamo Drive, west of North 15th Street, South of East Fifth Avenue and east of East Scott Street.

One of the development’s anchors is a historic warehouse that will be restored as a food hall or market and potentially include office space, hotel rooms or residential units.

The first phase of the project — 724 apartments in three buildings, 20,000 square feet of retail space and 940 parking spaces — was approved separately earlier this year. It is set to break ground this fall, said Tyler Hudson, a partner with Gardner Brewer Hudson PA in Tampa. Hudson represented the development team in the city council approvals process.

Juneau Construction Co. has been hired as the general contractor for the first phase.

“Ybor City is a special place with a unique and rich history. Working with Darryl Shaw, we are honored to be a part of Ybor’s future while carefully preserving its unique sense of place,” Graham Tyrrell, Kettler senior vice president, said in a statement. “Gas Worx will help connect Ybor to the surrounding neighborhoods and create an environment where more people can plant their roots and call home. We greatly appreciate the support from the city council and other community leaders as we move forward with what will be a signature project for us.”

At full buildout, Gas Worx will include:

5,000 residential units

More than 500,000 square feet of office space

More than 140,000 square feet of retail

Gas Worx will include 325 affordable housing units, a $60 million contribution by the developers’ estimates. Infrastructure improvements will restore Ybor’s historic street grid and build 1.8 miles of new public streets and utilities as well as 1.2 miles of new multiuse trails. Shaw has a vision of building a Tampa version of The High Line to connect Gas Worx to downtown’s other neighborhoods.