- Darryl Shaw

- Cooper Johnson Smith Peterson Architects

- Ferrell Redevelopment

The Oliva Cigar Factory is a historic gem just two blocks from Ybor City's famous 7th Avenue. The building was hidden in plain sight, a ghost of its past, the exterior paint erased by time leaving bare distressed wood, with windows haphazardly boarded by plywood. In the spring of 2014, the building was purchased and put in the hands of developer, Ariel J. Quintela. A historian in his own right, he chose to uncover its history to inform his restoration.

The Portico is a gathering space where people come together for conversation, connection, and community change. It is committed to enhancing the social, artistic, and spiritual fabric of Tampa through a social entrepreneurial Cafe that:

• Employs people coming from addiction and homelessness with a living wage and healthcare access,
• Showcases art that gives voice to important societal issues,
• Raises awareness and puts tangible efforts in motion on homeless initiatives,
• And, provides silent meditation practices that create stillness in a busy world.

The design process and implementation reflect this through the invitation of community partners in planning the space and the adherence to the request for downtown gathering spaces. Partnerships with Tampa's not-for-profit community, such as the Drug Alcohol Community Coordinating Office, Metropolitan Ministries and Abe Brown ministries, help The Portico support participants' transition from homelessness, addiction, or other at-risk circumstances to employment ladders and stability.  

The desire was always to accomplish three things:
The Portico is living out that dream.

The judges were moved by this special place. "This is how you build community," said one judge. "It's an excellent example of adaptive reuse and preservation, but it's so much more," said another. It's a place with the purpose of improving quality of life for everyone, especially those who need it most. In just two short years, The Portico has helped more than 20 people through employment in the cafe, and 22 with safe shelter.

The East 131st Avenue Preliminary Land Use and Transportation (PLAT) Study determined the most appropriate design strategy for the corridor, a 2-lane roadway between Nebraska Avenue and Bruce B Downs Boulevard in Hillsborough County. The study looked at demographics, existing land uses, transportation conditions, current market trends, existing local plans, and coordinated with stakeholders to create a list of recommendations to address land use regulations and transportation infrastructure. One of the most densely populated in Hillsborough County, the area's population has higher poverty rates, more zero vehicle households, and higher minority populations than the rest of the County. Industrial and institutional uses dominate the west and east ends of the corridor. The central portion of the corridor is primarily multi-family housing with some convenience retail. Much of the current development features gated apartment complexes that front on parking lots. To address these challenges, recommendations coming from the study include improving multi-modal transportation options with wider sidewalks, narrower travel lanes, and a more complete neighborhood sidewalk network. A form-based code will foster more compact urban development aiming to create denser missing middle housing and support redevelopment without large-scale displacement. Another cool recommendation is new stormwater facilities combined with recreational features to create innovative greenspace in this under-served community.

The judges applauded how the East 131st Street PLAT Study took previous studies to a new level, rethinking transportation infrastructure investments. It examines mobility needs, desired development form, and market forces simultaneously to build an improvement with the most benefits and enhancements for the community. The results will simplify the upcoming Project Development & Environment Study (PD&E) to reconstruct the roadway and the walk and bike infrastructure. This will be transformational for this community by making better use of the land and drastically improving safe transportation options resulting in a huge community impact and quality of life benefit by streamlining the path to a more safe and mobile community.

The judges gave high marks for neighborhood involvement that included taking into account the adjacent Boys and Girls Club of America and allowing parking facilities to be open to the public for after-hours and weekend events. The Carter G. Woodson PK-8 Leadership Academy made the honor role for excellent reuse and investment in the community's educational infrastructure.

This Hillsborough County program was created to address opportunities within the unincorporated County to enhance the development and uses of areas seen as declining or underutilized. Targeting four specific pilot project areas, the initial objectives focus on job creation through encouraging private sector investment in office and industrial development for infill and redevelopment. Over 1200 jobs have been retained or created as a result of the investments made in the ten completed projects so far. Being located adjacent to major economic engines of the region - Tampa International Airport, Port Tampa Bay and the University of South Florida - helps share the benefit to job seekers throughout the region. This program presents a series of financial and regulatory incentives for revitalization designed to stimulate new investment, stabilize the tax base, and support retention and attraction of businesses and jobs.  

With a county-wide population growth of more than 600,000 people and more than 400,000 jobs anticipated over the next 20 years, maximizing available land within the Urban Service Area makes sense. The judges applauded this successful and highly transferable program. Redevelopment offers a fiscally responsible vehicle to make use of past infrastructure investments and keep urban economic centers vibrant, while providing strategies consistent with community plans, the comprehensive plan, and smart growth.

There have been many advancements at everyone's favorite airport in recent years. A major economic engine for our region, TPA is the jewel of the community, redesigned not only to be convenient for travelers, but also to be community-friendly with better connections for locals getting to and through the airport. Phase 1 of the Airport's Master Plan expansion - an ambitious $1 billion project - has transformed the Airport experience. Master Plan Phase 1 is part of a three-phase expansion allowing the Airport to accommodate 35 million annual passengers. 

 

The Consolidated Rental Car Center and SkyConnect train system have created a seamless experience for travelers. Not only do these help improve traffic and parking around the main terminal, but also the increased regional transit connections at the transit curb are setting the stage for greater multi-modal access in the future. The design is user friendly and incorporates art and outdoor spaces in meaningful ways. The recent perk allowing locals to visit and dine at the terminal restaurants really opened up this asset to the community. Joe Lopano's vision has lead the way for the innovative modernization of TPA, enhanced by the addition of local flavors, and the expansion of community access, greater regional transit, and new worldwide destinations.

Planning Commission Executive Director, Melissa Zornitta, AICP, said, "The Airport's Phase 1 implementation of its Master Plan raised the bar on one of the best airports in the world. Now, the first and last thing visitors to Tampa see is a modern and beautiful facility filled with the local flavor of Tampa, from shops and restaurants, to public art installations. We can't wait to see what the next two Phases bring!"