An upscale reception – replete with cocktails, appetizers and a spectacular water view from the historic Vinoy Hotel – greeted an Urban Land Institute team in town to help the community craft a vision for downtown’s future.
Sponsored in part by the St. Pete Area Chamber of Commerce, Monday’s event kicked off a week of meetings between community stakeholders and design experts from the Urban Land Institute.
The team’s visit will conclude Friday, when the panel issues a set of recommendations for developing the city’s first Downtown Waterfront Master Plan.
“We don’t pretend to have all the answers,” said Mike Higbee, the team leader and a former development director for the city of Indianapolis.
“We look at the real estate, the local market, the leadership and community values. We try to get in concert with all that and help the city envision the [downtown’s] role for the next 20 to 30 years.”
Higbee added that the team will not “offer a silver bullet” but help community leaders who are looking for “validation” and “new ideas.”
Higbee said that he has visited the greater Tampa area in the past to see family but this is the first time he has represented the Urban Land Institute in the Tampa Bay area.
He said that he was impressed with St. Petersburg’s waterfront and wondered aloud whether there are ways to make the waterfront “less disconnected” to downtown.
He said the team does not talk about “changing” the downtown waterfront but making recommendations for “modifying” it. He said the panel looks for opportunities for “responsible land use” and development.
We are asking community members: “How do you want your downtown to develop?”
During the casual meet-and-greet with the public, which included chamber members and downtown residents, the advisory panel also introduced each panelist. Here is a brief summary of the team members:
• Mike Higbee is Managing Director of DC Development Group, Indianapolis. He has designed and developed numerous projects in urban environments.
• Stephen Antupit is a partner with Fish to Water in Seattle: He has extensive experience in urban design, master plans, and public-private partnerships, with a focus on green infrastructure
• Tom Gardner is Senior Associate Urban Designer for RNL Design in Denver, Colo. He is a registered landscape architect and urban designer.
• David Gazek, principal, Gazek Consulting, San Francisco, Calif. He has deep experience in commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate for land development, redevelopment, corporate facilities and the turnaround of distressed assets.
• Michael Lander, President/Owner, The Lander Group of Minneapolis, Minn. His company has been active in the planning, design and development of commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate projects.
• Richard Reinhard, Deputy Executive Director, Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District. He has helped drive the success of an area in Washington, D.C. that has grown from a federal office precinct to a 24/7 activity hub for business.
• Kathleen Rose, President, Rose & Associates Southeast, Inc., Davidson, N.C. She has managed the analysis, planning, development and marketing of a variety of retail, industrial, hotel, office and mixed-use projects throughout the eastern U.S.
• Rob Wolcheski, Director, HR&A Advisors Inc., Washington, D.C. He specializes in mixed-use market analysis, transactional financial modeling, and public finance strategy.
