Tag Archives: journalism

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Tampa Bay Times: How do you transform a downtown like Tampa’s that has such little history?

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times. Sept. 23, 2016.

It’s one thing to decide which building goes where when mapping out a new $3 billion district for downtown Tampa. But it’s another challenge entirely to create a sense of place and identity that has been lacking in downtown Tampa for decades when there isn’t much history in that part of town.

hat’s the problem facing James Nozar, the man in charge of Strategic Property Partners’ plan to build a new 53-acre urban core for Tampa from the ground up. As the chief executive of SPP, the real estate firm owned by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment, he’s working with 17 architects, planners and designers to create a unifying theme across the entire district as they build it block by block.

“There’s not a neighborhood or great historic presence to look back to. That’s our biggest challenge,” Nozar said about the greater downtown Tampa area. “So we’ve had to use the unique Tampa climate to influence the sense of place we’re trying to create.”

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

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Tampa Bay Times: When is the next recession going to hit Tampa Bay? Maybe sooner than you think

recession

Another recession is coming, Tampa Bay.

The main questions are: When will it arrive and how severe will it be?

A team of Tampa Bay Times business reporters have talked to dozens of business owners, Realtors, bankers, economists, tourism leaders, retailers and others to gauge the arrival of the next recession. We put together a special section on the topic.

Here are links to the stories I contributed.

A recession could be a bloodbath for restaurants in Tampa Bay 

After the last recession, it took a while before people in Tampa Bay started splurging again on dining out.

Eventually they did. And as the economy recovered, new restaurants began to sprout all over the area, turning Tampa Bay into an exciting new foodie destination.

But a number of those restaurants might not be here for the long haul.

Some analysts say the next restaurant recession is on the horizon. There are too many restaurants to choose from and communities can’t support every new corner cafe and bistro popping up in hot neighborhoods around downtown St. Pete or South Tampa.

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Tourism continues to thrive in Tampa Bay despite Zika and Brexit, but is it recession proof? 

When gas prices go up and wages go down, one of the first things consumers slash from their budgets is a vacation.

But with thousands of new hotel rooms coming online and existing room rates continuing to climb, local tourism boosters in Tampa Bay don’t see any signs of an economic recession in sight.

Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have reported record-shattering bed tax collections for years since the Great Recession and rates are only just starting to reach the peak pre-recession levels seen in 2006 and 2007. Both counties have regularly outpaced the state in tourism growth. And with more than 2,000 new hotel rooms set to open in the next few years, tourism officials don’t see a slowdown in their forecast any time soon, even with some hiccups like Zika and Brexit along the way.

 

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Tampa Bay Times: Inventors try pitch their way onto HSN in entrepreneur contest

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times.

hsn

Don Kobasky slouched in a chair in front of a training room inside an HSN studio in St. Petersburg. He was the only one of more than a dozen who did not seem nervous to be there.

He stood out in his neon yellow T-shirt and wore sunglasses on his head. The other contestants wore high heels and sharp dresses or suits. Kobasky had dried paint flecks under his fingernails. Unlike more than 70 other contestants who flew or drove from all over the country to get to HSN’s headquarters last week, Kobasky lives right down the street.

In the training room, the contestants listened to advice on pitching their products from HSN employees, including Bill Green, who has worked on-air at the company for more than 20 years. Green told contestants to sell their story. He told them to show off their personality. He warned them not to say things like “ladies” and “girls” on-air, which can alienate some viewers.

“What about sugar mama?” Kobasky asked.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

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Tampa Bay Times: See what it’s like to operate one of the 300-foot tall cranes at Port Tampa Bay (w/video)

TAMPA — If you can play a video game, you can operate one of the two $24 million cranes at Port Tampa Bay.

At least that’s what Deitmar Reuten says, the engineering department manager for Ports America, the company that operates the two new cranes recently purchased and assembled at Port Tampa Bay.

The 300-foot tall Post-Panamax gantry cranes allow Port Tampa Bay to unload larger cargo containers from ships. Port officials hope they ultimately help attract bigger ships to Tampa.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

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Tampa Bay Times: Not every beach community in Pinellas County wants to be like Clearwater Beach

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times. Aug. 5, 2016.

beach

Longtime residents of Madeira Beach remember when they affectionately referred to their sleepy gulfside community as a “fishing town with a drinking problem.”

But then came the condominium towers. And now some say two proposed projects valued at a combined $200 million threaten to change the landscape of Madeira’s quaint, beachy atmosphere.

“That old quaintness has somewhat gone away already and probably will never come back” said Joe Jorgensen, who has lived on Madeira Beach since 1984. He and other residents started a petition to fight against the development, which generated more than 1,000 signatures in two weeks. “I’m not against all development. I just want to see something that is conducive to our lifestyle. We don’t want to turn into Clearwater Beach.”

Tourism has boomed in Pinellas County since 2011, shattering records set before the recession and driving up hotel room rates from St. Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach. Mom and pop motels that have operated along Pinellas County’s “middle beaches” in Treasure Island and Madeira Beach since the 1950s could face new competition as local municipalities tweak ordinances to attract new development.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.