Community Update Issue 3
FEELING A SPARK WITH WALBRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
2019
HIGHLIGHTS
Reaching New Heights Sky Limit’s impact on the Tampa skyline
Pictured here: cranes on the JW Marriott construction site. Photo by Nicole Abbett.
Working with our community
REFLECTING ON A YEAR OF MISSION-DRIVEN PARTNERSHIPS
INCLUSIVE LIVING SPACES Meet David Smith, Water Street Tampa’s Senior Vice President of Residential Development
Progress highlights The JW Marriott celebrated its official topping out at 26 stories with an anticipated completion of late 2020 GreenWise, a natural, organic specialty market owned by Publix Supermarkets, signed a lease for 26,000 square feet of space on the ground-floor of 815 Water Street Water Street Tampa is the first neighborhood in the world to earn the official WELL Design and Operations pre-certification The transformation of the Tampa Marriott Water Street was completed with the introduction of Anchor and Brine, a seafood and cocktailforward restaurant along the Tampa Riverwalk to complement the renovated lobby, meeting space, and guest rooms The Tampa EDITION Hotel & Residences commenced construction and began taking reservations for its 37 condominium residences 1001 Water Street broke ground and officially signed RSM, an audit, tax, and consulting firm, as its first office tenant Ground-floor retail renovations at Sparkman Wharf are underway; announced tenants thus far include Semolina, a pasta bar, and Free the Cork, a wine and charcuterie bar District Cooling completed construction and is now operational SPP officially moved into their new offices at Sparkman Wharf
Progress of 815 Water Street, November 2019
Inclusive living spaces: Meet David Smith David Smith, Senior Vice President, Residential Development As far back as 8th grade, my love for buildings and fascination with cities made me sure I wanted to have a lasting impact on the built environment. Growing up in Cleveland, I was no stranger to cities with potential.
Inspired by my hometown and the growth I saw happening there, I decided to pursue Civil Engineering and Economics in college at Duke University. After intensive extracurricular research, I decided to pair my knowledge in engineering with a master’s degree in architecture, and eventually an MBA, which led me to commercial real estate—the perfect blend of my interests in design, cities, and how to improve them. Most recently before joining SPP, I worked for Brookfield Properties in DC on largescale mixed-use office, residential, and retail projects for over 15 years. Immediately upon hearing about Water Street Tampa, I was intrigued. The first thing I noticed was that a project at this scale and magnitude was unprecedented for the Southeast. After one visit to Tampa, I realized what a rare and special opportunity this was and how incredible it would be to play a part in something so transformational.
In May 2019 I officially joined the team as Senior Vice President of Residential Development, and I am currently working on the residential component of the neighborhood. In doing so, I am lucky enough to collaborate with a diverse set of individuals who are pushing boundaries on what it means to build a community.
In order to provide the best innovative design and most impactful spaces, it’s crucial to get a wide range of perspectives from contributors with a wide range of backgrounds. No two days here are alike here. Each day brings its own set of challenges and opportunities, making every day exciting. In order to create spaces that are inclusive of a wide cross-section of people, diverse thought is needed at the table, and each team member is integral to this process. That is exactly what Strategic Property Partners is trying to do at Water Street Tampa - it is a developer like few others. SPP’s diverse culture is true to its core. This is a place where everyone is expected to thrive. It’s a very exciting time to be here, helping to implement on such a grand vision.
In order to create spaces that are inclusive of a wide cross-section of people, diverse thought is needed at the table, and each team member is integral to this process.
Feeling a Spark with Walbridge The park at Sparkman Wharf has celebrated tremendous success since its opening last November. Work continues on the building as the renovations to the façade and interior of the future loft-style office and ground-floor retail plans are built out. The team constructing the project is Walbridge, a 103-year-old full-service construction company that has worked on high profile projects in Florida such as Spaceship Earth (the geodesic sphere at Epcot), the renovation at Tampa City Hall, and one of Sparkman Wharf’s neighbors in the Water Street Tampa neighborhood, the Tampa Bay History Center. Walbridge is actively working on the property’s entire exterior façade, reroofing, ground-floor retail improvements, public spaces and lobbies, and infrastructure – including stairways and elevators. As of this issue, there are an average of 80 workers on site daily helping to transform the space from its original condition to the 150,000 square feet of future creative office space. Recent progress includes the completion of the new office lobby along the western portion of Channelside Drive with work continuing around the remainder of the building. The exterior renovations are slated to be substantially completed by mid-2020.
On the interior facing the park, work on the new second-floor office canopy is 50 percent complete. The addition of this canopy will provide shade and covered outdoor workspaces to future office tenants – including the SPP team – overlooking the Sparkman Wharf shipping containers and lawn. On the ground floor, retail tenant activity is well underway. Semolina, a pasta bar concept, among other tenants including Free the Cork, a wine bar and charcuterie concept, have started their individual build outs, with an expectation to open to the public in April of 2020.
Construction progress at Sparkman Wharf
Construction workers celebrating the JW Marriott’s topping out in July 2019
Local participation: Diversity and inclusion update As construction continues to progress vertically on the project, our outreach continues to expand. Suffolk has joined as the general contractor on the Tampa EDITION Hotel & Residences as well as 1050 Water Street, a rental residential offering in the district. Similarly, Moss & Associates has joined as the general contractor for 1077 Water Street, an additional residential offering. COASTAL CONSTRUCTION As the procurement process moves forward, Coastal Construction is proud to have over 17 percent diverse firm participation on both the JW Marriott and 815 Water Street projects, with 1001 Water Street not far behind as it ramps up its construction. The interest in the projects from the diverse firms in this community has been incredible with a continued growth in interest and participation. As buildings continue to break ground, there will be more opportunities to get involved. Please connect with Strategist Project Support Services at otdelancy@ strategistsupport.com to learn more about project-specific inquiries related to Coastal’s projects.
JW Marriott topping out in July 2019
SUFFOLK On December 9, 2019, Suffolk and DuCon, their outreach consultant, hosted their first scopespecific workshop at Armature Works for 1050 Water Street and The Tampa EDITION Hotel & Residences. Small, diverse businesses looking to learn more about the specific scopes for this workshop can reach out to Tarnisha Cliatt at tcliatt@DuCon.us. MOSS & ASSOCIATES Moss & Associates plans to host their first scope-specific event in early 2020 for 1077 Water Street.
Reaching new heights with Sky Limit Sky Limit first opened for business 25 years ago in Ghana as a small family-owned construction and equipment rental operation. Shortly after its start, the family expanded the business and ingrained themselves as a premier market player in the West African construction industry. Fast forward to 2017, the son of the founder and USF graduate, Sam Barrington, was transitioning out of his career as an NFL player after having been drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2013. After his football career, he sought a return to the family business and set his priority on expanding the business to the United States. Now, as Sky Limit’s Chief Operating Officer, Barrington has expanded the business to include crane rental, transport, hauling and hoisting, and oversees all of the company’s Central Florida accounts. The career transition was not an easy one. Applying his drive and discipline from football, Barrington spent countless hours researching the new field.
“Working hard is part of the game when you’re on your way to something great,” he said. Though there is a stark contrast between the construction industry in Florida and the one in West Africa, the support and expertise of his family, along with his independent research, launched Sky Limit to the successful place it is today.
Beginning his football career playing for the University of South Florida team, Barrington was no stranger to the growth and revitalization happening in Tampa. Through a connection leveraged during his football days, Barrington reached out to Coastal Construction’s Miami office, where he heard about a transformational project happening in Tampa. He credits a great deal of his success to his relationship with Coastal’s diversity consultant and strategist, OT Delancy, along with the subcontractor outreach events that SPP hosts in partnership with Coastal Construction. “The outreach events were vital to where we’re at right now,” Barrington said. “We wouldn’t have been able to successfully cultivate those relationships if we did not attend those.” Through the outreach events, Barrington was connected with GMF Steel Group, a major prime subcontractor working underneath Coastal Construction. From there, he was able to certify Sky Limit with the state of Florida as a Minority Business Enterprise and serve as a subcontractor for GMF. Today, Barrington and his Sky Limit team work on multiple projects within Water Street Tampa, including the future JW Marriott hotel and 1001 Water Street (a trophy office tower). On the JW Marriott site, Sky Limit provides its hoisting services by operating one of the cranes. According to Barrington, the operators, which the company chooses with care and attention, are treated as members in the family business.
“We look for people with character, a positive attitude, and commitment, and with each new hire, the family grows.” Barrington said.
As the business continues to grow, Barrington looks forward to leaving his family’s mark on Water Street Tampa. “You will see our name in the community,” he said. “The sky is the limit if you allow yourself to think so.”
JW Marriott progress featuring Sky Limit crane, 2019
The stunning evening skyline, as seen from the JW Marriott, will feature sweeping views of downtown Tampa from its chic and sophisticated rooftop bar.
SPP in the community Hillsborough Education Foundation Over the summer, SPP hosted a school supply donation drive to benefit the Hillsborough Education Foundation. This cause benefitted teachers and students of Title I schools in the community by providing an assortment of supplies for their use, including backpacks, pens and pencils, notebooks, calculators, and other classroom items. On August 9, SPP volunteers brought the bins of donated items to the Fox 13 news station, where they hosted an all-day school supply collection.
SPP continued the partnership with the Foundation by participating in a surprise supply drop off at the local Mango Elementary to over 700 students and 40 teachers. These supplies were donated by Yoobi, a company that creates a colorful and vibrant brand of school supplies. For every single one of their items purchased, Yoobi donates an item to schools in need.
Habitat for Humanity
Crisis Center of Tampa Bay
Late this summer, several groups of SPP employees contributed to building homes for well-deserving families in neighboring communities. The work on these homes included painting, paving, and other general construction-related tasks.
SPP is proud to have a strong partnership with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, with SPP’s CEO James Nozar sitting on the board. Several women in the office are also involved with the organization as members of their Women in Action program, an educational philanthropic program dedicated to furthering the Crisis Center’s mission to provide accessible services to those in need.
The team also had the opportunity to interact with and work alongside the future homeowners during this process. “This was a great way to have a handson connection with our community,” said Michael Spada, a member of the master planning team at SPP. “With Water Street Tampa, the work we’re doing spans several years and phases. This experience provided a tangible look at what building a place for someone can do to make a real difference in their lives.”
In September, a group of SPP team members toured the facilities to get an inside look at the amazing work the Crisis Center does. This includes a 24/7 suicide prevention hotline, trauma, and sexual assault services.
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