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I agree. Tampa will be nice once the projects are complete. I think St. Pete has also done a better job of incorporating the arts. It does not feel generic or mostly tourist oriented. I hope St. Pete continues to grow.
Fun fact, Downtown Orlando is the least tourist-oriented of the three, and has far more urban projects underway (and planned) than Downtown Tampa. Hillsborough County is anti-urbanity, and every single effort at changing that gets shot down by voters.
None of these three downtowns feels "generic," but if one could be voted as most bland, again, that would go to Tampa. Downtown Orlando is seeing the most growth of the three.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanQuest
St Pete is impressive as a second city for sure. Leaps and bounds ahead of Orlando and Tampa in the weekend street activity sense. Seems like Tampa and Orlando are trying to avoid that approach.
Interesting... They literally shut down Orange and Central to motorists on weekends and turn them into pedestrian-only streets. Lake Eola Park is always packed on weekends with street vendors and farmers' markets, among other events.
St-Pete and Downtown Orlando are at a solid tie in street activity.
Tampa needs a lot of work.
St-Pete and Downtown Orlando are at a solid tie in street activity.
Tampa needs a lot of work.
True, and the average Tampan is well aware of this, I think.
Downtown development efforts have long been a struggle; years ago, the Franklin Street Mall project was supposed to be the touchstone for downtown development, but to say the effort fell short of expectations is an understatement.
Since then, I sense that investors have been a tad gun-shy about getting behind downtown, as until recently there weren't any success stories that they could point to.
The Water Street project seems to finally be the panacea that may prime the pump for downtown investment. It helps that WS is backed by such deep pockets ie Bill Gates, as that would certainly boost investor confidence.
Fun fact, Downtown Orlando is the least tourist-oriented of the three, and has far more urban projects underway (and planned) than Downtown Tampa. Hillsborough County is anti-urbanity, and every single effort at changing that gets shot down by voters.
None of these three downtowns feels "generic," but if one could be voted as most bland, again, that would go to Tampa. Downtown Orlando is seeing the most growth of the three.
Interesting... They literally shut down Orange and Central to motorists on weekends and turn them into pedestrian-only streets. Lake Eola Park is always packed on weekends with street vendors and farmers' markets, among other events.
St-Pete and Downtown Orlando are at a solid tie in street activity.
Tampa needs a lot of work.
What leads you to that conclusion?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iconographer
True, and the average Tampan is well aware of this, I think.
Downtown development efforts have long been a struggle; years ago, the Franklin Street Mall project was supposed to be the touchstone for downtown development, but to say the effort fell short of expectations is an understatement.
Since then, I sense that investors have been a tad gun-shy about getting behind downtown, as until recently there weren't any success stories that they could point to.
The Water Street project seems to finally be the panacea that may prime the pump for downtown investment. It helps that WS is backed by such deep pockets ie Bill Gates, as that would certainly boost investor confidence.
It’s another big project like Water St that will bridge the gap between Channelside and Ybor.
This is really nice. The street activation on these projects are necessary to bring the neighborhoods together. I am really excited about the Straz Center and Tampa Museum of Art expansions. I even see some neat stuff for St. Pete like Art House residences and 400 Central, the latter which will be the tallest tower on the FL west coast.
St Pete is impressive as a second city for sure. Leaps and bounds ahead of Orlando and Tampa in the weekend street activity sense. Seems like Tampa and Orlando are trying to avoid that approach.
not even close to being accurate, Downtown Orlando's street activity is well above St Pete's and Tampa's. St Pete is second though.
I'm not a fan of Lake Nona myself. WAAAAY too "out there," and is the prime example of lots of parts of the Orlando metro area, and Florida in general, that I despise: SPRAWL.
Where Orlando shines is in its core areas, including downtown, Thornton Park, Baldwin Park, etc etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanGenious25
not even close to being accurate, Downtown Orlando's street activity is well above St Pete's and Tampa's. St Pete is second though.
Every time Orlando is mentioned in these city-vs-city threads, it is met with wild remarks such as the one you just responded to, and, as always, even more outlandish ones by Shakeesha, such as these:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakeesha
I noticed that the last time I was there. Tampa has bigger downtown projects going on. I think although it has a long way to go, it will be better long term. Tampa has the luxury of not having wasted real estate in the form of old one story strip centers in its downtown. It can build up, which it is doing.
Where in Orlando's downtown are there one story strip centers?? LOL!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakeesha
I agree. Tampa will be nice once the projects are complete. I think St. Pete has also done a better job of incorporating the arts. It does not feel generic or mostly tourist oriented.
A huge cruise port, the aquarium, the convention center, a bunch of giant hotels around Riverwalk... Yeah... not "tourist-oriented..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanQuest
You’re right, I wouldn’t choose to live there, though there are plenty of options. But I would be able to get there easily, along with museums, an aquarium, waterfront etc.. Although, in downtown Orlando, I could hit American Ghost adventures. Mind you Orlando Science center looks great, but sadly, it’s to far to walk from where I would choose to live south of Lake Eola. In Tampa, I’d choose Water Street, where I could walk to a lot more.
What is American Ghost Adventures? And... people who live in these places aren't attending tourist venues... People living Downtown Tampa aren't making frequent trips to the aquarium. Water street is fine, albeit completely devoid of any sort of pedestrian activity unless there is a Lightning game going on. I'd suggest spending time there, and you might reconsider that. Downtown Tampa, outside of business hours, is quite... dead... which makes walking around at night quite scary.
Tampa needs to fix its downtown and make it more inviting to pedestrians. Throwing up a few midrises here and there is great, but it isn't doing much to fix its main issues. Downtown Orlando and Downtown St-Pete are leaps and bounds ahead in terms of liveliness, cleanliness, walkability.
It’s another big project like Water St that will bridge the gap between Channelside and Ybor.
I should rephrase that: It is doing more to create a safe, walkable, urban environment. The focus in recent years has been almost entirely on walkability and street activity. Sidewalks are being widened everywhere, surface parking lots demolished, more open green spaces, street murals, etc. And everything that's been going on West of I-4 has been nothing short of impressive. Creative Village was mentioned upthread. In addition to that, Orlando is also getting the "Sports Entertainment District" just South of there. There are no single one large scale projects like Water Street or gasworx (thanks for the link) but rather, a number of smaller ones that add up to quite a bit.
Orlando also recently completely overhauled I4, and elevated the stretch through downtown, giving it access to create usable space:
"The proposed buys come as city officials have been planning for a downtown of the future, shifting its focus from a nightlife hotspot into a neighborhood with well-rounded amenities for residents and visitors. An updated downtown master plan, titled Project DTO 2.0, is due later this year and is expected to chart a roadmap to create more public spaces, and drive more foot traffic throughout."
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