Last week, Tampa City Councilmembers unanimously approved entering into a ground lease with Opportunity Tampa Bay, Inc. (OTBI), which will allow OTBI to seek funding to develop a transformational Live Learn Development in East Tampa. The Live Learn Development, which includes the East Tampa Innovation Center (ETIC) and 117 units of affordable housing, will provide job training and education to local residents along with support services to help startups and existing businesses to thrive. Partners in the project include Hillsborough Community College, which will relocate its Culinary Arts School to the ETIC; the University of South Florida, which will establish its Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute there, and the CDC of Tampa, which will house its Tampa Vocational Institute in the state-of-the-art facility. The new housing development will be located across the street.
The approval of the ground lease is a pivotal first step in making this project a reality. Our staff and partners have spent the last three years and countless hours of hard work and extensive research and planning to get to this point and we’re energized to dive into the design and funding stage. We are especially grateful to the board of Opportunity Tampa Bay, Inc., a nonprofit development arm of the Tampa Bay EDC; the donors of the Tampa Bay Economic Prosperity Foundation, who provided essential startup funds for OTBI and the planning process; and the Tampa Bay EDC board of directors, who have given us guidance on this essential Placemaking initiative from the beginning.
We are also deeply thankful to our community partners, Mayor Castor, and the Tampa City Council for working with us every step of the way to ensure that this project meets the needs of East Tampa residents and business owners and aligns with the East Tampa CRA’s Strategic Plan.
I invite you to discover more about this exciting project from the news coverage links below.
Craig
