Time was – and it wasn’t too long ago – that downtown St. Pete could do nothing wrong and downtown Tampa could do nothing but cite plans and point to a street car and a new hotel. Fast forward to now.
Not to be petty – or to traffic in schadenfreud – but St. Pete is in a slump. BayWalk is a shame, the Pier an ongoing enigma and the Trop, an exercise in obsolescence. Tampa just debuted a park and a museum. Another museum debuted last year. Yet another will open later this year. The Riverwalk continues to infill. The Floridan is nearly restored, there are places to live downtown, Encore was just infused with HUD money, a high-speed rail terminus seems likely and some restaurateurs have been positioning themselves for post-recession success. Tampa hosted a Super Bowl last year and is a finalist for the GOP national convention in 2012.
But no, Tampa, is not the equal of downtown St. Pete, with its spectacular waterfront, attractive residential mix, USF campus, multiple museums, the Renaissance Vinoy, outdoor dining and aesthetic, arts-driven ambience. And no, BayWalk will not remain mired in plywood, the Pier has more tourist-attracting incarnations left and a mixed-use development will ultimately replace the Rays’ cat-walk house.
But, yes, it’s not your parents’ downtown Tampa any more. And, yes, we all benefit when this metro market’s two major downtowns complement each other.